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Cascades At the Stanley Hotel
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
13 reviews for Cascades At the Stanley Hotel
After reading the mediocre to bad reviews, and seeing the dark, cavern-like digs, we decided to go into town for dinner.
But then it happened; we cozied up to the bar, had a few rounds, and neither one of us wanted to brave the cold, windy weather.
So, we made 7:30pm reservations from our very friendly bar-keep, who deserves a raise for simply being the only friendly server we encountered.
Our server for Dinner was downright nasty; short and curt in her every response --
Tables were close enough together that I heard the other diners and servers, and the other servers were pleasant; nothing like our server.
For example; bread was delivered with a thud -- no explanation as what to do with the accoutrement -- it looked like seeds and herbs, but just a guess.
When our server returned for our order, we asked; and begrudgingly received an answer. Turns out that every other table had an explanation as the bread course was served.
Asking for a wine suggestion, was pulling teeth, and when I asked for a sip, it was if I asked for a free glass, or if I asked her to walk outside in the cold to get it.
Everything was a bother.
The meal itself was very tasty. The menu had some interesting selections; mostly game.
We ended up choosing the Lamb Chop, and the Trout; both were perfect tiny nuggets of yumminess. I donated my buffalo ravioli to the hubby, as 4oz of protein doesn't cut it. I did try a bite before I gave it up, and even though I'm not big on pasta, this was one was quite good.
Desert was OK; but our choice wasn't worth the calories -- If I did ever eat there again, I would share an appy course vs doing the desert.
Oh, we also shared the Caesar, which was topped with whole anchovies, and shreds of Parmesan.
The food itself is a solid 4; it was our harried server who pulled the stars down -- and there was just no reason for her demeanor, as there were plenty of servers for the not crowded restaurant.
We still over tipped (Note to self: Start tipping commiserate to service !!) so our meals with only 1 round of drinks were well over $125 -- Way too much for the meal, as we shared 1 salad and desert; , and only had 1 glass of so- so wine, and a cheap beer with our entrees.
The dining room is nothing special -- small and lodge-ish.
I was not very impressed with Cascades. It wasn't BAD bad. It was just meh. Yeah, meh. We were there for supper.
We shared the Buffalo Carpaccio and it was decent. The buffalo was tasty. The rest of the plate was unmemorable.
My filet mignon was cooked medium rare (maybe a little on the rare side, but I'm ok with that), but just barely warm when it came out. As was the whole plate. My husband's steak was better, but still not hot. Everything on my plate was just lukewarm. To be sure, the waitress said they'd take the filet back and warm it up, but what's worse, cool filet that's cooked how I like it or a hot filet that's been rewarmed (and probably overcooked by that point)? I ate it cool.
One thing to note, when they say a 5 oz. filet, believe them. There's no up-sizing here.
All in all it was just a mediocre experience. I wouldn't go back.
I went to the Stanley Hotel with images of the Overlook, the fictional hotel from Stanley Kubrick's movie, The Shining, based on Stephen King's best seller of the same name. I had been told that the Overlook was based on the Stanley Hotel. Sadly I was disappointed to find a beautiful, but very white hotel perched on the hillside overlooking Estes Park. This is nothing like the ominous hotel in Kubrick's version.
While Stephen King's The Shining is indeed based on the Stanley Hotel, I learned that the hotel Stanley Kubrick used for the establishing shots of his movie is in Oregon. So with just a tinge of disappointment I went to eat at The Cascades.
Unfortunately, my experience at The Cascades drove me further into a malaise. I ordered the Cascade Burger, which was very dry despite being done medium. Perhaps that's the nature of ground elk, but I would have expected the chef to compensate with something like an aioli or such. When I asked, the waiter returned with three small plastic packets of mayo. The horseradish coleslaw side was too tart. My dining companion had the elk meatloaf. She had expected some kind of gravy, but there was none and it needed it--also dry.
The service fine, but a bit too slow for the casual lunch scene. I wouldn't say the server was unfriendly, but I wouldn't say she was interested in our meal either.
The space is in keeping with the hotel's character--with stamped-tin ceilings and a spacious bar, but I was surprised how many flies were either buzzing around or trapped by the large windows. I would also note that the restaurant doesn't look out onto the valley. My dining companion had eaten at the Stanley Hotel about 25 years ago. She remembers the restaurant being on the front of the hotel with great views of the valley below. Sadly, the dining room is now on the back side looking out onto (what seems to me) a newly hardscaped patio with a muddy looking water feature.
Sadly, I won't be back unless it's to tend to care for the hotel during the off-season winter months.
I waited tables here. Cascades is a tough call because they have fairly quick management and chef turnover. The menu has been overhauled from a yr ago & looks *much better so I think it's worth a shot. My recomendation is to go on a summer evening and sit outside by the fire with a drink & appitizer- you get the "stanley experience" without paying $80 for dinner or staying in one if their mediocre rooms. The movie "the shining" was NOT filmed here but Stephen king did write it while staying here and Jack Nicholson visits once or twice a yr. However the bar scene in "dumb & dumber" (we landed on the moon!) WAS filmed here :)
I would give this place 4 stars but the service was not great. We had an older lady (50's) that seemed to have lost her panache for customer service. She wasnt unpleasant but you knew that she didnt really want to be there and was just going through the motions. Besides that I went with the Buffalo sliders and they were excellent. Couldnt really taste the difference between buffalo and cow because caramelized onions are quite the dominant flavor. However, what I wanted to rave about was the Gingerbread pudding. It was orgasmic! Doughy Goodness..it doesnt get any better. However I will say I could have done without the creme fraiche.. to me it tasted like sour cream..and was off putting but without it.. PERFECTION!
This review is for the bar portion of the restaurant only. We never made it into the dining room. Priorities, you know?
They serve mac and cheese so of course I had to try it. While I had only a side portion as a snack, the full entrée comes with scallops, which I thought sounded really interesting. With 3 different kinds of cheeses this dish looks like it's in a small pool of cheese sauce. I'm not complaining here, just stating the facts. They also include the little breadcrumb crunchies on top that are like the icing on top of my noodles.
The bar itself is a bit expensive, but not more so than you'd expect. They also make a nice green chicken chili and BLTs with bacon. I know we have a few bacon fans here in Colorado so I just wanted to point that out.
It's nice that there is a bar so close to your room where the bartenders don't think it's strange if you're slightly drunk and mostly giddy at 2 in the afternoon.
I highly recommend the glasses of champagne. If you want to get really crazy ask them to add some OJ to your flute.
The atmosphere is school cafeteria at best. Limited menu selection and over-priced food. We chucked our dinner plans to go to a better steakhouse, but since we're guests at the hotel we gave it a shot for lunch. Turned out that service was terrible. We ordered two cheeseburgers (asked for medium well ) and fries, which came to about 30 bucks and they served us burgers without the cheese. The hostess and manager were unapologetic and rude when we asked for the cheese. To top off the foul service, the burgers were cooked well-done.
Great restaurant! I ordered a pasta dish and my other ordered fried chicken. The best fried chicken I ever had! So tender! Great dessert too!
Once seated, it took about 7 minutes for someone to come and offer us drinks, my water glass was perpetually empty w/o offer to fill.
Food was pretty good. Couldn't believe you don't get any type of side on a $25 piece of trout. So I ordered a side of GARLIC mashed potatoes as did the boy. We saw the papas coming out to other tables and it had a whole bulb of garlic in it, so we were anticipating it like crazy
When said potatoes were brought out there was no garlic to be found, when we asked the server she just said they ran out. No offer to swap it out and no apologies for the garlic potatoes not having garlic. wtf. So I sent mine back.
As we were getting done both beer glasses and water glasses were empty. We sat with empty plates for over 20 minutes. Then server comes out and shoves dessert menus in our faces. we declined and just wanted to get out of there asap.
The boy said the elk tenderloin was good but definitely not $30 good.
1 star for the trout.
OK - so we did the hiking, biking and horseback riding in the Park. . . . . now it was time for some serious grub before the long trip home. First off when you walk up and see just a few people at the tables but yet can't get seated due to not having a reservation . OK - so we made a mistake. We made a reservation for the next evening and got in ok - no issues. Food was just OK. . . . . nothing to write home about. My Daughter ordered a Filet - medium and it came back rare to the point were the tail was still wagging. . . . had to put it back on the grill. I ordered Ribs and Polenta which was good. The wife had some fish. Food here is just ok. Service was good no issues. Just remember to make reservations.
I started at Cascades the night before Thanksgiving. We sat at the bar, made friendly with the bartender before his dinner rush, and sat patiently while he rushed around waiting on not only bar patrons but tables in the cocktail area as well. The bartender himself was really great - I was just mad at his manager for not offering to lend a hand while they were really busy. His manager just stood by the door smiling at people.
We stayed late, got a free shot for being patient, and left after paying a $115 tab. That's just drinks, plus an order of $12 wings. I can only imagine our tab if we had eaten a full dinner!
The next morning we had Thanksgiving Brunch. They had everything. Oysters on the half shell, prime rib carving station, waffles made fresh, custom omelets, plus two chocolate fountains. Not to mention all the Thanksgiving we could imagine - turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, stuffing, casseroles, salads, crackers and cheese, shrimp cocktail, and pies pies everywhere! Rio (our faithful bartender) made the best Bloody Mary I've EVER had, and the service was excellent.
I'd recommend Cascades to anyone staying at the Stanley Hotel, and anyone else in town who needs a great place to spoil their spouse.
I LOVE the Stanley Hotel, but from now on, I will not eat at the restaurant in house. The food is suitable, but the service is terrible. I have been to the Cascades about 5 times and I don't know why I keep giving them another chance. Every time we go there, we end up waiting for an extended period of time for service, even when the place is practically empty. They are constantly understaffed and the wait staff figures people are probably only going once or twice, so why bother. For the money, there are much better places to go.
2
49
The restaurant had positively, the best service I've ever experienced, even with an 18 month old throwing a fit. They even accommodated our request of a small plate of broccoli for him, even though it wasn't on the menu (only down side to that, was it was $5, but at a place like this, you kind of expect that).
They have a rather large wine menu, and if you're staying the night at the hotel they let you take the remainder of the bottle with you (if you purchased a bottle and not glass by glass). You obviously can't drive off with an open wine bottle in your car, though.
Wheelchair access is from the back of the building. You come through the gates at the parking lot on the hill, and there's a ramp through a pretty, landscaped area. This is also pretty much the only option for moving your luggage into the building (you can accept bellhop service though).
Anyway, the restaurant's food was quite tasty, it's got huge windows that look out to the back entrance and landscaped area, and waterfall. The table settings are pretty formal, and good if you want a romantic dinner, but also a good option for tourists. Just please, keep your kids manners in check, there are people there that paid good money for a relaxing time at the hotel and would prefer not to be pegged in the back of the head with flying vegetables.
There is also a bar in the front entrance from the lobby, and it's always quite full, and pretty noisy. I'm not sure of the hours of the bar though.
For a dinner for two, (plus a $5 plate of broccoli for the little one, who ate off of both of our plates as well), plus a bottle of the cheaper wine, one dessert, and the tip, we spent almost $200 here, but it was well worth it for the service performed, and the atmosphere.
