- #TBT REVIEW -
Three years ago, as part of a long weekend ski vacation, we visited here with tickets in hand for RUSTED ROOT! Â Yup, a bar/club that usually sees the likes of smaller cover bands and local DJs managed to lock down Rusted Root! Â Not only that, but our $25 general admission tickets got us as close as 5 feet away from the stage of this cozy venue.
Despite the sellout crowd (thank goodness we bought in advance), the bar wasn't overly packed. Â We were able to snag reasonably-priced drinks throughout the night and groove back to the dance floor for the three hours they were on stage. Â Bartenders were overwhelmed but friendly, and drink prices ($5-8) weren't overly "taxed."
If you're staying at either the Snow Lake Lodge or the Lodge at Mount Snow, Snow Barn is just a short walk away. Â If staying elsewhere, you can catch the free MOOver (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.moover.com&s=780a5e135862ee45bf0f57c83c4e8fbd95c1b811b708e720641f2722720f314b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.moover.com</a>) shuttle, but be warned that their service stops at 5pm.
From reading the recent negative reviews, it's a shame to hear that Snow Barn has perhaps gone downhill from the times we visited.  Again, we went for the concert, so if you're in the same camp, I'd suggest you check the music calendar (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fmountsnow.com%2Flivemusic&s=46b21cbcf6c7dfbd17526bb932e0ee0647948a7b228c8edce15e142a5e881550" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://mountsnow.com/liv…</a>) and plan your visit accordingly.
At the very least, you can always enjoy a bit of history...The Snow Barn used to be Reuben Snow's barn, who owned the base-area land. Â After the land was purchased by Walt Schoenknecht in the 50s, it was converted into a ski lodge before being once again converted into the bar/club it is today.
GENERAL / BAR -
If you're staying at the mountain and don't want to stray far, it's walkable and has a full bar with a decent beer selection, but those are about the only perks I can see. Â I'd be tempted to stick to the bars that are even closer to Grand Summit next time, or drive further away. We were there for 1.5 hours or so...then between between being bored and skeeved out, took off. Â
CROWD -
If you're a group of girls, I'd be hesitant to go here unless you're looking for a lot of attention or the crowd is significantly better than when I was there. Â Don't get me wrong, I expected a high male to female ratio, but it was well above 10:1 that night, and a lot of them seemed to be locals. Â We all couldn't help but wonder if this is the place locals hang out in hopes of finding a "what happens at Mount Snow stays at Mount Snow" piece of tail. Â Even as a guy it felt weird there. Â Minimally - I'd suggest asking to have one person peek in to see the crowd before paying the cover. Â
FOOSBALL -
Fix the damn Foosball table....get some 3M silicone lube, and perhaps enough balls to actually FINISH a game. Â $1 to play, only to run out before either team wins (unless one team absolutely destroys the other). Such a shame...it's a nice table (Tornado), just poorly maintained.
MUSIC -
How about keeping a Jukebox on if the band is going to take 1.5 hours to setup, during half of which they were literally just standing around.
We waited outside in the cold for 20 minutes as the door staff periodically let let a late arriving "private party" cut in front of us, Upon paying the entry/coat check fee we were told by the coat check girl that there was no more space for coats and to "come back in a little bit". Â Upon entering we went to the bar directly to the back left where drinks were being served and waited for our turn to be served, a girl working behind the bar (Who we did not know was a bar back)impolitely yelled to everybody to "just pretend I'm not here ok?!". The bartender with the baseball hat was not paying attention to the people lined up at the bar and looked over us two times. Â After looking over us for the second time for a male customer who arrived much later than us we spoke up to say that we had been waiting in line, this is when the female bar back yelled out again "Everybody will get their drink okay?!. Â Mt Snow / Peak Resorts - If you think this property represents your resort well, think again. Â We stayed at the grand Summit Hotel.
Review Source:Ah the Snow Barn...Once great, now a shadow of it's former self. Â
Pros:
-Fun Place
-Good local beer selection
-Foosball and air hockey table, which I love.
-Live music
-The coat check person/cashier Claire is a rare gem.
Cons:
-The bouncer/dooman is a complete psycho on a power trip
-The live music, well they don't bother much to book good bands or musicians anymore, so it's pretty lame cover bands most nights. Â
-Even though the place may be half empty, said psycho bouncer keeps people waiting outside regardless of snow, ice, rain, wind or - degree temps.
-When crowded, the wait for a drink can be considerable.
Overall, given the lack of bars in the area which have live music, the snow barn is an okay choice if you can get past the crappy bands and nutso doorman. Â However, there are better choices in the area if you just want to go have a drink with friends and have an actual conversation.
THis bar needs to be redone it used to be a great place to meet with friends or take the family after skiing. They lost the fire pit, which was the best part of the bar. The music has gone downhill.
Beer selection is good, but still charge 5 dollars for a bud.
I've been here more than a few times for dinner after the lifts close and been kicked out at 730, after dropping 80 bucks on food and beer. Only so they can re-open at 745 and charge me 20 bucks for cover. Needless to say I did not go back. I went down the road to the saloon and saw live music with no cover and better atmosphere.
At the base of Mt. Snow....
I was here with a group of women who completed the Tough Mudder last May. Â
We arrived during peak "drunk-hour", which we weren't, so it made for prime people watching entertainment....decent sized dance floor. Â
Besides getting hit on by some sketchy harmless characters, we actually managed to get some free beers! Â
The bartenders were easy going and friendly. Â
The band rocked some original songs that night and was really good....sadly I didn't catch their name. Â
The only downside was that they close a tad earlier than bars in the area...I speculate it's because it's located on Mt. Snow property....the locals kindly directed us to the other bars which would still be open.
I don't care what you say. The Snow Bar was everything I wanted it to be - making for one of the most fun nights...ever.
A weekend in Vermont thanks to Teddy S. and her fam meant it was time to party.
I sauntered in with 7 of my college girlfriends after too much wine at dinner and a full day of tubing at Mount Snow without any expectations in mind. I was wearing my Hunter's rainboots and jeans, so you know I dressed up for the occasion. Call me classy, because I was ready to get 'Slizzard.
Alison F. and I made a bee-line for the bar and and after guzzling a Jameson and coke, I switched to beer and started to shake my tailfeather on the dance floor.
The band was the best cover band I have ever had the pleasure of dancing to. They played everything from Gaga to Dexys Midnight Runners and I will tell you what, I thought for sure Eileen was in the same room as me having a Bad Romance. Every time I wanted to take a break to get another beer or use the (incredibly dirty) restroom, a new song would start and it was hard to tear myself away.
Not only was the music good enough to put on Sirius, but I kept dancing because the drinks were so cheap I could continuously consume them. Now, I realize that once again my review reflects my overindulgence in alcohol, but I prefer to say "overserved" and therefore not my fault. (I do blame/love Alison F. on this particular night however, for constantly bringing me more beers. Thanks, man.)
The crowd was A-W-E-S-O-M-E. Big up's to the guys with the Moose Beer Pong Weekend (in matching tee-shirts). You guys rocked. The vibe was chill and fun, the drinks were cheap and frosty and the good times were abundant. I would head north again just to party here.
Snowy Dive Bar Win.
This aprés ski oasis right off of Mt. Snow may not be cozy, glamorous or even particularly fun...but it has some things going for it.
Pros:
- Proximity to the mountain. Unless you want to extend your stay at the Main Base Lodge at the bottom of the mountain, you're sure to end up crossing the street to Snow Barn for a cold one in the early evening.
- Price. Cheap drinks, cheap eats.
- History. The building was once Regan Snow's abode; since he was the farmer that Mt. Snow was named after, it can't hurt to take in a bit of local lore.
Cons:
- The metal ring/hook game. Straight up dangerous. People are swinging a large metal ring attached to a string in the ceiling across the room in an attempt to latch onto a hook on a pole. I watched at least two people get clocked.
- The atmosphere. It's pretty trashtastic. It's crowded, they have semi-crap bands that manage to charge $15 at the door and there's a few too many families with drunk parents with kids running circles around piles of empties.
1/4 mile from the base of Mount Snow is the Snow Barn.  They serve quite a few Vermont beers, including Trapp Family, Otter Creek, Long Trail, as well as Sierra Nevada and some others from outside VT.  They have a pool table and a couple other games to help occupy your time.  Some basic pub grub, such as pizza and wings is available.  We ordered several pies while there and were pleasantly surprised by the fact that they were pretty good.  Some of their staff was less than enthusiastic about our big group from out of town (& spending quite a bit of money), while others were nice.  All in all, it was a good way to spend a few hours  after a long day of snowboarding.
Review Source:Got there at 6 PM, stayed until close- spent $200- not one buyback....
The bar got crowded, went outside to have a smoke- bouncer did not let me back in for 40 minutes. He said it was too crowded, I said I already paid and showed him the stamp on my hand.
I didnt care about seeing the shitty band, I just wanted to get back in so I could start necking on the dance floor.
If im not going to be allowed back in after 5 minutes, please tell me that before stamping my hand and letting me out.
An extra star for the large local contingent.
and the pizza is not good