Movies | Pop Culture | 80s
Get The 'Dirty Dancing' Experience First Hand, Right Where The Original Took Place
Dirty Dancing is one of the greatest movies of the 80s. Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey created a classic that is still beloved to this day.
The movie takes place up at a summer resort called Kellerman's Mountain House in the Catskills in Upstate New York and there was a lot to love about it. I mean, it was there that Baby was introduced to the world of dance in a way she never could have expected!
The resort in the movie was this huge estate with games and a lake and honestly anyone who watched the movie would probably love to go there!
They had fancy little cabins to stay in, all those classes you could take, and who could forget that super excited performance at at end?
Well, turns out you CAN go to Kellerman's Mountain House! But it's actually called Mountain Lake Lodge and it's in Virginia, not New York. They filmed the movie there all the way back in the 80s, but the resort is still up and running and has actually started offering Dirty Dancing themed weekends.
The Mountain Lake Lodge was renovated in 2012 and has been offering these Dirty Dancing themed weekend packages for a while. They say that it will let you "Step into Johnny and Baby's shoes for a weekend."
The itinerary includes a full tour of the locations seen in the movies, dance lessons, a scavenger hunt, and a huge dance party. It also includes your meals during your stay!
They start booking the weekends well in advance because obviously everyone wants to go. They already have announced their 2018 dates if you are looking to book ahead! They will be April 27-29, June 22-24, July 27-29 and August 24-26.
The resort is a beautiful building that looks exactly as it did in the movies (at least on the outside). Their renovations just make the inside a little more modern.
You can even request Baby's room! She was in the "Virginia Cottage" if you want that exact building, otherwise there are many other options to choose from.
The lakeside gazebo is still there, along with the beautiful grounds. They have added one thing that is a little bit heartbreaking. There is a memorial dedicated to the one and only Patrick Swayze that was placed there after he lost his battle with cancer.
If you want to head out to Virginia and check out the Dirty Dancing weekend, make sure you book well in advance!