Having undergone a £500,000 renovation a year and a half ago, the latest offering gives a little extra gloss to the bowling experience.

The Comet: Hollywood Bowl in Stevenage.Hollywood Bowl in Stevenage. (Image: Archant)

The VIP lanes offer more privacy, comfy cushioned seats and glow in the dark bowling balls which certainly stand out with their American pool ball appearance.

But the stand out option is having your own personal waiter or waitress for the evening. While drinking on the job, so to speak, isn’t probably advisable when it comes to posting a big score – it was great to be able to quench your thirst at will.

Our host was very attentive, but never overbearing.

The whole package provides a great party experience, and that was exactly what was going on in the lane next to ours.

The Comet: The American dining area at Hollywood Bowl in Stevenage.The American dining area at Hollywood Bowl in Stevenage. (Image: Archant)

As for the bowling, well the less said about that the better!

I was comprehensively beaten, but can’t really blame that on anyone but myself.

Still, it was great fun all the same and very easy to switch the barriers up and down on the touch screen – a temptation I did avoid myself.

You can order food at your lane too, but we chose to eat in the sitting area near the bar.

There’s no surprises here – it’s an American diner experience which will be familiar to most. But there were certainly no complaints and the burgers and hot dogs were promptly polished off.

So if you fancy some family fun or a night out with mates, you’re bound to be bowled over.

To book a lane visit www.hollywoodbowl.co.uk/our-centres/stevenage.