Can You Stay at Kellerman’s from ‘Dirty Dancing’?
Dirty Dancing is one of the most well-known movies from the ’80s. Even over 30 years later, it continues to be a must-watch for romantic comedy fans everywhere. The movie checks all the boxes of a hit film, from impressive acting from Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze to classic songs and a stunning backdrop for each scene.
Kellerman’s Mountain Home has fans dreaming of a summer getaway at the lodge. Luckily, you can stay at the iconic and dreamy lodge, well technically, it just goes by a different name. Nobody will be putting Baby in a corner when you plan a trip to the iconic Kellerman’s lodge from Dirty Dancing.
‘Dirty Dancing’ recap
Released in the late 1980s, Dirty Dancing was actually a romantic comedy based in the summer of 1963. The coming-of-age story circles around a young woman, Baby, who falls in love with one of the resort’s hunky dance instructors. As the last summer family vacation before eighteen-year-old Baby heads off for her freshman year of college, she was not thrilled to spend it in a sleepy mountain resort in the Catskills.
However, that all changed when a local dance instructor picks her as his partner. The summer turns into an unforgettable experience for Baby, with romance, drama, and sexy dance moves. Jennifer Grey portrayed the lead character Frances “Baby” Houseman, and the dance instructor and her love interest, Johnny Castle, was played by Patrick Swayze. While the co-stars portrayed falling in love on the big screen, behind the scenes, the two did not actually get along.
The writer of the iconic romantic comedy film, Eleanor Bergstein, based the film’s storyline off her own childhood of spending family vacations at resorts in the Catskills and becoming enamored by the dancers there. The story of Baby falling in love with her older dance instructor was even based on Bergstein’s experience. Emile Ardolino was the director of the popular 1987 film.
The significance of Kellerman’s to the movie’s plot
The backdrop of the classic ’80s movie was an upscale mountain resort in the Catskills called Kellerman’s. The resort was owned by a friend of Baby’s father, Dr. Houseman. Kellerman’s Mountain House was a major part of Dirty Dancing, from the first time Baby and her family arrive and Baby gazes at the main stone lodge. Since it was the setting for the film, it holds a special place in the movie’s plot.
However, it was the rustic charm of the lodge that provided the perfect complement to the couple’s love story. For fans looking for Dirty Dancing nostalgia, book a stay at the mountain retreat. According to Vogue, the rooms at the lodge underwent much-needed renovations in 2012, but the outsides of the buildings remain the same as seen in the movie.
‘Dirty Dancing’ fans can technically stay at Kellerman’s
The holiday resort in the beloved 1987 movie seems like a dream location to spend the summer, and maybe that’s because it is. Kellerman’s, the famous resort in Dirty Dancing, turns out to be a fictional place. However, the filming location for the hit romantic film is a real resort. It’s just not located near the Catskills.
Mountain Lake Lodge, best known by Dirty Dancing fans as Kellerman’s, is tucked away in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Therefore, fans of the ’80s movie can book a stay at the very place where iconic dance moves were performed by Grey and Swayze.
The resort located in Pembroke, Virginia even offers Dirty Dancing-themed weekend packages to experience dance lessons and unforgettable times, just like in the film. The spring water lake at Mountain Lake Lodge allows superfan couples to attempt the famous lift from the movie. Are you ready to have the time of your life?
