You grew up falling in love with Johnny and Baby's love story and wished one like it for yourself. That may not have worked out, but the resort where they met is for real, and you can visit it for a magical experience!
If you have always wanted to visit the iconic resort where Frances "Baby" Houseman met Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing and discovered a new world for herself, here is your dream come true. Because the resort where the movie was shot offers to relive the magic that the movie did.
The film reached cult status after it was released in 1987 and still continues to be a favorite. If you need proof, just watch Hugh Grant's new film The Rewrite, and you'll know how much people across continents love the Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey-starrer. Did you know the on-screen couple also worked in Red Dawn together at least three years before their hitmaker?
The film became the hit it was because of the lead actors but the beautiful location became a character of its own. It fed the imaginations of all young women who hoped they would find love in a way that Baby did. The natural rock exterior, quaint wooden cabins, and the big lake at the Kellerman Resort became the perfect place to vacation for fans. While in the film it says that it was in the Catskills of upstate New York, it was actually shot at the Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia.
And, the best news is that the resort in Virginia is open to everyone. You can go live out your summer romance fantasy there. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the resort offers the same rooms where Baby lived. This Virginia resort was initially chosen because of the film's limited budget, according to Cosmopolitan. The retro look of the place makes it believably 1963 when the film is supposed to be set.
In the film, while Baby is initially reluctant at going there, once she meets the dancing instructor played by Patrick Swayze, things start getting steamier. The resort is a great place to re-enact the scenes. The lake is going to be the perfect setting for the couple's famous lift. You can also live at the main stone lodge, the place where Baby gazes in while trailing behind her family, or the front lawn cottages and the rustic cabins, where the guests and staff in the film stay, according to Vogue.
Not only is the film set there, but many of the cast members also stayed at the resort, which really makes it a must-visit for fans of the classic. The real-life resort will be celebrating its 32nd anniversary soon. The rooms were renovated in 2012 and you will have all the modern facilities too.
The owners of the resort want to keep its Dirty Dancing memory alive and host four weekends themed after the film in a year. You can do a sock hop, watch the iconic romantic movie, and participate in a watermelon toss, group dance lessons, and a scavenger hunt.
“So many people come here to see the Kellerman’s Mountain House depicted in the movie,” said Heidi Stone, the resort General Manager, to ABC News. “It’s a great story and when we decided to tell it and take the focus off a lake with no water and on what our customers wanted, that’s what brought us to where we are today.” The resort had reached an almost dilapidated state earlier.
You can experience the Dirty Dancing weekends on April 26-28, June 21-23, July 26-28 and August 23-25. You can also get private dancing lessons by instructors hopefully as handsome as Mr. Castle.
References:
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Travel/dirty-dancing-resort-today/story?id=59032979
https://www.vogue.com/article/dirty-dancing-resort-real-mountain-lake-lodge
