Delicious & affordable drinks, pool, keno, darts, karaoke & live music attached to Canal Lanes. A hidden gem!! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Scott Laprade
Get in here and drink a beer. This place is an iconic Western Mass institution.
Atmosphere: 5
Brendan O.
Classic old school candlepin alley. Well-maintained and good pin action. One of the rare places you can still use Telescore units, machines that project your score onto the ceiling instead of keeping score by hand or on a computer system. Plenty of candlepin history in here as well, trophies, plaques, and flyers from the heyday of bowling in this area. There is a bar attached. Plenty of parking. Cash only.
Andy L.
Cool retro bowling alley. We had never done candlepin bowling before and the gentleman working was super helpful with explaining how it differs from regular bowling.
Kate C.
This was my first time at this place. I brought my young grand daughter and she did have a good time, however she even remarked at how unfriendly and rude the man working there was. Really wasn't encouraging us to come back.
Yeti O.
Fantastic. Great feel to this place and the nicest guy ever working the counter. Had a blast.
Cat M.
Had fun today at the Canal Bowling Lanes. Went with my husband, son and family. This was our first visit . The staff was friendly and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. My 3 year old grandson also enjoyed himself. Will go back again.
Sarah C.
For $20, we got two games for two people plus shoe rentals. It was our first time candle pin bowling, and the woman staffing the place was beyond kind and patient, explaining the scoring and fixing the pins that would reset properly. This place has character, and character does require some patience. When balls returned, sometimes the hopped off into the neighboring lane and came hurdling at you, which was frightening and amusing. There were issues with the pin reset. But on the flipside, this was an incredibly neighborly, welcoming place, even for an outsider like me. Note: summertime hours are spotty, so be sure to call before coming.
Scott L.
A classic Candlepin Bowling alley and family owned Mom & Pop shop in every sense. The decor reflects a time when the game was at its peak and was the 'in' thing to do on a Friday night instead of sitting at home watching TV or playing video games. The lanes themselves are well maintained in terms of finish and mechanics of the pinsetting equipment considering the business has been in operation for OVER 50 YEARS. They do lack automatic scoring, however in Candlepin bowling, automatic score systems are not always accurate due to the the use of felled pins in subsequent shots. Frankly, if you have a problem with writing on a piece of paper to keep score and think that is a reason to complain, you're a moron. Additionally they have a nice array of Brunswick tournament class billiard tables. There is also a bar and lounge with a decent selection for such a small operation and everything is modestly priced. My only reason for giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because their hours fluctuate unpredictably. Generally one can find them open on a weekend afternoon, but if you're looking for something to do after 10PM, it's rare that they're open that late. I highly recommend a quick call prior to arriving to confirm availability. Do yourself a favor and experience the classic New England tradition known as Candlepin Bowling at Canal Lanes.
Helen T.
I'm sorry to say that this bowling alley has really gone down hill since I last frequented it back in the mid 1990's. The alley has not seen any updating,compared to other bowling alleys in the area; no automatic pin reset, no overhead screens for bowler's names or scores, no automatic scorekeeping. And the person working there was incredibly rude to the customers. We waited almost 5 minutes at the counter while he continued a conversation on the phone, never even acknowledging us, until he finished his personal call. His treatment of the people in the lane next to us was what had us leaving after one game. There are better ways to handle letting someone know that they aren't keeping score correctly, and to not let their small child up on the floor. He even refused to answer the person's question about how much a string was per person; just turned and walked away after yelling at this poor woman. She was only out to have a fun evening with her kids; she left not even finishing their game. There are better bowling alleys in the area, and this one doesn't even take debit or credit cards; cash only.
Delicious & affordable drinks, pool, keno, darts, karaoke & live music attached to Canal Lanes. A hidden gem!! ❤️
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Get in here and drink a beer. This place is an iconic Western Mass institution.
Atmosphere: 5
Classic old school candlepin alley. Well-maintained and good pin action. One of the rare places you can still use Telescore units, machines that project your score onto the ceiling instead of keeping score by hand or on a computer system. Plenty of candlepin history in here as well, trophies, plaques, and flyers from the heyday of bowling in this area. There is a bar attached. Plenty of parking. Cash only.
Cool retro bowling alley. We had never done candlepin bowling before and the gentleman working was super helpful with explaining how it differs from regular bowling.
This was my first time at this place. I brought my young grand daughter and she did have a good time, however she even remarked at how unfriendly and rude the man working there was. Really wasn't encouraging us to come back.
Fantastic. Great feel to this place and the nicest guy ever working the counter. Had a blast.
Had fun today at the Canal Bowling Lanes. Went with my husband, son and family. This was our first visit . The staff was friendly and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. My 3 year old grandson also enjoyed himself. Will go back again.
For $20, we got two games for two people plus shoe rentals. It was our first time candle pin bowling, and the woman staffing the place was beyond kind and patient, explaining the scoring and fixing the pins that would reset properly. This place has character, and character does require some patience. When balls returned, sometimes the hopped off into the neighboring lane and came hurdling at you, which was frightening and amusing. There were issues with the pin reset. But on the flipside, this was an incredibly neighborly, welcoming place, even for an outsider like me. Note: summertime hours are spotty, so be sure to call before coming.
A classic Candlepin Bowling alley and family owned Mom & Pop shop in every sense. The decor reflects a time when the game was at its peak and was the 'in' thing to do on a Friday night instead of sitting at home watching TV or playing video games. The lanes themselves are well maintained in terms of finish and mechanics of the pinsetting equipment considering the business has been in operation for OVER 50 YEARS. They do lack automatic scoring, however in Candlepin bowling, automatic score systems are not always accurate due to the the use of felled pins in subsequent shots. Frankly, if you have a problem with writing on a piece of paper to keep score and think that is a reason to complain, you're a moron. Additionally they have a nice array of Brunswick tournament class billiard tables. There is also a bar and lounge with a decent selection for such a small operation and everything is modestly priced. My only reason for giving 4 stars instead of 5 is because their hours fluctuate unpredictably. Generally one can find them open on a weekend afternoon, but if you're looking for something to do after 10PM, it's rare that they're open that late. I highly recommend a quick call prior to arriving to confirm availability. Do yourself a favor and experience the classic New England tradition known as Candlepin Bowling at Canal Lanes.
I'm sorry to say that this bowling alley has really gone down hill since I last frequented it back in the mid 1990's. The alley has not seen any updating,compared to other bowling alleys in the area; no automatic pin reset, no overhead screens for bowler's names or scores, no automatic scorekeeping. And the person working there was incredibly rude to the customers. We waited almost 5 minutes at the counter while he continued a conversation on the phone, never even acknowledging us, until he finished his personal call. His treatment of the people in the lane next to us was what had us leaving after one game. There are better ways to handle letting someone know that they aren't keeping score correctly, and to not let their small child up on the floor. He even refused to answer the person's question about how much a string was per person; just turned and walked away after yelling at this poor woman. She was only out to have a fun evening with her kids; she left not even finishing their game. There are better bowling alleys in the area, and this one doesn't even take debit or credit cards; cash only.
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