THE BARREL — Restaurant in Estes Park

Did not know smelling someones beer was grounds for being kicked out of your establishment and having the cops called on us..but what would be expected after having very valid IDs checked for 5 minutes (had to be checked at every angle)and being watched like hawks once we stepped foot inside. Most our group decided to buy beverages except one, who from the get go was told no due to an expired DL...understandable. Couldn't even get an order in because the person taking our order, which happened to be the manager, could not seem to take her eyes off our table. Obviously she was waiting for the opportune time to try and humiliate us by kicking us out. Well she saw the opportunity and took it, even though she couldn't actually see anything we were doing considering our backs were to her, strange. I've never seen any kind of manager with such a belligerent attitude, yelling for us to "GET OUT! GET OUT NOW!" and what professional behavior from your bartender shouting from his area trying to intervene and make matters worse. I can understand how the apple doesnt fall far from the tree, but I'm sure he was just doing as he was taught. I'm more than certain this will fall on deaf ears since your bartender stated, and I quote, "we could run our mouths to whoever we want about our experience, but the owner is going to have their employees back no matter what", all while belittling our situation and laughing it up with the other few guests you had. Estes Park had never failed us until we stumbled upon your place. Oh and someone should probably tell your "manager" Margot she should think twice about calling the cops and making false police reports when she herself stated they have cameras all over the place. Still waiting for the footage of the "drinking beer with fake IDs". Lying to the police is frowned upon where we're from.

Updated considering the BS of a response from the owner - Lol what a joke...you must be the owner. It amazes me how someone can just blatantly lie...guess this is a good place to work if you want to get away with anything and everything...good on your employees. The two employees must have been the Manager and Bartender present huh...witnesses must have been the patrons making a mockery of us...what a sorry excuse of a business and upper management. This response doesnt really surprise me considering the facts in my story. Actually the only reason she quit yelling was because she was told she "was not going to speak to us in the manner she was" but of course your bartender was right.....no matter what...the owner was gonna have their back...and sure...you are under no obligation to share video footage....funny though...wouldn't you want to clear your name if we were lying.If any of this were true, then when the police arrived I’m sure there would’ve been repercussions for this “drinking of alcohol”. Lol the police man and woman both agreed that manner in which your employees were behaving was unacceptable but as they said “it’s a privately owned bar, so we’re so sorry but unless the owner takes disciplinary measures, there is nothing we can do.” We know the truth but as I can see from other reviews, you’re quick to lie to save face. Save your lies for another situation you encounter down the road. Storming up to someone and saying “you NEED TO GET OUT!! Get out now!” Is NOT politely asking. Lying to the police also (which I have on video myself of your “manager” doing) your “manager” on the clock also stated there were cameras (thank you for letting us know) which we have also already spoken to police about retrieving. Her body language was also very unacceptable and defensive which the police also witnessed the “manager” swiftly walking from the bar in rage yelling “YOUR ID IS FAKE! It’s fake!!!” The police officer had to take matters into his own hands and tell her to get back and to go back to the bar where she then kept yelling trying to get around him. Lying to the police also could have led to a more serious matter I hope...

DO NOT host your event here. I was supposed to host my wedding reception here June 2 in a private room, which I put a $500 deposit down for at the beginning of March. The site was still under construction and the owner Ingrid told me it was going to be finished in just a couple short weeks, so I assumed if it were that far along, the most the construction could be delayed was another month or max two, plenty of time until June 2. (I should also mention I was planning this from Indianapolis, so I was planning remotely.) As I reached out in April and May to confirm plans and our room, she took weeks to respond, but assured us the room would be finished. At the beginning of May, she emailed me "We will have the indoor beer hall open before Memorial Day weekend" The week before our wedding she emailed and told me the room will not be ready, but she has reserved a tent for us. Then FOUR DAYS before my wedding she said the tent couldn't fit outside, but they could reserve some picnic tables for us, but they weren't shutting down the space to other patrons-- everything was always very unapologetic and absolutely no admission of fault, I might add. So our wedding would be in the same space as a bunch of strangers drinking with loud, live music, trying to make sure others did not eat from our buffet and wedding cake-- not exactly what we were promised. I attempted to call her repeatedly, finally got one phone meeting set up-- which she forgot and never called because her child had the flu-- (we spoke once after that but it was before we knew there would be no tent), then she continually ignored our phone calls and voicemails as we were scrambling to try to figure something out. She would just ignore us, then send random emails that did not answer any of our questions. Like: I have a solution, we can set up your wedding here. (Photo attached below.) You can clearly see why that was a comical, and actually felt like a really rude suggestion, to host our wedding in the middle of a construction zone. We tried to be as reasonable as we could, and thought the only solution was to shut down the beer garden for a couple hours to give us the private space promised. She said they hired a band already and won't do that. She also informed us a week before the wedding that she "forgot" she wouldn't even be there that weekend to meet up with us because she was attending her brother's wedding, leaving her manager to deal with the situation he knew absolutely nothing about. (As in, he didn't even know our wedding was that weekend.) When I arrived there, construction was everywhere, there were only port-a-potties, the space was too small for Ingrid to ever think a tent could fit, and the manager was clearly upset he was left to deal with an angry family whose situation he knew nothing about. She clearly knew before Tuesday that the event couldn't be hosted there. We, of course, know construction does not always go as planned, but after being reassured that it would be done, and had no communication whatsoever, the situation could have clearly been handled in a much different way. We ended up moving our wedding, obviously, spending the Thursday before my wedding at a destination location looking at venues that were still available, changing locations with all our vendors, buying decor for our new space, and trying to get over the situation Ingrid put us in which it was supposed to be a relaxing and fun weekend for us and our families. The space for a beer or two is nice, but I could never bring myself to be a patron at a place whose owner cares so little about the people she serves.

The lack of empathy from this owner astonished me. I have seen she has continued to do this to other brides since, without any more than a week or two warning. I could go on and on, but I will spare you. Just obviously would never recommend this...

This review has specifically to do with our experience planning our wedding Welcome Party at The Barrel.

We received the following email ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY DAYS after our private event contract was signed by both parties (and JUST 17 DAYS before our expected event):

It has finally come to our attention that a major error was made by our previous event manager. It is with a heavy heart that I must relay some very unfortunate news. Due to the previous event manager’s error, we are going to have to cancel your event.

Please let us know the exact date payment for the reservation was made so that we can refund you the full amount.

We greatly apologize and ask for your understanding.

Have a great day!

We initially received zero explanation as to why they were cancelling. Upon asking for an explanation, they claimed that they double-booked and the other party wanted the ENTIRE SPACE & apparently signed their contract in January of 2023 (our contract was signed in March of 2023).

This is after our wedding planner spoke with their CURRENT event planner on to confirm ALL OF THE DETAILS a week ago.

The Owners, Ingrid & Lou Bush, have not even had the courtesy or integrity to reach out to us and apologize. Instead, they are hiding behind their staff and blaming it on a "previous event manager" (assuming this is even the real reason and they didn't just get a bigger event with more potential revenue).

Ingrid & Lou - when you hire a new person, the first thing you would do is go over all of the existing contracts that you have in place. As the Owners, THIS IS ON YOU. Hiding behind this type of excuse shows exactly what type of people you are, and all we can say is "good luck" running your business in the long term when you treat people like this. It sounds like from reading other reviews that much of the general public has already figured you out.

So here we are, with our event in 17 days, scrambling to find a place that will host 45+ people.

DO NOT TRUST THESE OWNERS...