Mad River Barn

I did not have a pleasant stay at the Mad River Barn. ||||I was given a different room downstairs, as we had booked a room that was by the bar upstairs, so they were being nice to us, supposedly. It was myself (middle aged cool mom) and my daughter (studious little 17yr old girl doing a couple of college tours in the area. I had booked a queen bed with 4 twin bed suite. ||Thought maybe the owner was right, of course, trusting their statement of moving us as there was less noise by our room.||||The room seemed more plain, than what I expected, and we had 1 queen plus twin in one room, and I had booked the suite with 2 rooms, so my daughter could have time to herself (she was tired of my nonstop talking in the car for hours!). We took turns using the bathroom to change, wash up, as there was no privacy obviously in the room. It was at that point that I thought I really should have said something to the front desk about being given an inferior room, but we were both in our nightwear, so just figured I'd deal with it, and a bed is a bed.||||First thing I noticed is, a couple of people were walking over a small wooden bridge to the bar/restaurant area, and yes, we were underneath & to the side of that bridge, so had them looking down at us. Very quickly those curtains were closed.||Soon after that I was laying in bed, and daughter sitting on her bed reading, then we have a thump thump, thump thump, coming from the room above us. Yep, we listened to people banging that bed down & very loud about it. My daughter got upset, put her book down, and turned over to sleep, while I lay there trying to do the same thing.||But then I can hear lots of loud voices, just 2 doors down, where the front desk was, good conversation, laughing, people going up & down the wooden steps loudly. Still trying to ignore it all I am then getting a lady throwing up, sounded by the doorway, again 2 doors down. I eventually fell asleep.||I did get to chat with a lovely family from England, during breakfast. We were talking about bacon as it was burnt. We all acknowledged it was burnt, I was not a fan, but both our kids loved it still. Scrambled eggs were okay, they were scrambled eggs, then there were some potatoes that looked decent but I didn't eat (just not a fan of potatoes), and toast. Nothing made to order, all buffet style.||||I talked to the man at the front desk, before we checked out. I asked him where the room was, that had a queen & 4 twins, and he told me they were on the 2nd floor (where the bar was), but at the end of the corridor, so away from the bar. After I then did complain about the noises I heard a lot of the night, he said he was sorry and not sure why we were put in the current room.||||I did contact Mad River Barn, and heard back from Jess the Inn Manager who quoted the "Guarantee" that states that "While we make every effort to accommodate guest room preferences, please understand that changes are sometimes required." The problem with that was that the changes were NOT required, Jess the Inn Manager just took it upon herself to move us to a 'better' room.||||It was not a better room, it was a lesser room.||||So for future travelers, if you do decide to stay there, we had B3 downstairs in the barn. If you need an ADA room then that one is compliant I believe, but be warned it is noisy, and decor is plain, it also has no fridge or microwave (which is stated on the website). Also be aware that the Inn Manager can lie, by telling you they are giving you a better room, when in fact it is a lesser room (not a suite, and is noisier).||||See photos in...

We booked our wedding with the Mad River Barn in 2019 and after finally celebrating 3 years later, we can say without a doubt that this was our best planning decision. The fact that the Mad River Barn can cover so many aspects of the wedding weekend made planning from across the country such an easy experience. The big positives are that your family and friends can stay on site (summer camp vibes!), the MRB can coordinate and host your rehearsal/welcome dinner, reception, and Sunday brunch, and the food and bar services are all in house. The whole property is spectacular with gorgeous landscaping and the pavilion is beautiful as is, so you don't need much in terms of decor to make the space shine. Since the MRB only hosts one wedding each weekend, you really receive incredible, personalized service the entire time.||||Most importantly, the MRB team is outstanding. Adrienne is the best coordinator we could have imagined, with frequent communication leading up to our wedding weekend and then flawless execution throughout our time there. She was available for questions, to provide help for our rehearsal, to execute our ceremony, and then as things popped up the rest of the weekend. Adrienne seems to be calm, cool, and collected at all times--the exact person you want to be working with. The Chef, Sam, is phenomenal. To be honest, we didn't have any expectations for the quality of our wedding food based on the other weddings we've attended. We were BLOWN AWAY by how good every single meal was--the breakfasts were outstanding, the appetizers and entrees for our reception were perfect, and even the late night snacks in the pub were outrageous, especially the arancini! He describes his style as "rustic elegance" (I hope I got that right, Sam!) and absolutely nails it (his prior experience in the food world throughout Vermont will blow your mind too). We had a handful of friends with specific dietary restrictions who endlessly complimented their "chef's choice" meals too! Then of course the owners, Andrew and Dave, are the sweetest human beings who will stop to help in any way, shape, or form. Andrew was working throughout our entire reception and even took care of all of the cards and gifts at the pavilion so that we didn't have to worry about those. We really enjoyed every team member's company: Robin, Rachel, Jess, Jenny, Caleb and everyone I'm forgetting to name were kind, attentive, and just generally fun to be around.||||Lastly, all of our vendors had the kindest things to say about working with the MRB. Those who had worked on site before said it's one of their favorite venues to work at, and the ones who were new to the MRB were floored by its beauty, the ease of working with the staff, and how smoothly every event flowed. ||||The Mad River Barn provided us with the most perfect wedding weekend we could have imagined. If you can manage to snag a date, we can't...

We booked our wedding with the Mad River Barn in 2019 and after finally celebrating 3 years later, we can say without a doubt that this was our best planning decision. The fact that the Mad River Barn can cover so many aspects of the wedding weekend made planning from across the country such an easy experience. The big positives are that your family and friends can stay on site (summer camp vibes!), the MRB can coordinate and host your rehearsal/welcome dinner, reception, and Sunday brunch, and the food and bar services are all in house. The whole property is spectacular with gorgeous landscaping and the pavilion is beautiful as is, so you don't need much in terms of decor to make the space shine. Since the MRB only hosts one wedding each weekend, you really receive incredible, personalized service the entire time.

Most importantly, the MRB team is outstanding. Adrienne is the best coordinator we could have imagined, with frequent communication leading up to our wedding weekend and then flawless execution throughout our time there. She was available for questions, to provide help for our rehearsal, to execute our ceremony, and then as things popped up the rest of the weekend. Adrienne seems to be calm, cool, and collected at all times--the exact person you want to be working with. The Chef, Sam, is phenomenal. To be honest, we didn't have any expectations for the quality of our wedding food based on the other weddings we've attended. We were BLOWN AWAY by how good every single meal was--the breakfasts were outstanding, the appetizers and entrees for our reception were perfect, and even the late night snacks in the pub were outrageous, especially the arancini! He describes his style as "rustic elegance" (I hope I got that right, Sam!) and absolutely nails it (his prior experience in the food world throughout Vermont will blow your mind too). We had a handful of friends with specific dietary restrictions who endlessly complimented their "chef's choice" meals too! Then of course the owners, Andrew and Dave, are the sweetest human beings who will stop to help in any way, shape, or form. Andrew was working throughout our entire reception and even took care of all of the cards and gifts at the pavilion so that we didn't have to worry about those. We really enjoyed every team member's company: Robin, Rachel, Jess, Jenny, Caleb and everyone I'm forgetting to name were kind, attentive, and just generally fun to be around.

Lastly, all of our vendors had the kindest things to say about working with the MRB. Those who had worked on site before said it's one of their favorite venues to work at, and the ones who were new to the MRB were floored by its beauty, the ease of working with the staff, and how smoothly every event flowed.

The Mad River Barn provided us with the most perfect wedding weekend we could have imagined. If you can manage to snag a date, we can't...