Bowlerama Rexdale — Attraction in Toronto

Pretty clean and fun bowling alley. The restrooms were tidy and not gross at all, TP and paper towels were stocked. (click for more, long review...)

It's clear that their maintenance is very good.

The 10-pin lanes' scoring sensors seem to work pretty accurately, we only had one score correction in 3 games with 8 people and the staff are friendly.

Our pin racking never failed while we were there and I only heard a technician called over to another lane once, the whole time we were there and the 10-pin lanes were packed.

No outside food or drinks is allowed. The snack bar is clean and well stocked, grilled-cheese is the only vegetarian option but this is a bowling alley so that is not unreasonable. The fries and onion rings use vegetable oil so they are probably vegan-friendly. The coffee is good. They also sell beer and alcohol coolers. They sell Coca-Cola products (not Pepsi Co). There are plastic forks and knives to help if you want to avoid touching your food directly while you bowl (which would be gross).

Excellent collection of different bowling balls to choose from, cleanly and properly organized and colour-coded by weight (this can be a frustrating mess at some bowling alleys but it was good here the day we went). I tried on two different pairs of rental shoes, both in good repair and neither were smelly.

The scoring computers display "amusing" bowling cartoons announcing certain shots (strike, turkey, gutter-ball etc) which obstruct the score sheet while they're playing, maybe good for corporate events and families, but if you are a more serious bowler these animations can be turned off if you ask the staff.

Pretty much my only two complaints are these, and they are minimal:

The hand-soap in the restrooms carries a very strong smell similar to barbicide. I'm sure it must be anti-bacterial in nature which makes sense for hands that have been constantly stuck in communal bowling ball holes.

This is common to all bowling alleys in my experience, but the air is extremely dry here so MAKE SURE YOU BRING LIP BALM AND HAND MOISTURIZER if you have dry or sensitive skin. You're going to want the hand lotion after you're finished your bowling (but not during or you'll lose your grip and grease up the balls), and the lip-balm for while you play.

Overall an excellent bowling experience. Will definitely...

Although I haven't set foot inside Bowlerama for over two years, there is something that has been bothering me that I need to share with you here. I have no complaints whatsoever about Bowlerama Rexdale; on the three times that I went there, the building's amenities, bowling alleys and staff members were excellent. I don't bowl.

What is bothering me, even now, was the shocking attitudes of some members of a particular Bowling League. My good friend and neighbour was a longtime member of one of these teams and considered his team mates to be his good friends. Genuine friendship. Competition, too, while bowling but friends nonetheless.

But, after my friend died more than two years ago, only ONE of his team mates had bothered to show up at the Celebration of Life held on a Saturday afternoon in a church auditorium not far from Bowlerama. An invitation for all to attend was generously posted by a Bowlerama employee for all to see; and he made sure that they were aware of the invitation. I know this for a fact.

My friend's wife had ordered and paid for extra catered food for the anticipated number of team mates and other persons that knew her husband through Bowlerama Rexdale.

Again, only one team mate of his showed up, someone who had been a longtime friend of his. The others hadn't expressed in advance one way or the other if they would be attending. It was a shock and disappointment to my friend's wife (and to me) when she noticed at the time that those bowling league "friends" of his weren't there to show their genuine friendship of this good man and to show their support to his loved ones in their time of sorrow.

How could those team members be so mean and thoughtless?

I'm sharing this true story because it points out how you should have realistic expectations of your "friends" on your bowling league team. They could really disappoint you in times of need. Mind you, it's possible that they could be really wonderful and helpful. Please just be careful in opening up your heart in friendship to people on your team. Enjoy...

WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THIS BOWLING PLACE BECAUSE. When I visited the bowlerama the bowl portion was very fun until one of my family members wallet was stolen. When we had noticed it was gone we came back to the bowlerama and asked to have anyone seen it( at the time barely anyone was there). The cashier( the guy with red spiked hair with a large build) answered no along with the other staff ( a blonde female teen & tall slim hairy 18-25 man). The cashier started asking if anyone had the wallet. The manager( large build, balding wired teeth, and bad breath) had to review the tapes but apparently, he had to “have the owner's permission”.10 minutes later we left and got a call from the owner saying the cashier with the red hair was on camera with the wallet. The cashier later changed his story saying he gave it away to a bowling group also the blonde had changed her story saying she gave it to the cashier. The group was still there, they denied having the wallet. ( he didn’t check the id ) leaving us to believe he had taken all or some of the money they gave it to the big group, later was found out that the group had used over $200 (debit card and credit card) on gift cards and gas. Weeks later, I have seen the manager with the cashier eating lunch outside together on many occasions. I believe this was group theft. The owner had not taken any action to fire anyone. I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO THIS...