I want to give a huge thank you to Luis at Spare Time for making our day so much better. Three of us had spent a long time playing games, earning tickets, and working hard to save up for a prize we all wanted. When it came time to redeem our tickets, we spent nearly 30 minutes talking and trying to figure out the best way to use them. We wanted to make sure everyone agreed on what to get, and eventually we decided that the giant beach ball would be the perfect prize for all of us to share. At first, we were told that we couldn't get the beach ball because it was supposed to be won through a specific game or method. We completely understood the rules, but after spending so much time earning tickets and carefully deciding together, it was disappointing to think we wouldn't be able to get the one thing we all agreed on. That's when Luis stepped in. Instead of just saying no and moving on, he took the time to listen to us and understand the situation. He saw how much effort we had put into earning our tickets and how long we had spent making our decision. Luis showed kindness, understanding, and genuine care for making sure we had a great experience. He talked with the other employee and helped make it possible for us to redeem our tickets for the giant beach ball. What might have seemed like a small thing to some people meant a lot to us. Luis turned what could have been a disappointing ending into a really memorable and positive experience. He treated us with respect, listened to what we had to say, and went above and beyond to help us. Employees like Luis are the reason people want to come back. His customer service, patience, and willingness to help made our visit special, and we are incredibly grateful. Thank you, Luis, for making our day and showing what great customer service really looks like! read more

Had a blast at Spare Time! It's a very clean and fun environment. The bowling lanes have great features like automated scoring, individual bumpers, and a fun dinosaur ramp that my granddaughter loved. The arcade is a hit for the kids (and adults), even if it's on the pricier side. We did have a lane glitch, but the staff got us moved over quickly. Personally, I prefer paying by the string instead of by the hour, but it's a great place overall and we'll definitely be back to try more of the food and check out their daily specials! read more

Everything was great the place is clean and well run plus we bowled well and we will be back

Cool spot with bowling, drinks, food and a large arcade. We went late night bowling (glow bowling) from 10-12am. It was super fun, and the service was friendly. We went to the bar first and got a couple drinks. We didn't find try any food. read more

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i would like to shout out luis, this guy was the goat always defending us. this place had amazing service and me and my friends had a wonderful time. thank you spare time! read more

I league bowled for years when it was yankee lanes and this new place is a big disappointment. Food was fair, pizza was AWFULL. Ball return issues, scoring issues, they put a family with 3 little ones next us when the place was empty. And 1/2 the place is now a money grabbing now end arcade. This used to be a professional operation, not now read more

We took our 7yo to Spare Time today. The alley was nice--clean, computer scoring systems were easy to understand, auto bumpers per player. There was going to be a bit of a wait so they comped us $15 for the arcade, which was nice (most arcade games are $1.50 per play). We didn't have any food so can't speak to that. read more

Arcade is better with more reasonable point system than other local arcades. Laser tag is a lot of fun, but pretty short. Bowling is too expensive for casual family play. When they served my sandwich to the otherwise empty table, they set it touching the dirty menu (sandwich to menu). Ew. read more

Very Bad Service if you are coming here please , Do not eat here only come to play !! Very Bad service the pizza only got toppings doesn't have any sauce ! The chicken buffalo wrap very poor quality less chicken only lettuce! We also before everything we ask for kids menu very badly. And when we came in the restaurant we found a kid vomiting in the floor because of the food a lot of oil. Very bad service. read more

Spare Time - Portland - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

First visit since I moved back to town. I'll point out that the kids and I are ASD, so even tho we enjoyed the music and video screens, it was a lot for us in sensory terms. We came to celebrate my baby's 8th birthday (a rain day late). My parents (60s +/-) came along. Birthday kid got to try the VR game while 6yr old wandered with papa. They have restrooms in the arcade and at the other end near the lockers, which we appreciate. We only had time for one game, but it was fun. Each person can have bumpers decided when you enter their name! They auto adjust PER PLAYER. They can also be adjusted mid game if someone changes their mind. The lane seating affords a server with a menu (full bar!), so kids got fruit punch, and we had soda. I got the colossal pretzel for the tabel. My 6-year-old loved the queso blanco dip, and the honey mustard (tad vinegary) was my favorite. Yes, a 10 buck pretzel is an expensive novelty, but it was honestly very tasty and fed 3 people a good snack. It and 3 drinks were about 25 bucks(?) but tip, etc. 3 adults and 2 kids playing 1 game was 45 dollars, so again, it's not cheap, but a sign noted that Wednesday is the half off games special day. My 8 yr old wants to come back to play laser tag eventually. read more

Spare Time - Portland - Colossal pretzel (10.50)(?) - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

I really like it here! What you need to know: -plenty of parking. -plenty of bars/places to attain alcohol. -several clean bathrooms. -self serve water coolers(!!) -very clean and well maintained games. -loud but good. It is fun to come here and sip a tall beer while playing arcade games that are all super clean and never out of service. Having the swipe card rather than quarters is actually great once you get used to it. The arcade is wonderful and spacious and I love that the staff just lets you do your thing (important as a person who screams when they play games LOL). Food isn't great, but they know it, and they don't overcharge. Nachos were reasonable. Come for the beer and the relaxed attitude. They're open til midnight so you can avoid all the children! read more

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We like to bowl. This place has nice lanes, but is super expensive. Great things about here is the cleanliness, the lanes are well oiled and flat, scoring system is updated and gives you options to fit your family for graphics. They have a bar and will bring you food/drinks to your lane or you can sit in the eating area. It's also expensive. Arcade is small and $20 is going to get you about 10 minutes of games. Laser tag is fun. They do have different specials to make things a bit more family budget friendly. For example half price Wednesday or $9.99 for two hours from 9-11 on another night. At half price, it's still a costly hour. read more

We went to Spare Time to celebrate my Granddaughters 9th birthday.Everyone had a good time and fun.There was 8 of us so we ordered a variety of food.It was all good. I noticed there were several other kids birthdays being celebrated. read more

This review is more for a birthday party than the facility itself. The facility itself seems nice from what I saw, albeit a bit overpriced compared to Easy Day. Anyhow, had a double birthday party for two of our boys, born one year and one day apart. Chose the laser tag party. Let me tell you, these parties are not cheap. So, the whole way over we were strategizing. Who would be on who's team, plans and what not, as boys do. So, shocking to us when, after hundreds of dollars, the public was allowed to partake in our laser tag matches.... now am I being crazy here or shouldn't we at least get a few private matches? Anyhow I digress. We get 2 pizzas included with our party. We asked for one all pepperoni and one half pepperoni and half cheese. Was informed there'd be an up charge for that. I just stood there and finally said... fine. Our host seemed ok at the start, but about 15 minutes into the party, our 'private' host disappeared. To get drink refills and plates for the cake I had to go to the counter myself. It was strange. What was I paying for? Obviously just the room. And some game card. Which the video games cost a lot. I even put in $50 more dollars for more games for all the kids, and still they only got to play a few each. Overall, just not worth the money. Not helpful. Not worth it in general. Yes they each get a bowling pin for everyone to sign. That part is cool. But aside from that, the lack of even a single private game is weird. Lack of our host even more weird. Just, go elsewhere. Anywhere else. Urban Air did an amazing party for us, for less cost. Just trust me. read more

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Wow, this place has really received a total transformation from the Yankee Lanes of old! New, fresh and improved in every way. Large welcoming bar/ lounge areas. State of the art arcade, with tons of games, virtual and many more. Spare Time was super busy when we arrived. We got beers and appetizers prior to bowling. Our server/ mixologist extraordinaire was Amy. She was the bomb, both professional and friendly. Plenty of local brews on tap, a well stocked bar, and an extensive menu. Beers were fresh, appetizers were fresh and hot. Great experience! Bowling lanes were well maintained, and really comfortable seating area at our lane. Stand up tablets to keep score. Fun time and cannot wait to return. Great way to spend a leisurely Saturday. Highly recommend! read more

WOW! What a great time my class and I had bowling at Saretimre. Yes, I said class. I took my PE class bowling and they had a great time. Kudos go to the staff at Spare time for providing these youngsters an opportunity to try bowling, some for the first time. The gentleman at the counter, Adam was very helpful providing my group with water and cups. He even helped up with the digital bowling scoring system. read more

Spare Time - Portland - Time to Bowl - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

This is a great bowling alley!!! Lots of space, clean, fun vibe that includes dining a bar space. I was totally impressed by the drinks and food selections. I honesty didn't expect bowling alley food to be so good!!! However, Spare Time exceeded my expectations in quality and hospitality. This is a great environment for families as it is spacious and houses a laser tag. This will certainly be my go to for bowling. read more

Our server was good. Prices were outrageous. refund policy was not supportive of our needs. We now have a gift card for a place we won't be back to. read more

Was a busy night when we went. Kids running around wild. Place had stuff all over the tables, chairs and on the floor. Didn't see any staff around to keep people safe from getting run into or picking up the mess that was everywhere. read more

Spare Time - Portland - Going for the spare - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

Wow! I have not been to Spare Time/Yankee Lanes in about 5 years and BOY has it changed! Gone are the dusty lackluster lanes, they have been replaced with comfortable table seating and tablet stands to keep score. There are also huge video screens along the back wall playing all kinds of music videos. The night I was there it was an eclectic mix of current hits and 80s classics. Also gone is their sad and tired game room, it has been replaced with a state of the art arcade! The arcade is truly incredible for this area, it has large video screen games, simulation experiences, a cool photo booth and an awesome lazer tag space. Games are played with a swipe card which also doubles as storage for your "points" (no tickets to fumble with). Once you are done, you just take your card to the separate prize redemption room to pick something out. "Prizes" looked far better than the usual crap. I noticed a selfie stick and a cell phone charger for a reasonable redemption amount. The only part that seemed unchanged was the food quality. Ugh! The pizza, nachos and quesadillas we ordered were EXACTLY the same thing we would have gotten in the past. Someone on staff did mention that the last part of their renovation included a complete overhaul of their menu. They plan on expanding to offer a sit down restaurant with significantly improved offerings. Phew! I was also able to pull off a silly last minute "birthday party" for my 23 year old son. Kylie, their event coordinator worked with me in one day to set it all up! Honestly, I had medium to low expectations for this outing, but everyone had a wonderful time! Trust me, it is not easy to find a place to celebrate birthdays with a fun party atmosphere that works for all ages! Portland, this might just be the place! So much more parking and space than the hipster bowling alleys everyone is waiting in lines to get into. Once they overhaul the food, they will be a solid contender! read more

Spare Time - Portland - Galactic Fun - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

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This particular location is known as both Yankee Lanes and Spare Time Bowling if you look them up online. I came here for their Thursday night special: unlimited bowling and pizza for $13, shoes included. Here's a link to their weekly specials: http://sparetimeportland.com/files/u2/openbowling_portland_3.pdf While the $13 for unlimited bowling + shoes is definitely worth it, don't count on filling yourself up on the pizza! It's flatter, colder, and plainer than a leftover Little Caesar's 5-dollar pizza. :( At some point, they turned out the regular lights and the black lights came on; it's fun as long as you're not someone who relies on the guide arrows to help you bowl straight! The crowd is young, probably mostly rowdy high school students, but they have PLENTY of lanes so feel free to ask for a lane a little farther away if you like your peace and quiet. :) read more

We went to Yankee lanes today for a team outing for the company that I work for. It was only 6 of us at the lanes but it was a lot of fun and there were a lot of positives about this place. First was the price ... We got two large pizzas (pepperoni and cheese), two pitchers of Shipyard PumpkinHead Ale and three full frames of bowling for about 58 bucks. The pizza was piping hot and fresh and the beer was ice cold although it was in plastic tall pitchers. The hospitality was great and they treated us like we were the only ones there .. even though we had an entire school of kids there (65 kids). Then surprisingly they turned out the lights and cranked the music (which I have never done) and we had a blast. It has a nice little area of video games for the kids and the bathrooms were very clean. I know, I know it is a bowling alley and they are all pretty much the same but I have seen and been to some pretty bad ones before and this one I will come back with my family for some bowling time! read more

They can't decide what to call themselves. I think they recently got "bought" out by another company and renamed themselves to Spare Time. This used to be the old Yankee Lanes, but I think they are confused themselves. Sign on the building says Yankee Lanes, but the signage on road to pull into the parking lot says Spare Time bowl. Website address says Yankee Lanes, but when you get to the page it says Spare Time. So which is it? Spare Time or Yankee Lanes? Either way, there's plenty of bowling lanes, about ~34? Great for big parties. They also have a restaurant/bar space. Minus stars bc the place is dirty. DO NOT walk off the bowling area w/your personal shoes bc they WILL get dirty. I've bowled at other places back home and the soles of my shoes never got dirty til I started bowling here. I think they need to sweep/wax, do something, CLEAN! read more

Spare Time - Portland - Lanes & plenty of tv to keep up with sports - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

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I have had a number of positive experiences at Spare time recently. Over the summer I went bowling with a large group of family members, they were super accommodating and even though there was a short wait for lanes, they got us in as soon as possible. We ordered the super large pizza, and my boys and nephews couldn't believe how large it was! It fed my entire extended family and was quite tasty! Recently I bought 2 gift cards while they were running a deal. I must have deleted the emails with the QR codes and was sure I was out of luck. I emailed asking for help and within 15 minutes received new codes! Very happy with the customer service read more

Came in to spare time on two different occasions-once for souly the arcade and a second time to hang out in the bowling alley. Our bartender the first time was great, the second time, not so much. Four different groups coming in after us were taken care of, drinks made, while we waited for our checks. read more

This review is solely based on our experience with laser tag. It doesn't matter what age you are, laser tag is awesome and this is a nice field to play on. They have a deal where it's one game for $8 and two for $12. The staff was also extremely helpful. I was here on New Year's Eve and lost my glove. Two attendants went out of their way to locate it and it was recovered. I'd definitely stop by here again. read more

they made me throw away my coffee, another lane has drinks. great job. don't recommend

Wanting to get your game on? We popped in to Spare Time to play in the arcade. It's all up to date and won't eat your money. They had a wide variety of games ranging from arcade classics to new, 3D games. Whether you're looking to win tickets and candy or just looking for a throwback to childhood, there's something here for everybody. Bonus: They're open late and have a full service bar with tvs. read more

Fun place to play. Lanes were clean plenty of seating and there was nearly no body there when we got there at 4:15. I got two little ones. The set up was nice so if it was my turn to bowl I could go without worrying that one of them was getting into trouble behind me. By 6 the place was slammed on a Monday. I believe they have there league on Monday's. So note that read more

2 hour wait on a Saturday night?! Seriously not worth your time. The environment is great, music and lights and crap. But the terrible service, mediocre bar food and ignorant people everywhere make it intolerable. Updated as of 8-19-20! Cooks are not wearing gloves or masks while preparing food, multiple parties let inside without masks despite signs stating "necessary ". They do seem to be effectively sanitizing everything as well as attempting to maintain social distancing. read more

Absolutely love the way this bowling Allie is set up with the galactic lights and music! It is always full of people and of life! A great place to have a group of people for bowling and to bring somebody for their first time! We had an exchange student with us That was able to bowl for the first time along with the adults and other teenagers and some adolescent boys too. Great for everyone of all ages and the laser tag is pretty sweet for friends and family and making new friends too. read more

This is probably THE classic party place! With nice ideas/thoughts and cool scenery. This is the party place to go to! Before you enter the area. You see how big the parking space is! So if you have cramped parking. Just relax! And when you enter. You see the famed bowling alley itself! This bowling alley is not your average bowling alley! With a machine that you can type your name into! Why? For the thing of legends! You have seep rate teams. And you play on for the best bowling! And occasionally some cartoonish little toons! And it tracks your bowling to see which ones you missed! And then the arcade! Just PERFECT! you get your tokens by paying money. Then you use the tokens to play in the arcade. Then you get tickets based on how good you did! Then you cash in the tickets for goodies! My only complaint is that he pricing on the restraint is so pricy! Like 15.50 for a pizza. Whaaaatt? Overall. This a great place to go for partying! If you want to have a place for great bowling and just about everything else. Go here! read more

I've been here tons of times and its wonderful! The bowling is super affordable and totally worth the price. The name change is confusing but the bartender told me that they are in the process of a company wide remodel- not a buy out. The drink specials are awesome and creative and super cheap! The staff is friendly and accommodating. I recommend the baked cheese fries and the buffalo chicken nachos! Huge servings and super tasty! Come on Thursday for all you can bowl and free cheese pizza!!!! There is also karaoke on the weekends. Great for young crowds, family's and league bowling! read more

Unfortunately, our first and only visit to this place was a huge disappointment. I called ahead like advised to get on a waiting list for a lane for our family of 4 people. We got there and were told it would still be an hour wait. They gave us game card with $5 on them to use in the arcade to pass the time. Nearly every game was broken or out of order and the ones I tried just took the money with no game. We asked after 40 minutes where we were on the list and were told 4th and the lanes open were reserved for birthday parties. Why book birthday parties with limited lanes open? After nearly an hour of waiting we left. If the staff had been honest with us when I called ahead, we could have planned our day differently. What a waste of time. read more

The renovation has done wonders for this place. It's beautiful. Yesterday was a very busy day at Spare Time. I am going to assume most winter weekends are with birthday parties and beer drinking parents. We started off on one lane. Three adults, one kid and a baby. After probably fifteen minutes we were approached by someone who works there asking us to move lanes as they needed our lane for a party. So, we move. Our next lane was fine the waitress was absent. I had to search her down to place an order, search her down to the pay the bill. The food was subpar. The pizza was fine not great just fine. The salad was fresh. The onion rings were slightly over cooked. Overall we spent less than a $100 dollars (which is still an insane amount of money for what we for) for 4 bud lights, a pizza, salad, onion rings, two games of bowling (had a buy one get one free coupon) and four shoe rental. read more

Spare Time - Portland - Cheese pizza - Bowling Near Me - Portland, Maine

Was having a great time up until one of the games I was playing broke. I tried to get help from the staff and they looked at me like I was an idiot. I had 63 plays left on the first machine and they had no idea what that meant. It was .75 cents for 12 plays, but if you swiped your card more times you earned more "free" plays. So i swiped 5 times which gave me 75 plays. It broke at 63. When I talked to the staff they told me that they could only swipe once each time and so she swiped and said she would come back around, she never did. So I went and got her again after she never returned and she swiped her card again. She waited for a minute and swiped it again and left. I waited around for a while and decided to try the one next to it which was the same game. That one broke again after a while. I had 43 plays left on that one and I got a new guy to help me. He swiped his card and walked away to help with people with laser tag. I had to get a different staff member to get him a few minutes later because he was the only available person who could help comp me. He didn't understand why I needed his help again and I explained to him that I had more plays left that he was supposed to comp me. He swiped the card one more time and left. I was so angry over the whole situation that I just decided to leave. I will be contacting a manager about this whole ordeal. read more

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I recently started getting back into bowling and visit this place at least a couple of times a week. Staff is always friendly, place is always clean and well maintained. Bowling leagues are extremely active. Food is pretty good, and affordable. Nice place! read more

I was celebrating my 35th birthday on April 3rd 2021 at Spare Time on Riverside Str. I had 18 adult guests and about 12 little children. I want to thank Kylie S. (the event planner) for her professionalism. She set up a very nice buffet for us at the restaurant area. All food was served on time. Our server Kelly was always nearby to take the continuous drink orders for ALL my guests. We really liked her. We had the laser game (3 times) and rented 2 bowling lanes. Kylie was kind enough to work with us in terms of the time adjustment for the games. When time came for the second laser game the staff member (a young lady) was happy to come over and remind us about our turn. We were allowed to bring our own cake with candles. Every single guest (an adult and a kid) was super pleased and delighted at the end of the evening. I received a very reasonable bill at the end and don't regret a penny spent there. The most importantly, I, as the birthday person, now have super fantastic memories about my celebration! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO EVERYONE! read more

I was visiting friends in Portland and we came here, on a whim, on Labor Day. We basically had the place to ourselves and it was great. The bowling alley is very modern and comfortable, with electronic scorekeeping (this may not be a big thing, but it's been a while since I bowled last). I was also really impressed with the service. The young lady working the counter was very friendly, which was a nice way to start. Once we were seated in the bowling alley, we had a great server who checked on us several times, before we ordered our food and I actually commented that we had better table service there than we'd had the night before at a pricey restaurant across town. Our food was a nice surprise, yes, it's just bar food, but it was actually good and prepared by someone who cared and didn't just throw some stuff on a plate (most important, in my opinion). Our two veggie burgers, fried pickles, chicken quesadilla, cowboy tots and Buffalo chicken Caesar wrap were all well-received. The place was also very clean, which isn't always something I equate with a bowling alley. Overall, it was a great way to spend an evening and I look forward to visiting the next time I'm in town. read more

Totally redone and amazing! They apparently blew out the whole interior and did a complete redesign! Games are awesome, a huge bar and grill area, colorful lit bowling alley, music pumping, laser tag -- the list goes on! For a cool place to spend some time, this place rocks! read more