Maybe you can judge a book by the cover! The outside of this place looks pretty divey, with a pot holed filled massive parking lot, right off of 63th street! I have drove by this place hundreds of times and had to check it out for myself! Lucky for me my son and I have been bowling almost every Monday evening this summer, so why not try out a new spot! This place is right out of 1978. And I love it! It's no surprise that I would dig this place.. I love dive bars, I love old meccas of fun, I love old design, and hey any place with a wall that looks like a velvet Elvis material wins my heart! Music pumping, tons of lanes, lots of old video games (basket ball, pool, crane machines, and skee ball that may or may not take your money but not let you play!) As far as the bowling goes it's pretty old school. The lady at the counter has to put your names in! I do dig that the bumpers can go up and down for different players! So the 2 adult bowlers could bowl without bumpers even though we could have used them sometime! I did get 5 strikes in a row, but still managed to only bowl a 150.. Ug I'm no good at this! Lots of the balls have no weights on them, but they do have a weird ball chart on the wall! The kids shoes my son wore looked like they had been pulled out of some dumpster from 1967.. But hey when in Rome! We had a great time here, had some beer and had a lot of fun! A little pricer than other bowling spots in town, but totally worth the trip back in time! Just remember to wash your hands when you are done! read more

If I could I would give this place zero stars. The owner is completely rude she treated everyone very rude and was trying to rush people out the door. Was there for my nephews birthday party we ordered pizza plus some of the people in our group wanted to order stuff after an hour of wait they came up and told us they weren't going to make any of the food and only make food for the party of 60 that came in after us who keep in mind had Domino's delivered when they arrived. Also when people went up to ask about the food they ordered and paid for the owner came up and said we are not changing our mind on the pizzas. read more

I mean, it's a run-of-the-mill bowling alley from the outside so don't go in expecting anything fancy. But my most recent experience back in 2018 was completely fucked. Water damage on the ceiling, the nastiest bathroom (if you could even call it that) I've seen, and ancient equipment. On top of that, the owners obviously didn't wanna be there; they were so rude to our group. Don't patronize this piece-of-shit place. read more

I haven't been bowling in a while. While waiting for my late flight out of Des Moines, my buddy suggested we do a few rounds here. I had no idea the amount of technology that has become part of bowling now. This place has some really cool graphic representations of your bowling habits and pin placement. It's almost impossible to be bad nowadays! But...the place is kinda junky. Lots of broken and stained ceiling tiles. The carpet was warped and old. The exterior had seen FAR better days. But that's how I remember bowling alleys. And it was more expensive than I expected. 42 bucks for 4 rounds. But it's not really a complaint...more of an expectation. Like I said, I haven't been bowling in many years. Nostalgia reigns supreme here. And beers are crazy cheap! read more

A classic location. Frequently broken lanes and poor food service, but I'll never bowl anywhere else if I can help it

The staff was very grumpy and unprofessional. The place is dirty and the equipment is old and doesn't work well. I wouldn't recommend.

It's a bowling alley, so it's not like one's expectations should be high. But between the surly owner, his clueless help, and the worn out equipment, our experience was not good. Constantly waiting for them to clear ball and pin jams (every two or three throws!) made two frames take forever. When we compllainednto the owner, his answer to my wife was, "We got jams on a lot of lanes, lady." We finally had to leave without finishing our second game (balls and pins jammed for the umpteenth time). We mentioned it to the owner's wife, who shrugged and charged us full price anyway ($150 for two families of four). Save your time and money; go somewhere else. Val Lanes is a dump. read more

Very friendly staff. I went there a couple days ago and they were able to get me a lane very quickly. It's an olde bowling alley but I like it. They have a very large arcade area and lots of appealing games. read more

Val Lanes Recreation Center - Sign - Bowling Near Me - West Des Moines, Iowa

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The man working was extremely rude when we were there with a larger group. I haven't had someone get into my face and be so rude as he was. Will never go again. It is no way to talk to customers even if you are busy and can't handle the stress. He Should not run a business. He was rude to others in the group as well and practically pushed my child out flog the way to get past him. Would never go back. read more

My buddies tried to get in the bowling alley, but u goofy employees didn't let them in for some reason.U should treat my buddies with more respect read more

The music was pretty good, but other than that I would not recommend this place. It cost over 50 dollars to bowl 5 games - at Colonial Lanes in Iowa City it costs half that, if not less. The lanes were all crammed in there. There was no room for comfortable seating, so tables were lined up and it was very crowded. Everything felt gross but that's typical for a bowling alley. I just can't get over the price. For the quality of the bowling experience and the overall atmosphere, it's just not worth it in any way. read more

I'm extremely upset in doing this but I'm forced to give Val lanes a one star due to its poor customer service and not to mention their ashy lanes. I spoke to a man over the phone and he was no help. Claiming the owner was a professional bowler I was quickly on to him about that one, coming from a frequent hardcore bowler like myself I know that anyone with any respect for the lane would simply not allow for non lubricated lanes. Coming to Val lanes I like to lube up my balls before rolling them down the strip. read more

Was in Des Moines last weekend for a wedding and had an entire day to kill. We decided to google "what to do in Des Moines when it's raining", and this place popped up. I felt like I was transformed back into the 60's the second I walked in. It was very old school, but had food, a bar, and lot's of games including air hockey, pool, and other arcade games. We had a blast! We ordered a couple pitchers of beer, a couple apps and food, bowled two games, and rented shoes and our total...drum rollll - $20 a person!! You just can't beat those prices! The staff was great, all super friendly helpful. If you are ever in West Des Moines, Iowa - I definitley recommend stopping by this transformation back in time for a fun day of bowling! read more

First of all fellow yelpers, when we were paying for our bowling, it cost $9 and I payed with a $10 and they didn't give me my dollar back. When we go to our lane, there were multiple issues, we asked multiple times for assistance and they didn't help. They eventually moved us to a different lane and it had multiple issue as well. The bathroom looked like they haven't been cleaned in a year This H2O is not ideal for hydration. I'll be taking my talents to warrior lanes from here on That being said, this place sucks booty checks. Btw, dem shoes be crusty as hell smh. They also didn't glow in the dark and the support provided for my metatarsals are atrocious read more

This place used to be the hot spot back when I was a child, but now it's one of the most run down depressing bowling alleys I've ever seen. The ceiling looked like it had been through hell, the bowling balls all were dirty, greasy, and chipped. The everything needs to be updated badly. But that's not why I'm writing this review, this review is because of how my family was treated when we asked for help. It all started off when we paid for two games and when we got our shoes the lady threw them at us like we were playing baseball. When we got to our lane we asked for the bumpers up, as I had two small boys and a small girl with a broken arm that wanted to bowl. When we first asked we were told to "try it without bumpers first". Ok, lady, you can try telling us without the attitude first. We tried it without bumpers and surprise surprise, the kids weren't hitting anything. So we go up and ask again and the lady called us "Babies" for asking again. Sorry the actual children wanted the bumpers. The bumpers hardly even worked as the people had to physically come out and put multiple wooden blocks under the bumpers, so I kinda felt bad but the worst has yet to come. We got to round 3 of our first game and a pin had trapped all our bowling balls back and we weren't getting the balls back. So off we go back to the front to ask the lady what the deal is. Once we told her she radio'd "lane 7!" And shooed us away. The nerve! Well we waited for about 15 minutes before we had to go back up, and when we did they just sent us to another lane. Once we got to the other lane it was kind of smooth sailing until we asked for the bumpers up again, and that was a whole can of worms I'm not even gonna get into. All in all this place needs to be shut down, and remodeled badly. Owners, y'all need to go to anger management classes while you guys fix up the place. Once y'all do that I'll come back. read more

Nice place to bowl for cheap! It may not be the best upkept place out there but it is a bowling alley. Lots of lanes, a bar and bar food. There is also pool, an air hockey table and misc other mini games. The staff is nice and the place is not too busy. The price was very reasonable. The drinks and food are also decently priced. read more

Do you want water leaking from the ceiling while you play? Do you want to see black mold everywhere you look? Do you want to avoid buckets every 5 steps that are trying to catch water? Do you want to look up in the bathroom and see poop smeared with a brush along the ceiling? Do you want to slip on your approach and hurt yourself because the lanes are as poorly maintained as the staffs hygiene? Then this is the place for you! read more

Staff was less than helpful. I stood in line for 10 min and no one acknowledged me. Would not recommend.

Not impressed on busy Friday night. Multiple lane malfunctions, under staffed Friday night. Bartender was a little slow with service, drinks were good. read more

Went for the best Saturday night of my life. The dudes (Anthony and Cody) at the shoe rental were fast, knowledgable and top notch with a passion for bowling and service. Will be back. Making sure to use my crest white strips so my smile glows in the black lights forever. read more

I was very excited to go bowling with my family. When we got here, an angry older man with glasses and a woman who i presumed to be his wife were extremely rude. I was going to have my kids birthday party here, but these two wrecked the experience. Our lane kept clogging up with balls and the older man put it on us. All of the workers were also extremely rude. If you are trying to have a family friendly experience, do NOT come here - the workers are awful. read more

Pick a different bowling alley. The first staff member I talked to was not very friendly. She seemed annoyed we were there. Not to mention she forgot to put my name in and misspelled my daughters easy name even though I spelled both for her. The bumper was broken for my kids lane so we had to get that figured out. Then only half the bumper came up. Hardly anyone was there bowling but they never offered another lane. The bowling balls were in horrible condition with huge gashes in them. There was only one speaker playing music so you could hardly hear it over the balls rolling down the lane. The toy vending machine ate both of my kids $ without giving the toy. My son said the men's restroom smelled like beer and urine. We won't be back. Too many other bowling alleys have improved their facilities that $32 for four people to bowl one game in a run down alley is not worth it. read more

Would be a decent place to bowl, although could use some upkeep, however our balls kept not returning ALL night. Not sure if it was just our lane (6) or if it was happening to others too. We had to go wait in line to get them to have someone get our balls to return. A game took about twice as long as it should have. Bathrooms were filthy and stinky. read more

I am super disappointed in the place. Every time I come in here the people are always so rude. Also the ceiling looks like it's going to come falling down (water damage everywhere) definitely not well maintained. Will not be returning to this establishment! read more

Great facility! A lot of fun and staff is really nice. They also play a lot of different kinds of music so it's a great atmosphere for all walks of people. read more

Fairly disappointed, they're always understaffed and the people running the front desk will make you wait the 15min for them to put all the shoes away before they take all day to assign you a lane and even when u get to the lane it'll malfunction. Food here is also absolutely disgusting, their pizza's are literally frozen pizza that you could get for $3 at the store but they sell them for $9 and a pitcher of soda is $5 which they also charged me $5 for a refill when it isn't even that big. Older guy that's always their is always eating food and tries to talk but end up spitting food everywhere read more