The Barrel Reviews

We had our welcome dinner/party at The Barrel in April. We had a great experience. A couple of weeks before, they reached out to us with a google form asking if we wanted any tables, etc and it was all set up when we got there. The staff was very attentive and the drink pours were excellent. The space was clean, organized and spacious. We will definitely go back to The Barrel next time we are in Estes and we highly recommend them for any pre/post wedding needs!

The Barrel is one of our favorite go-to spots for a craft beer in Estes Park, so when it came time to pick a venue for our rehearsal dinner, renting a room here was an obvious choice. And I'm so glad we did, because the night was perfect! Ian was a pleasure to work with. We met with him a few times on the phone leading up to the event to go over options, timing, and logistics. He was always so kind and thorough, we really appreciated the attention to detail! He made sure that we could play our own music playlist and helped coordinate the food setup from the caterers. He and his team really went above and beyond in ensuring we felt comfortable and cared for - and the event turned out better than we could've imagined!

Okay so based on these 3 reviews before me and the negative reviews on yelp, I was VERY hesitant to book this space for my wedding weekend welcome party. Communication with planning the event was VERY simple, fast and organized which made me feel more comfortable. I worked with Michelle who answered all my questions and provided me with information to rent a food truck, how the open bar for my guests would work ect.
I would have to say that I am SO GLAD I BOOKED THE BARREL for my event!! The indoor space was amazing and fit 72 of us comfortably. They did a great job at reserving out tables, keeping track of our tab, giving us wrist bands for my guests and tickets for the food truck. Every guest raved about the space, how delicious the drinks were and the bar staff was kind and efficient. As the Barrel does not provide food, we booked Rations food truck who provided amazing tacos! I HIGHLY recommend LJ and her truck "Betty". If you are looking for a relaxed atmosphere with a large indoor space and amazing drinks .. look NO further. I highly recommend The Barrel.

Warning: Ingrid, the owner of the Barrel, makes it clear—this place is NOT for events. Avoid at all costs. Ingrid's incompetence knows no bounds. She showed up two hours late to set up for our event, then had the nerve to scream at us when we expressed our frustration. Her utter lack of professionalism and respect for our contract turned what should've been a joyous occasion into a nightmare. Don't make the same mistake we did. Stay far away from the Barrel and its despicable owner, Ingrid.

I am never one to leave reviews, but really felt compelled to share my horrible experience. We booked The Barrel in May 2018 for our rehearsal dinner at the end of August. Ingrid didn't tell us the inside construction wasn't completed until 11 days before our event. She said she thought it would be ready for our event, and that she would follow up. I couldn't get an answer from her until 4:00 PM the day before our event, telling us we would have to have it outside. She was extremely rude to our guests. She slammed plates and silverware down at our catering table and numerous guests commented on what terrible customer service they witnessed by that "employee". Ingrid is the OWNER/manager. She promised to refund us our $500 deposit since we couldn't be inside. I emailed her twice (on 9/5 and 9/10) for our dinner that was 18 DAYS AGO and she will not respond to me. I will update this review if she ever decides to refund us our money, but at this point I think it is just wishful thinking. DO NOT BOOK AN EVENT HERE.

On July 24th, I spoke to Ingrid, the bar owner, on the phone to ask if she currently held a temporary certificate of occupancy as I knew they were under renovations and she said, "I'm not telling you". Assuming that meant no, I proceeded to tell her that due to that she has no way of confirming that the city will approve the space by our reserved dress rehearsal dinner in 18 days and she said, "I'll have it next week". Do NOT book your event at this venue as Ingrid clearly does not respect her customers or provide an honest or professional experience. I will update this review if The Barrel ever decides to return our full deposit.

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 under construction & the owner Ingrid told me it was going to be finished in a couple weeks, so I assumed if it were that far along, it'd be finished well before June 2. (I should also mention I was planning this remotely from Indianapolis.)
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. I attempted to call her repeatedly, finally got one phone meeting set up-- which she forgot and never called (we spoke once after that but it was before we knew there would be no tent), then she ignored all our phone calls 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 my questions. 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 knew the space would never be done in time, didn't tell us until the last minute, and the lack of empathy she had I cannot get over. I've seen online she continues to do this to others, and I am appalled.