Reviews of Merle Hay Lanes (Bowling Alley)

Kenneth Roberts

What started as a disaster, being told over the phone a reservation was not needed for a birthday party, turned into a fun afternoon full of family, friends and bowling! The manager made it work and cleared up a couple of lanes with no notice! Great experience!

Antony H

Good crowd, kid friendly, great family time!

Matthew Steven

Clean, adequate, food and drink, too

Mike Stewart

Small problem w/lane scoring, but good service.

katie despain

I have went 3 times to bowl with my kids and everytime it's been a no go. They say they are always busy with leagues when they have half of the lanes open not being used. I used to frequent often and have never had an issue. Probably will not try and go back again.

Brian M

Very nicely kept bowling alley. Very family friendly even for the little kids.

Kimberly Jones

More expensive than other places and not up to date.

catrice Pinks

Great deal on Thursday night

Robert Fenton

I don't like the lanes

Tony George

Nice place to go walk around and shop!

Matt Dayton

Tried calling on January 9 to schedule a work outing. After multiple calls back I was informed February 7 by the GM the time slot we asked for was already booked on January 10.

Carl Thomas

It was a fun night we might do it again

uryan hedrick

Great atmosphere with even better friends.

Deverette Magee

It's pretty cool

danielle hargens

Fun place. Super rude staff

Kayla Rusher

Went in 45 min before close. They were ticked we came in that late. Finished bowling before everyone else down there. $21 for 3 people for 1 round. Dead place while other bowling alleys had 1 1/ 2 hour wait time at same time at night.

Evelyn Garrison Robertson

Had fun but need ventilation skip the food

Ashley Selden

Website announces $1 bowling and $2 shoes all day Monday but I arrived with 4 excited little kids at 4:30 only to learn if you weren't on a league, you weren't playing before 9:30....btw 75% of the lanes were empty

Max Chenchar

It was nice and clean and super fun!

Charlie Kepner

Wont waste our time at that place ever again. Incorrect specials. Rude staff

Nicole Poole

Fun for all ages and groups. They also serve food.

Michael Clayton

Nice bowling alley, great prices for the lane. Came in and there was a short wait - we walked around the mall and the staff called to let us know when we were next for lane. Had the option to pay by the game or a flat rate by the hour

jusuf masic

Es war unser erster Besuch in den USA aber 100% letzer Besuch an dieser Bowlingbahn. Service war nicht so gut bei euch. Die Bahn an der wir gespielt haben war defekt. Das hat aber niemanden interessiert. Es wurde uns keine Ausweichbahn angeboten obwohl genügend freie Bahnen vorhanden waren. Somit hat es kein spass für die Kinder gemacht. Wir haben es aber durchgezogen und fertig gespielt . Nach dem Spiel haben wir den Mitarbeiter darauf aufmerksam gemacht das es nicht in Ordnung war das wir an einer defekten Bahn spielen er meinte nur er lässt es reparieren und hat uns einen schönen Tag gewünscht. Fazit : Investition über 50$ für viel Ärger. Danke Freundliche Grüße aus Deutschland

Brian Atwood

Definitely better than Val Lanes. Cold beer and no stench.

Frank Hadley

Great drinks and good food

Tom Trettin

Extremely competitive pricing, nice lanes, great experience!

Aaron Ketelsen

Didn't have enough shoes in a larger size. For guys. Their shoes run a size small. I would understand if it was really busy but considering not even half the lanes were in use I found it very annoying. I will not be returning

Ray Strekal

Was there for a Special Olympics event! Staff were great!

Megan Foley

Had an alright time until the owner's daughter came in. She is rude, classless and inappropriately dressed for a family atmosphere. Will never return.

M W

Des Moines' hidden bowling alley below the mall, accessed from inside the mall. Good lanes, but was way under staffed for a planned birthday party, so removing one star.

Kris Spoonhaltz

Good games

Kevin Schmelzer

Not good for leagues. Poor air circulation. Mostly oblivious staff. But, at least it hasn't burned down like plaza lanes.

Stephanie Cleaver

Couldn't even get a lane to bowl with some friends. We went else where

Vickie Cave

Great bowling and shoe deals on Thursdays!!!!!! Only $1 per game and $1 shoe rental! You can't beat that for family-time entertainment! A must do!!!!!!

Dale Anderson

Never super busy. Recently updated, so it's pretty clean. Very fair prices. My go-to spot for my 3 times a year bowling excursions.

Suzanne

Very clean and inviting. Quiet sunday bowl....reasonable price....full bar and kitchen...pleasantly surprised

Lacy Ruffalo

I loved spending time there while I was visiting my family! They're so clean and everyone was so nice!

Nacho Tacoo

Good daily specials!

Brian S

The food was awful, the cheeseburger was still cold in the center and the girl behind the counter was too busy with her finger inside her nose to come around the counter to give a menu....gross!!!

soilder boy

It's great and family friendly lots of fun

Bond Hageman

Its a fun place to hangout with friends and to have fun bowling.

Donny Bailey

Arrived at the bowling alley at 5:20 pm today. Was inquiring about the $7 for two hour Sunday special. The only person running/working this house told a group of six that that special ended at 5 pm on Sundays. The flyer states nothing to such. The worker also began to explain the reason. Since the bowling alley closes at 7 pm, he couldn't give us the deal because we wouldn't get the two hours. I'm not sure who the owner is but the $42 that could have been made, was spent at another establishment. $5+/ game would never fly with advise bowlers.

Ryan Simmons

$2 per person on Thursday's

Demius Moore

Space is a bit crowded and there isn't much airflow so it gets hot quick. The food was good and the staff was rather nice. Went on Sunday around 12pm and it was busy.

Matisha v.1.8

I have now gone here a total of two times and I don't know why I didn't get the memo the first time that this is definitely not worth the time, patience, or money. You would think with it being located in the mall that it would be a somewhat respectable place to go to, but I find that to be sadly untrue. Both times I have gone, the bathrooms were filthy and smelled like outhouses. Only one of the sinks work and only cold water will come out of it. The service is very slow. I have gotten better service and had more fun at the bowling alley in Colfax that only has I think three lanes and you keep your own score, if that says anything. On top of this, as we came in to get a lane, the attending employee set us up on a lane where the only table we could sit at had an empty beer pitcher and a glass there. Then, later in the game, our ball return began not returning the balls back to us. The family next to us, and our table went up to the attending employee I think a total of three times about this issue and his only response was that, "The 16 balls are clogging it up." The person did not seem interested at all in alleviating any sort of issue that was going on. The employee was frequently rude and we were still charged for a full game, even with the ball return not operating properly, and our computer messing up off and on. The only good thing I can pull from going to this bowling alley is that it is very affordable, but I see now that there is a reason for that. If I was charged the same way that other bowling alleys charge, I would be more upset than I am now.

Cole Ripperger

Great time with family... staff super nice... just wish they had a baby changing station in men’s bathroom..

Shauna Downing

Nice clean place. Good drinks and food friendly staff. Managed a fight in halls with league extremely well to keep it friendly family place.

Sisco Espinoza

Fun

Caden Tague

The man with a man bun who works at the counter is a complete jerk he was getting very snarky with us because we were bowling and we were using 2 lanes and one broke. We politely asked him if we could use the two open lanes next to us but he said no. Over the phone we had talked and he said we couldn’t make a reservation but he said those two lanes were reserved. He also was very rude to one of his coworkers because he was defending us overall our experience was not very good.

Jenny V

This bowling alley is located in the basement of the mall. It was a little difficult for us to find it. It is a treasure! Beautiful lanes. Very good prices for bowling!

Nicole VanZandt

I started a job here about 3 weeks ago. As I was sitting in the office, I overheard management referring to someone they'd hired as "the black kid". I immediately thought it was inappropriate but what followed that comment was much worse. The manager was still talking to whomever it was and the man told the manage he would refer to him as the N word if he wanted to. To which the manager laughed and carried on like it was a joke. I clocked out shortly after that and never went back. They owe me for a few hours but my messages have gone unanswered which leads me to believe they won't be paying me for the few hours I did work for them. Not professional at all. The woman training me was overbearing, rude, and condescending. Be aware if you're a minority frequenting this establishment or trying to be hired.

Mackenzie Carpe

Definitely could use a facelift, but prices are good.

Julia Arcelo

It was alright, i had a good time, but i felt the staff werent very... Shall i say... Cheerful

Andrew Godinez

Hidden gem in the mall

Andrew Sullivan

Great family fun!

Eric Doll

Grizzly

Terry Goehring

Good

Zac Kuehl

SO MUCH FUNN!

Janet Wilson

Great place to bowl.

Quinn Hemesath

It is affordable, but the service was HORRIBLE. H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E. I did NOT appreciate their attitude towards me and my son. My son won something on the claw game there, but it was stuck on the claw. It wouldn't come off, and we payed $3 for that one thing. I started to shake it to try to get it off. My son went to ask for help, but the worker started yelling at me to stop. I asked why, he said it was "his machine". He wasn't even a manager. I told him, "my son won something and it was stuck on the claw". He went over to look, and said, "not my problem. Too bad. Gonna have to wait for someone else to get it.". I offered him a dollar to get it off. He fell for it and started SHAKING the machine! He told ME not too! I asked him who and where the manager was. He said specificly, "Shes in the bar room.". My son started to walk in there. "HEY! You need to be 21! Sorry buddy!" in a rude attitude. I told him to stop being rude to my son. He said go sit down to us in a very rude manner. I told him I paid money to be here and I should be treated fairly. I asked another worker who the manager was. The other worker said, "Our manager is Rick. Hes near the bar.". I was confused, because the other guy told me that it was a GIRL in the bar room and gave me NO name. I asked the rude worker, "Why did you lie to me?". "I never said ANYTHING to you.". I was very mad at this moment. I left right there and then with my son. We did get the claw prize, but I never gave him the dollar. I just took it from him. I hope you have the guts to go there, families. Loud cussing can also be heard.

Jonathan Covalt

The alley is clean and well maintained. Staff was quick when we needed assistance, and the prices were good. We didn't eat anything here, but overall the bowling was good. The only real issue, and the reason I couldn't give them 5 stars, is accessibility. The alley is in a basement of the mall, and there is no escalator or elevator, so you have to go up and down a lengthy flight of stairs.

DisBoiWild

So much fun

Siddharth Reddy Potu

As we walked into this place, my first impression was good. But as the evening progressed, it turned out to be a disappointing one. We were 9 of them to have some fun time celebrate one of my friends B'day. The bartender near snooker table was horrible. He hardly paid attention to us even though we were waiting patiently for him to serve us. Every item we ordered was served us late and on top of it no credit cards were accepted. It was really disheartening and no ATM machine inside the play area. The bowling lanes were having technical issues & ambience was mediocre. Our patience was tested all the time while we spent the evening over there since we had no other alternative. In short, people need to carry stack of cash and super amount of patience to enjoy bowling or snooker... Hope they take our feedback and improve!

Reyna Resendiz

Not necessarily family friendly. Unless you're okay with the uncensored music. Also- the scores are totally off. One of the members in our group most definitely got a strike and it only counted it as 6 pins. The entire game (and we played about 6 or 8 of them), the score was wrong. We were still asked to pay the full price. Mediocre to say the least. There are plenty of other alleys to visit that are far better than this one. Don't waste your money.

Alexis Heistand

They have good deals and their workers seemed nice.

Jpeg Zombie

I worked for the family on and off for many years doing every job that could possibly be done. I am amazed at the negativity given in these reviews. The owners both past and present are family to me, as well as former management! People call it sub par in appearance... You should have seen it on the early 90's when I first set foot in there telescores and all! Don Olson showed me the ways of the bowling business inside and out and still to this day I take every thing that man ever told me and use it in my daily life. This is and updated bowling center but keep in mind it's not one of those fancy new family entertainment centers that So many of you are used to. Its a bowling alley!! Your going to get frozen pizzas nachos and things of that sort which is what bowling alleys served when I was growing up! If you want 5 star dining then why not go to a steakhouse instead of bowling! I will always support this place and the family and friends I've met over the years both as an employee as well as a patron!! Any time I'm in town this is and will always be my first stop!

Adam Stephenson

I bowled a 81

James Merrill

the lanes are garbage. pinsetters are busted and in terrible condition. 4 hours to bowl 3 games because they refuse to move us. never coming back.

Jessica Baker

We came around 5:30pm on a Sunday. Not too busy but started to fill up after another hour. They made sure ppl were spread out at that time which was nice. $7 special for shoe rental&2hrs of bowling. Great deal! Got the cordon bleu balls (battered chicken w/ham&swiss inside) amazing! And $10 for pitcher of beer. Young man at the front desk &bartender both very nice. Great experience we will be returning!

Amber Yi

Last two times I’ve came in during “open bowling” times the same little kid working there has said “they’re no lanes because leagues reserved” then why not have that on the website so I don’t waste my gas 2 separate times in a row. Use to love this location before all the remodel and rude staff

Julia N

Fun time with the family. Not too expensive. They didn't have a high chair for our one year old. We were there for our six year old.

Rick O'Hara

Decent bowling center. Typical bowling alley food at typical high prices. Pro shop folks were helpful.

Dan S

Lanes were decent and the price was great.

Sydney Hoffman

Love the pro shop! Extremely rude staff at the front counter.

rasim dezic

For the price not a bad place at all its very affordable!

Wil Q

Decent prices. $4.25 per person per game can get a little spendy. Tho. Probably why it's empty during the day. Had the whole place to ourselves.

Adam Goldberg

A cheap and fun place for bowling. It's great for dates.

Charles Rowland

They're awesome and the price to get in is really good. The food is delicious I was there all day and it felt like only 30 min went by and I still had fun

Shelley Hernandez

Bad service

Zach Kirschner

Clean and fun with kids. Had plenty of light balls for kids.

Crystal Staton

It's awesome

Antonio Garcia

Horrible food. Horrible service. Outdated system. Extremely loud music. There are plenty of other options.

Google User

Staff was extremely accommodating. Helped bring our young children smaller bowling balls and brought food to table.

Josh E.

This place is dated but is still a cheap, decent place to bowl!

Amber Nelson

I am in town visiting for the weekend and have 2 special needs children. I called to reserve a lane and the man on the phone was less than enthusiastic and and refused to take a reservation.

Anthony Genovese

Nice bowling alley. Not so nice people.

Robert Yegon

Cool and quiet environment.

Alexandra LIfka-Reselman

Very clean for a bowling alley

Shane Mc Quillan

Went on a Sunday for the cheap bowling time (10 - 12am). Nice premises, no steps so good for people in wheelchairs (our friend was). Pin replacement was a little slow, but overall a nice, family friendly place. Prize machines seemed to be set at impossible level, or maybe I'm just not that good at them? This is a good place to go bowling.

Amy Kenna Krueger

Staff was awesome. Drinks and food very good. Bowling was a great time

Robert Wilson

Fun place to bowl with friends!

Noah La Vie

Free bowling but the machine got stuck for a bunch of minutes

Barbara Bauer

Take grandkids there. They love it and staff very helpful

Celeste Garrick

Could use some mantience on the lanes. It doesn't track the speed of the ball properly, it also resets wrong sometimes. It will also not register the proper amount of pins hit.

Jordan Solting

The 2 guys working were so rude to us and the lady in front of us. Ignored us at the counter for 5-6 minutes before talking to us. Will never go there. Lost our business tonight..

JoAnn Schmitt

Went on Thursday, great bargain on shoes and games. The place was clean and well run. We had a lot of fun! Would highly recommend!

Abhinav Sharma

Since last time i visited in september and this place has changed a lot. it is much better looking. may be a best lanes right now near by des moines area

Jamie Lee

I like to bowl a couple games and/or play pool in the lounge and drink some beer. It does, however, make things inconvenient that the bar is cash only.

Joshua Wilke

Quite warm but still fun

Gregory Barber

Great place to bowl