Once a strategic defence point of Gibraltar back in the 18th century you could be forgiven most weekends into thinking that war had broken out again with the noise generated from inside the old Garrison. But times change and even buildings have to adapt, Cannon balls have been replaced with bowling balls and hostile invaders have been replaced with space invaders. As recently as the 1970's the building was used to provide electricity to the whole of Gibraltar but these days or to be more specific since the 1st of March 2008 this prime located building has been a fun retreat for children and adults alike
Situated between Queensway and Line wall road the centre has at least 3 access points that I know of. The picture above shows the entrance from the Queensway road but for those coming from main street who have difficulty walking there is also an entrance off the Line wall road which leads to two lifts.
If you do enter the building from the Queensway road location you are in for a mini history lesson. Although it's a very short tunnel from the street to the main bowling hall this little tunnel is full of information and memorabilia. It's worth taking 10 minutes to stop and take in the information on show.
Me and my family have spent many hours at the centre and it has never been so quiet and empty as it was tonight but with the fairgrounds opening night across the road it was understandable.
Apart from bowling on the ground floor there are approximately 40 different gaming machines and If my amazing memory serves me well it will set you back £1 per go on each of them.
Now don't get me wrong I love Gibraltar it's a safe haven for the kids, Cars are not needed as everything is within walking distance, If you're feeling homesick there are little things that override the feeling like branded shops, Bars, Currency and people.
There are however little annoyances that niggle like customer service and fair play. I will get to that in a later blog. The point I want to make is I think Kings Bastion apart from one incident is the only place in Gibraltar where as a family we get good customer service at a reasonable price.
Actually it's two incidents the later one being 2 weeks ago. The wife and I took the kids bowling. That was all we planned on doing. The drinks and crisps turned out to be very reasonable. I can't remember the exact figure but it wasn't on the dark side. Then something happened that triggers generosity in me...I won. Granted there was a little cheating on my side when my wife bowled but I beat the 9 and 7 year old fair and square. In fact I even helped the 7 year old with this big metal bowling aid every time it was her go.
Anyway back to the point. I was feeling good. We had received excellent customer service, Nothing was to much trouble. So after beating all my enemies in that historic room, I stood there, I looked around and I wanted to bellow is there no one?. Is there no one else.
I decided as conqueror to reward my people. So with a crisp £10 note I approach the service area and ask for 10 £1 coins so the kids could play on the arcade games and have a chance of winning something. The girl behind the counter points towards a change machine and tells me that's where I need to go. Upon the machine eating my money and giving nothing in return I approached the young lady again with my predicament. Her reply was sorry can't help the machine has nothing to do with us. To cut a long story short I knew one of the security guards on duty at the time and it was sorted...After 30 minutes. If you ever read this thanks Dave.
The Ice rink also provides great entertainment for families.
Kings Bastion also provides 2 cinema screens showing most of the latest blockbusters. It's a shame that the two kids above didn't show the same fighting spirit on the bowling alley.
Yeah think about it.
When all's said and done I really can't fault this place. The kids love it and when they genuinely have a good time so do I. If you want to let them play on the kids one armed bandits it's going to cost you. If you want to bond and relate on a mutual level a family of four can spend a couple of hours bowling or watching a movie and leave knowing good memories have been made and it was and is worth every penny. Here's the link visit and make your own mind up. http://www.kingsbastion.gov.gi/
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