SERVICE: Staff seem pretty consistent. It's the same workers every time I go there. They are nice and helpful and I honestly think they are doing the best that they can given the limited resources they have. ATMOSPHERE: This bowling alley is close to being "run down." It needs a true makeover. The building, design, carpet, lighting etc is just all out dated and old. The machines malfunction from time to time and it seems the the operating system needs an upgrade. There are a variety of bowling balls. The smaller sizes are kept behind the counter. The shoes are old and need replacing but I always see the staff cleaning them. There are a couple of lanes that offer booth like seating that would be reasonable for a party or gathering. They aren't in a private area, but are at the end of the bowling alley. PROs- Reasonable pricing. Accepts Kids Bowl Free deal. Decent drinks. CONs-Old and in need of an upgrade. read more

The bowling was great and our service excellent. The food leaves a lot to be desired! Overall we will return, prices were great!

I have not been to Capital Lanes since 2006. (Moved away and moved back recently) Capital Lanes has worked hard to update, and you can see they are still moving in the right direction. Once I entered, I noticed the nice improvements right away as I was greeted by friendly staff members. The shoes I was given were newer, too. The prices for per a game and hourly bowling are fair market prices. Regulars and myself were able to use our own shoes. (If you are using a discount deal, it states you have to rent shoes. Do not be surprised by having to rent shoes with the discount deals they offer.) The lanes were clean and seemed to be well maintained. They would have to be since they do have leagues. The arcade section is upgraded and has a prize section. The restrooms were extremely clean. This is great as most bowling establishments do not upgrade or even maintain this amenity. The bowling scoring system is nice and easy to use. There is a bowling shop on premises. This is great if needed to buy equipment or just need to drill your ball. This would be a great place for a party for any age as they can cater to kids and adults. Please ensure to ask about all their policies and procedures when setting it up. Overall, wonderful experience and definitely will be back. ALL the staff was extremely friendly and helpful. They were all working to assist patrons, cleaning lanes to get ready for the next guest, and/or working customer service desk. read more

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Capital Lanes is a simple bowling alley with fantastic prices and good customer service. The place is clean and has lots of options to find the right size ball for your needs. read more

I hadn't been here in years until I came for my husband's work function. If you think of all the average bowling alleys you've ever ventured to with dingy carpet and 80's decor, this one is just as humdrum. If you want an evening of bowling revelry mixed with funnel cake bites and buttery popcorn, then you would not be disappointed coming here. read more

The Scoop from a league bowler: Facilities: 4 stars (See Management rating below) Over the holidays (2019) they made a big investment and overhauled the technology on every lane and WOW! - what an amazing difference it makes. There are giant flat screens mounted above the lanes and new computers with large touchscreens at each lane to set up your games. When you go to enter your names you get surprised by the option to pick different themes for your games and can even use your own face on the avatars (there's a camera built in). You can customize the way your scores are displayed and a explore a host of other features. The screen displays the mph of your rolls and the exact place/manner you need to hit the pins on your second roll to get a spare. Probably the most convenient feature is the ability to video chat with the attendants. If you have a problem or question, you can just tap on the screen at your lane instead of having to leave and find the attendant. MANAGEMENT: 1 Star EMPLOYEES: Tues Night team before Covid was 5 stars. Haven't bowled in league since then. The guys and gals that work on Tuesday night are always super helpful and focused on their jobs. That said, as a business owner I can say with confidence there's a management issue at Capital Lanes which is reflected in most of the bad reviews. Upper management seems to take a "tough luck, too bad, so sad" attitude when Capital Lanes falls short. Example: When we come for league after work, we often order our dinner at the snack bar b/c you're there from 6:30-ish to after 9:00. The snack bar was unexpectedly closed one night. This never happened to us before so it wasn't anything we could have anticipated. Several groups in the league, including ours, did what seemed logical and had food and beverages delivered. Keep in mind, these are loyal league members who are required to pay $60 for a lane every week even if people are sick and no one can come. The manager (woman bartender) saw that people had their dinner brought in. A competent manager would have personally gone to each of these groups of patrons, apologized for the inconvenience of having the snack bar closed unexpectedly, and said they understood the need to make an exception to their policy under these extraordinary circumstances. This simple act would have made the patrons feel positively toward the business in spite of the inconvenience while also protecting the interests of the business by reinforcing this was not permitted at any other time. Instead, the manager forced the nice guys that work the front desk to tell us and the others we either had to throw our food away or leave it with her at the bar. We had $70 worth of untouched food and were starving. Our group included a bowler with Type II diabetes who needed to eat. This was explained to the staff, but no exceptions would be made - even for the diabetic bowler. The manager would allow us to run down to the bar between turns and take a bite of food, but with our being more than ten lanes away it was ludicrous. Point of fact, the manager was very aware that league bowling moves too quickly to go back and forth, and it was evident to everyone the "compromise" was, for lack of a better word, obnoxious. Like another reviewer described, I've encountered an employee or two at Capital Lanes who was the stereotypical "bad employee" with a cell phone addiction and poor manners, and I had to bite back pointing out they wouldn't last ten minutes if they worked for me knowing they wouldn't care for the same reasons they are a sorry employee. But the places you don't find this (Publix, Chick Fil A, etc.) have at least one thing in common: Effective owners/managers/administrators who earn the loyalty and respect of their employees. Capital Lanes can invest a million dollars in their facilities, but if they want five star reviews they will need to get five star managers who can be trusted by the owner to make the right calls when things go awry. read more

Me and my brothers were cashing out after our arcade trip. Mr.Eric helped us ring out our tickets. My little brother was pouting how he couldn't get a 100 ticket candy and Mr. Eric gave it to us. read more

They have really good deals, and the bowling lanes are nice enough. The popcorn was also really good.

A bowling alley needs a few things: lanes, pins, balls, shoes, employees, and beer/food. Capital has lanes, but the ball return looked like it was held together with duct tape and a prayer. And the scoring system looks like it last saw an update in the 90s...the early 90s. They've got pins, and those seemed to be just fine. The balls are a painful embarrassment. Painful for the client as they are in the worst shape of any bowling alley I've visited. They are gouged, chipped and filthy. And the holes will likely destroy your fingers. They have shoes, but those look to be from the early 80s. While the laces were there and long enough to tie, the inside of the shoe was a complete mess with most of the footbed missing or misshapen. They have employees, but it's clear that customer service is neither encouraged or rewarded. Hence the sign for them next to the cash register saying that the employees can no longer use cell phones as the customers feel that they are then not paying attention to the lanes. Note to management: let them have their phones. They aren't paying attention with or without them. I looked at the food counter and behind the food counter. I wouldn't eat there if it was free. And note to management: if you are going to have the popcorn machine front and center for customers to see, it might be a good idea if it was cleaned. And there was no way I was going to chance a beer as I'm not sure the pitchers would actually be clean. So you can come and throw a ball down a lane. But it's likely not going to be either a good or pain free experience. read more

I had a wonderful experience here with my girlfriend here once we started bowling, but the customer service leading up to that point was awful. I'm not sure if she was a new manager or just someone working at the front desk, but one of the employees was just very rude. There were leagues there that night so there was a bit of a waiting list, and we had been told an hour wait time by another employee, only to come back in asking for a lane and have this lady get upset with us for not "coming back in soon enough" or "knowing the policies." She had scratched our names off and gave lanes away to people who had walked in before we came back, and talked to us about her "policies" like we were five years old, telling us that if they tell us an hour wait time we shouldn't have left and are supposed to stay and wait because it won't actually be an hour; all of which made absolutely no sense, nor were we told to wait inside. Especially because by the time we were back in, about half the lanes weren't taken. She even proceeded to tell us to wait after she talked to us and served another customer behind us who was not on the waiting list. I'm not sure of her name, but she nearly made my girlfriend cry because of how blunt and awful she was to us. She clearly had no idea how to do her job, and I wish I had gotten her name so someone could put her in check or fire her. From what we could tell, she was doing the same to many other customers who were just trying to get a lane and have a good time. I feel very bad for the poor girl who had initially served us, because she insulted her in front of us when we came back in after our wait time as well. She said she was sorry about how poorly she had done her job when we initially came in in a very condescending way. Just a complete lack of understanding for how to behave in a workspace and how to serve customers in a polite and organized manner. Overall we had a great bowling experience with minimal issues at our lane, but it should NOT have been that difficult to simply buy a lane. The only reason I'm not leaving a one-star review is because i feel sympathetic for the other employee that was with her, and the employee working concessions was very nice. I cannot emphasize enough how much disdain I have for whoever that lady was at the front desk. I apologize in advance for any other customers who come in just wanting to have a good time and have to deal with her. read more

I don't know if Jeremy is the manager or not, but he is rather rude and unprofessional. Instead of approaching the lane and kindly requesting all participants to put their bowling shoes on, he waited until the last bowler, on the last frame to shut the lane down. Several of the participants have previously been on leagues and wore the shoes they had on for their leagues. Nevermind, a member of our group was a previously employee of this facility. I have been to this facility numerous times with summer camps, field trips etc. where bowling shoes were not issued or worn. It certainly seems that it was a personal attack on a group of teenagers because they were having too much fun. Incredibly disappointed! read more

I suppose this is a two part review because it contains two separate experiences. I arrived at Capital Lanes on a Sunday evening just before 9pm. I had called before hand to see if they had lanes and to confirm their closing time which I was told was 10pm. We walked to the counter and asked for two lanes for 8 people. We were told by an attendant that the register was already closed and they couldn't help us. I later find out that this employees name is Jared, but more on that later. The problem with that story was that the majority of the lanes were full so there was no way that the register was "closed out" because I'm sure they would love to get paid. I wasn't in the mood to argue but don't talk to me like I'm an idiot. My friends and I make another attempt to bowl today. Tuesday 2/12/2019. I called and was told that most of the lanes were taken until 9:30pm for leagues. No problem. Around 9:30 we get setup and are bowling. After finishing our first game I walk back to the counter to pay for a second game. Here comes my second experience with employee of the month, Jared. I asked to pay for a second game and he tells me that the register is closed. At this point I'm pretty pissed because it's 9:45 and I was told the alley is open until 11pm. When I say this he says, "oh, yea... well I'm not really working, I'm just trying to setup my game." The on duty attendant comes up, apologized and rang me up for another game as Jared and his circus of clowns played their game on lane 12. Which is odd, considering the "registers were closed out" bottom line, the employees, well Jared, make this experience horrible. read more

I bowl in a league here 2 nights a week....mainly because there is nowhere else to go. Other bowling lanes is worse then this one. They have numerous lanes that have had issues that they don't fix. Management is nowhere to be found. Between lanes racking themselves, not counting the pins right, and balls getting marred up...they also have messy floors. You would think that the workers don't know how to handle a broom or vacuum. We had brought it up once that the messiness of the lanes and 1 of the workers commented that he would find out where we bowled the following week and make sure those lanes were messy. Clearly most of the workers don't take their jobs seriously and have any respect for it. Bad thing is....these lanes are sanctioned by USBC.....if they only knew.... read more

Was outright lied to on the phone about price, was told 95.5 for 1 hour(which is already insane) and was then charged 159.1

Its a nice sized bowling ally. With that said, the service is often times slow and the lanes malfunction. The bar is also pretty $$ but that's to be expected. read more

I enjoy taking both family and friends to this bowling alley. It's got an arcade for kids but also serves adult beverages if you are out with your friends. read more

My friend had a pair of PBA certified bowling shoes that he had brought from home(me as well) and with 8 minutes left in our bowling session an impolite worker came up to us and interrogated us about our shoes and told my friend that he could no longer bowl (even though I still could) and then proceeded to make another worker shut down our lane which made me unable to finish my game that I had planned on finishing. We proceeded to take this issue to the front desk where she met us and continued to be rude to us for no reason as I asked another worker to turn our lane back on but while he was taking care of my request she would not stop being rude to us to the point that me and my friend decided we no longer wanted to bowl and decided to leave. Because of this, the worker that was turning our lane back on became upset and followed us out of the store and tried to confront us while calling us "f*** n*****" and chased us in the parking lot until thankfully we made it to my truck and were able to safely leave without being harmed, but this was a traumatic experience and there is no way me or my friend will ever be able to go back without having to watch over our shoulders in fear. read more

I had such an awesome time with my friends at Capital lanes! It wasn't as pricey as I thought it would be so I was excited about that. I had a group of 10 and we all had such a great time. There are so many lanes so you'll never be waiting for a lane to open up - especially on a Sunday night when we went. They have an arcade for games, a full service bar, snacks and food - your typical bowling alley but it's definitely the better choice of bowling places in Tallahassee! read more

Came here for my birthdays 20 years ago. Fell into the crapper over past 10 years. Went last week and it's been remodeled. Whoever is running the show is my hero...they have specials on different days, good prices, very clean, lots of places to sit, nice balls, arcade, and awesome bar...prob the most impressive tap beer selection I've ever seen at a bowling alley. Bar has nice TV. The pizza I ordered was on point. All in all this is where I come chill when it's cosmic night and I need a beer...lol. Cheap! read more

Capital Lanes - Bowling Near Me - Tallahassee, Florida

The atmosphere is okay. No urban music during the entire time. We was there 2hrs. Old 80's rock band videos the entire time. Black dollar spend too. You should play more Urban videos. read more

Worst experience I have ever had with any establishment! Came in for a bachelorette party and had questions about pricing. The mother of the bride spoke with the manager and asked a few basic questions as he typed away on his phone and huffed and puffed. It was very noisy so when she asked to clarify a price (very politely despite the poor service and attitude by staff) he tossed down his phone in frustration and repeated himself in one of the most shockingly offensive displays of "customer service" I've ever experienced. Working with the public in high stress environments myself, I see no excuse for this appalling service. We didn't give him our money and it gave a horrible start to our evening. I wish I could give fewer stars. What sucks is this place has a lot of potential and I loved it as a kid. :( read more

I mean, I'm not looking for chandeliers and table cloths in a bowling alley... However, I do expect acceptable customer service. When we got here and got our shoes, found our balls and started bowling, the lights went down for cosmic bowling and my family had a GREAT time. The problem was when we attempted to take my 3 year old to the arcade. And before I even get into this let me say that this issue is obviously not about the money but about the principle of doing good business. The machine that issues cards for the arcade charges $1 for the card itself then additional money for your "tokens". The arcade is fully automated and outfitted with card swiping machines. Half the machines didn't function and when we asked for a refund they refused. They said "plenty" of the games still worked. Well, sorry lady, but my 3 year old can't race motorcycles or throw hoops. We're talking about $5 after we had spent $75 for everything else. The manager even had to get involved at which point we just left. Spend your money somewhere else. read more

Fuck this place, went at 10:20 and got denied bowling. Was just trying to handle RC after he whipped me in pool. You guys suck let us in next time read more

The experience here tonight was weak at best. The staff was not friendly, the lanes were not great, bowling balls were in terrible shape, the arcade smelled of smoke, and the food was terrible. I would recommend any other bowling alley in the area or a completely different family activity. Save yourself the disappointment.. read more

Place is a dump, have bowled here for 3 years and all they've done to upkeep it is get new monitors. Those are nice but league bowlers need the lanes to not shut down constantly, an oil machine to strip the lane instead of keep the same oil patterns from college bowling and a house shot on top of it. More than half the lane fans don't work and the swivel chairs are falling apart. The company is all about making a buck, that's all the managers wanna talk about, even during a pandemic national emergency. They are not supportive of their customers and only in it for the money. Horrible bowling alley, worst I've ever dealt with. After this season is over, I will not be coming back. And the only reason anyone does is because there is NOWHERE else for everyone to go (not all will fit at FAMU, but that's where I'm headed!) read more

This is the worst bowling alley I have ever been a part of. Rude management and horrible service if it is outside the normal range of requirement. Please never talk to me like I am drunk when there is overly priced beer available. I am surprised this is the main alley available in Tallahassee. The only reason I come here is because it's a monopoly on the market. Please refer to me respectfully when I am paying for your services. read more

I arrived at 8:30pm with three friends, finished a game in 20 minutes and when we went to buy another game, we were denied service. It was advertised a close time of 10pm, but at 9pm, we weren't allowed to bowl. What kinda of garbage is that? The lanes aren't terrible, but the service was absolutely horrible. When we asked why we couldn't bowl, they said it was dead so they were going to close down early. There were at least 10 lanes being used and it was dead?!?!?! NEVER going here again! read more

This is such a horrible place. Ridiculous prices, Bad service, Horrible food, and everything - i mean everything - is broken. Please don't go here. You pay by the hour and they take forever to fix your lane. Horrible!!!! read more

It wasn't a horrible place like some of the reviews make it sound like but we did get to experience most of the bad aspects of the other reviews. It is overpriced and the design is weird so that the people in the other lanes are always in the way. The pizza wasn't very good and the ball selection is pretty bad. I ended up with a bloody thumb because I had a hard time finding a good ball that fits large hands. But, we managed to have fun most of the time. read more

Having visited all the dingiest, but cheap and functioning, bowling alleys that Wisconsin has to offer, I can't say that I was happy with my experience at Capital Lanes. Arriving at 8pm on a Sunday night, I hoped to just drink a few beers and bowl a few games with friends in peace. But no, not happening. Apparently, some group had decided to reserve more than the amount of lanes they would need, but the staff still had to wait for them to arrive before they would open any more lanes. So, we waited. And waited, drowning our annoyance in beer and pizza, which were both crappy and overly-priced. It took about 45 minutes for everything to get settled and to finally start bowling. The prices at about $4 per game are not bad, but shoes have to be purchased for $2.50 on top of that. Also, the bowling bowls are scattered all down the lanes, so it takes quite a while to find what weight you're looking for. Overall, I am just unimpressed with the service and prices here. read more

While you can bowl here, everything else seems to be a challenge. The bar staff is rude and while the alley is well staffed, management seems unable to utilize them and most employees seem to just be standing around instead of helping patrons. I came here in the 80's and 90's when things were a little more lo-fi, but at least then the service was great and you felt welcome, no longer the case. I do hope they can turn things around here and keep up with the other modern businesses in Tallahassee that get it. read more

A nice place to go bowling... With a group of six or more. They have a very clean establishment but I felt as though they charge way to much for a family of three yo bowl. They say on their website it is $5.50 a game, what it does not tell you is that it really means per person a game. Do the math of how many games you and your friends can play in a hour. Now they do have an hourly rate but again do the math and figure out how many games you can play. Also you have to purchase shoe rentals because as I was told its a liability if you slip and fall. Yet my kids kept slipping on the floor so lawyers welcome to a dream case. I asked for a waiver I was told they don't have one. They do have an arcade but to play you gave to buy a card that you put money on it and you can't cash in the remaining balance of it you have to use all of it. Some of the games did not work but still charged your card. Most of the games were one dollar or more. So look at about $20 to play all the games once. I think all that matters is money if you have it great if you want to have a good time with your family for a couple of hours look at spending around $70-$80. That's no food. One or two games and arcade play. The park doesn't sound like a bad idea now nor a movie. read more

I was a former employee at the bowling alley and I quit because I was not making any money. it was costing me more to drive back and forth to work than i was making because they don't know how to schedule people. the last week I worked there my entire crew had to quit early at my second job so I can go up there and go to work as scheduled. this is Seminole bowling where I was supposed to be working (same owner for both bowling alleys). when I got there I was not on the schedule and I was told to go home. the following day I was also scheduled I showed up nobody else showed up so I, the mechanic, worked the front, snack bar, and the back and closed early because I had no help and I was all by myself. in result of this it cost me money to work there that week so I put in my two weeks notice in an envelope on Eleanor's desk (she is the boss of the bowling alley) but she was too incompetent to open an envelope sitting on her keyboard she moved it to the side and ignored it apparently. well in result of this she fired my brother because he asked for a four day work week instead of 5. he is a disabled vet with a spinal cord injury and she knows this. the reason he didn't want to work 5 days in result of this he has been in excruciating pain but continued to work for her. he asked for 4 days instead of 5 so she told him "sounds like you just don't wanna work, just like your brother." And fired him because I quit and she was too incompetent to read my two weeks notice sitting right in front of her on her desk. I would assume if the real owner continues to let her run his business he will not have one for much longer. Seminole has fallen into complete disrepair, so maybe he just doesn't care. read more