There’s no one word to define Chasing Rabbits, the entertainment venue filling the 13,000-square-foot void left by the pandemic shuttering of Vail Village’s luxury cineplex/bistro at the heart of Solaris. And how can there be? It’s a white tablecloth restaurant, a cocktail lounge, a reading room, a nightclub, a video arcade, a comedy club, and a screening room all in one. If there’s anything that calls to mind the multiple ways that fun can be had in this everything-for-everyone-all-at-once space, it’s Alice in Wonderland, which most certainly inspired the name.

Upon entering, depending on the direction you turn, you’ll find yourself in a sleek, cream-colored dining room; or walking down a funhouse-ish hallway toward a 10-foot-tall magenta rabbit; or tucking into a quiet nook with two high-back chairs sprouting bunny ears; or cloistering around a dimly lit library table with a neon-helmeted astronaut painting at the room’s center. Or….

To put it mildly, Chasing Rabbits is a trip (and a spendy one at that—on a recent visit, the bill for two cocktails, two sodas, and two appetizers totaled $150). But it’s one worth taking. There’s simply nothing like it—or its insistent, stay-on-your-toes vibe—in the Vail Valley, so it immediately holds appeal.

The arcade makes it a shoo-in for families with kids. Many hotels offer game rooms, but they’re usually tired spaces with equally tired games. At Chasing Rabbits, the arcade is loud with pop music, ablaze with neon, and packed with old-school video consoles from Pong to Super Mario Brothers. There are three Skee-Ball machines, an electronic Twister board, and two pop-a-shot basketball “courts” that are constantly in use. The place rocks and so does the attached Rabbit Hole bar. Parents hang there, craft cocktail in hand, while the kids run wild. 

The bar also offers a small but mighty food menu, and—here’s a surprise—the eats are good! We sampled, and recommend, the chilaquiles fries, which take the enchilada-like flavors of the Mexican dish and parlay them into a basket of chili-dipped fries. The duck quesadilla is small, but the crispy cheese at the edges and the zesty side of salsa verde alone justify the rabbit-sized hole it will leave in your wallet. (Bonus: Dip the chilaquiles fries into that salsa.) 

Savvy parents—or at least the ones with kids old enough not to need supervising—find their way to the restaurant at the front of the building, where they can settle in for a quiet glass of wine and a Mediterranean-meets-Colorado dinner with the likes of citrusy ceviche, charred eggplant dip, and braised rabbit (of course) Bolognese.

After that (assuming kids are still happily engaged with the arcade), they may retire to Moon Rabbit, the speakeasy hidden behind a passworded door. A red-carpeted corridor and red fluorescents overhead lead the way, but inside, the lights are low and the drinks, many with Asian accents like shiso, yuzu, and Szechuan peppercorn, are strong. The plush velvet club chairs invite lingering for a long while. 

Chasing Rabbits doesn’t house a literal movie theater, but it does host screenings in a warren of rooms (with rabbit-themed names like Moon Rabbit and the Rabbit Hole). Showings are ticketed and the schedule of films, plus comedy shows, and other events (such as live HD performances by the Metropolitan Opera) are available on the website.

What Chasing Rabbits does best is suspend reality while providing an element of surprise around every corner and through every door. And even when you’ve cased the joint and spent time in each of the spaces, there are still new experiences (art films, live music, DJ sets, etc.) to be had. So many, you may be tempted to take the ultimate rabbit hole plunge: a $3,000 annual social club membership, which grants access to exclusive events, secret menus, and your own dedicated liquor locker. 

Chasing Rabbits 141 E Meadow Dr, Ste 104 (Solaris), 970-444-4677