Hollywood Bowl Poole Tower Park

We visit Hollywood Bowl every week and usually have a great experience at the Bournemouth/Branksome venue. Today, because they were hosting a special event, we brought a group of 21 international students to Tower Park instead. The duty manager was welcoming, helpful, and did his best to accommodate us, which I really appreciated. Unfortunately, the service at the bar was the complete opposite. The member of staff serving drinks was rude, dismissive, and disrespectful to both me and the students. She threw straws onto the bar, never used basic courtesies such as “please” or “thank you,” and spoke to us in a hostile and impatient manner. What was most upsetting was the clear difference in how she treated our group compared with other customers. I saw her being friendly and polite with British customers, while she was cold and dismissive towards our international students. Based on what I witnessed, it felt discriminatory and raised serious concerns about possible racial or nationality-based prejudice. One student handed her a drinks voucher, which she later denied taking. When the duty manager asked her to provide the drink, she forcefully placed a bottle of iced tea on the bar, turned away, and walked off without saying a word. I also heard her say over the radio, “I’m losing it,” which was very unprofessional. As an Activity Leader responsible for international students, I found this behaviour deeply upsetting and completely unacceptable. We regularly bring large groups to Hollywood Bowl because we want our students to feel welcome, but sadly this visit had the opposite effect. The duty manager was excellent, but the bar service seriously let the venue down. I hope this was an isolated incident and that it is properly addressed.

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I messed up my booking (booked the week after half-term 🫣 instead of half-term) but the manager there was really kind and accommodating. They moved my booking and made sure my mistake didn't matter. Other staff I meet seemed equally as kind and helpful. Really impressed and really grateful. Kids loved it and food was really good too.

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Great experience here today . Was served by John, He spoke to us like we were old friends & he made our experience top notch as he gave us the VIP lane .. so comfy & private . We played 2 games of bowling & had a go at the arcade . I got the top score on the basketball game 💪🏻. Good fun afternoon out . Would recommend for all ages !

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UPDATE FROM THE REVIEW BELOW THIS PART: I'm very disappointed. I was promised a 30% refund for all the issues we had. I've chased it today- a week later. Only to be told there is no record of it and it's seeming like I won't recieve what I was promised and rightly owed. Had my sons party there today. Bit of a mess, was told to arrive 15 minutes early so that's what everyone did. Only to be told the party wouldn't start on time and was told to just stand and wait for half hour. Bits here and there went wrong, one of the lanes we were given was sold off despite us needing all 3. All this being said Charlie was very friendly and very helpful. Went above and beyond to rectify issues and couldn't be more apologetic. Props for the food as they didn't have to wait long to get it at all. Once we had access to the party table the food came out within minutes. Thank you Charlie for saving the party!

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