Hollywood Bowl, Watford

Rain or shine, the weather doesn’t stop the fun at Hollywood Bowl in Watford.  Recently, we tried out two games on one of the new Hollywood Bowl VIP Lanes. The new lanes have a Hollywood theme and give you the advantage of more space and comfy cushioned seats. The additional space did come in handy for the buggy and baby baggage and cushioned seats are an added luxury instead of the standard wooden benches.  If you want to book a VIP Lane call 0844 826 1473, as this wasn’t available online when we visited.  If you look online and take advantage of current deals then a family of four can enjoy a standard game for as little as £20.19*.

We went along for the first time on a Saturday afternoon.  Although it was a busy time to visit the parking outside was easy and once we had navigated our way through the amusement arcade, we didn’t have to queue for long to book onto our lane.  Book online to ensure you can take advantage of current deals. It was a pleasant surprise to find that at Hollywood Bowl in Watford you can wear your own shoes, as long as you wear flat soled shoes. This meant we could walk straight to our lane, without having to spend the first half an hour persuading small people to change their shoes**.

There is a Costa Coffee in the bowling complex, as well as a bar and an American style diner, so you can come a have a coffee  whilst you bowl and then stay for a bite to eat. We enjoyed a family sharing platter with nachos and guacamole.

The bowling was great fun. The lane bumpers were easy to turn on using the console and although there was a party in the lane next to us, the children were very polite and were very good at taking turns with the metal ball ramp. There were plenty of lighter bowling balls on our lane so none of the children had to wait long for each turn.  The VIP lane did make life easier with Baby M as there was space for him to toddle whilst we took our turns.

On a Saturday afternoon there were quite a few novice bowlers on the lanes and two or three stray bowling balls came rolling into our seating area, so make sure you keep little ones in the benches area or even further back, just in case you find yourself next to an enthusiastic youngster!

We found that one game would probably have been enough for us.  Juggling two small children and snacks and drinks and loo breaks and etc. etc. meant that one game took us much longer than we expected. Both the kids and adults were all exhausted at the end of two games.

Take a look at our video of our afternoon at Hollywood Bowl.

If you ask Mr M who won, then I am sure he will tell you that he beat his weary parents, but both children fell asleep in the car on the way home and I declare half an hour’s peace and quiet as a win for me! We all agreed we had a great afternoon and we would definitely go again.

If you want to find out more then check out their website.

*Correct as of 6 April 2016, check the Hollywood Bowl website for current offers.

**Weather dependent. If there is snow or very bad weather you might be asked to wear bowling shoes.

Disclosure: thanks to Hollywood Bowl for providing us with complimentary games and food and drink for the purpose of this review.