Anastasia Bowling Lanes

Unfortunately, this is the only bowling alley in Saint Augustine. The old lady with greying hair charged my daughter $20 to bring in her store bought 16th birthday cake (she also brought her own plates, napkins, and utensils) and the lady told her that she should have made reservations. Their website said first come first serve and reservations are for groups of 20 or more. She said that she called them beforehand and they did not say anything about the $20 bring your own cake fee. She was not given a receipt and I checked their website just now and there is no mention of a $20 charge for bringing in your own cake. Their food menu also omitted prices so people would not know beforehand how much they will be charged. We had a Groupon for 6 people but only 4 people showed up.

We last visited Anastasia Bowl a couple of years ago thus our expectations weren’t unrealistically high. With that said, there has to be a point at which a business owner has to see the writing on the wall and pull the plug. As the only patrons on a Sunday afternoon, we mistakenly thought we would get a lane in good working order. The ball return jammed on multiple occasions, balls stuck in the return, pins did not reset correctly and the house balls were ancient and badly chipped, like something out of a Flintstones cartoon. We paid for an hour and when our balls wouldn’t return for the third time decided it was time to call it a day….after 30 minutes use of our purchased one hour. No offer to refund, just that “we’ll make a note of it! I realize that maintaining old equipment is expensive and finding someone who still does it is not easy however, the prices are above both of the nearest bowling centers we frequent. This facility is well past its serviceable life.

This is a local business... I guess? and I always like supporting local places when I can. Unfortunately, my experience here was pretty disappointing. Many of the bowling lanes barely worked properly, which took away from the overall experience. Around 8 PM, they switched to night-light bowling and increased the prices. By the time shoe rentals were included, the cost came out to around $20 per person plus an additional $7 for shoes, which felt expensive for the quality of the experience. The atmosphere also felt somewhat neglected, almost like the place is struggling to stay afloat. If higher prices are going to be charged, I think customers would expect better-maintained lanes, a more inviting atmosphere, or improvements to the overall experience. I offer this feedback respectfully. I'd love to see this place succeed, but some upgrades and more reasonable pricing would go a long way toward attracting and retaining customers.