Laraway Lanes - New Lenox, Illinois

Jenna S.

We hadn’t been bowling in years and were excited to go as a family. However, the experience quickly turned frustrating. When reserving a lane, we felt rushed and simply stated that we had six people. When it came time to pay, I clarified that two of those were children under three, and one adult wouldn’t be bowling. Despite this, we were told that everyone—including non-bowlers—had to pay full price, including shoe rental.

It was surprising to learn that just sitting near a lane required payment. My husband, who didn’t bowl, inquired further after we paid, only to be told there were no refunds and was pointed to a sign. At $66 for three adults (and an occasional toddler) to play a single game, the cost felt excessive.

While we understand businesses have policies, better communication upfront and some flexibility for young children and non-bowlers would have made for a much better experience.

Nicole S.

Went in today with 7 people from a nonprofit. Longs story short, there is a right and wrong way to speak to paying costumers. Clearly the culture here is overall not good for the employees based on other reviews I have read.

So here’s the story. I haven’t been here since I was in the school where the owners wife works. We used to go on field trips here. The nonprofit I work for has a deal with another bowling alley in Joliet. They allow us to eat lunch at their establishment but I was not aware that I went to the wrong bowling alley. I did not see the no food allowed sign walking in helping 7 people with varying levels of disabilities. We all payed 10.75 for one game and they gave us two lanes. There was some confusion during the paying process which was absolutely due to a mistake one of my people made when paying. and when I explained to the man running the cash register that he forgot to charge one of my people he pulled two stacks of money out of the drawer to start counting and said “oh my god with these separate payments” I again had to explain to him that I was not asking for money back but explained one of my people did not pay. After this I brought my people to the lanes and they sat to eat their lunch while I got the lanes set up. At this time maybe 7 lanes were full. A few more groups might have walked in but by no means was it busy. The owner came over and asked what organization we were with. He said first of all we do not allow people to eat in here obvious by the signs on the door. Also you guys are taking up way to much space ( they where at four tables each lane has 3 tables by it). Finally he said this is my busiest night of the year and said there is no way they can bowl fast enough if they are eating between turns. Bet it wouldn’t be an issue if they were eating your 15 dollar tombstone pizza. Any way now that one of my ladies was crying and asking to leave he left us alone. I explained to them that they have every right to be here. They paid as much as anyone else and even when we left there were open lanes. I hope things change around here as this is the bowling alley I came to as a kid but I will certainly never be back to find out.

Happy holidays everyone!

Andrew A. H.

I've been coming to Laraway Lanes for 30 years, and it has always been our go-to spot for events, parties, or just a fun night out. Unfortunately, my recent experiences have been disappointing. It's disheartening to see the current management and staff exhibit such a lack of professionalism and courtesy. The man at the counter was incredibly rude and dismissive, and the woman working the bar wasn't much better. I understand that working weekends or nights can be tough, but treating paying customers with disrespect is unacceptable. Bowling has become expensive, and with so many other options available, it’s hard to justify coming back here if the service continues to be this poor. It's a shame, because this place used to be a local favorite. I’ll definitely be looking elsewhere for my future bowling outings.

graciela H.

Horrible service, the guy at the register had the nastiest attitude and is absolutely racist. We were the only hispanics there and he let others go in front of me while i was already waiting for 15 minutes. Do not go there..

Shelby R.

I do not live in New lenox but they did a great job hosting my daughter's birthday. They were patient and got everyone's order and they were so nice. Love coming here everytime we always have a ball

Edgar M.

Being constantly reminded about what time to be done bowling is very annoying especially when we have to wait for lane issues to be resolved. The man at the shoe counter has got to go he is not friendly. Also whats up with 2 chicken tenders per order? Thankfully better alleys are around.

Amber N.

Heads up, this is a small, old bowling alley with no modern updates. My husband and I came here for a date night. We originally bought two games with shoes. The first issue we had was adding a second player to the game. The man behind the shoe counter said it was a user issue that happens all the time but I know I made no mistake, it was actually on their end. Especially when I saw it happen to the person next to us too and they also made no mistake. Then we had another issue where we had to reset the pins. The next complaint is that the walking area just before the black line was very slippery which it shouldn’t be. Made for a very cautious bowl as we did not want to hurt ourselves. Our biggest complaint is with the staff. We were having fun so we bought another game but it didn’t start the game right after. My husband then went to the man behind the shoe counter and notified him of our issue. He accused us of not paying saying he’d let it slide. This bowling alleys staff tried to stiff us out of our money saying we didn’t pay for it when we actually paid in cash. This put such a very bad taste in our mouth that we probably would consider another bowling alley. This incident is a huge red flag considering it’s probably one of the smallest bowling alley’s I’ve ever been to. If you’re in this establishment, get receipts because their staff doesn’t know how to do their job right. After reading other reviews of this place we realize this is a common complaint of rude staff. I’m surprised they are still in business to be honest.

Eric S.

Wonderful service. Staff was friendly and helpful. Thank you for an awesome bowling experience..