Pack Your Bags Because You Can Stay At The Actual ‘Dirty Dancing’ Resort

Courtesy of Lionsgate

If you are a “Dirty Dancing” fan, you’ve probably entertained a thought or two about how much fun it would be to visit the “family camp”-style resort where Frances “Baby” Houseman and her family spend their eventful summer vacation.

While The Kellerman Resort doesn’t actually exist, the resort where much of the 1987 movie was filmed does—and it’s just waiting for a visit from you. Where is this magical resort, you ask?

https://www.instagram.com/p/chWv69zhEp/

Visit The Catskills … In Virginia?

In the film, good ol’ Kellerman’s was in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. In reality, the resort where the movie was filmed is called Mountain Lake Lodge and it’s located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.

This wedding photo, taken at the resort, shows just how stunning the sweeping mountain views are (reason enough to visit, even if you’re not a “Dirty Dancing” fanatic!):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BabwVMyH01c

The resort, which was renovated in 2012, offers “Dirty Dancing”-themed weekends.

Amazon

The themed weekends include a guided walking tour, dancing lessons, a watermelon toss (of course) and a big Saturday night party.

We imagine strolling the grounds of the picturesque resort would bring back so many memorable scenes from the movie:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbKG7ULnFah/?taken-by=mtnlakelodge

Stay In Baby’s Cottage

You can even stay in the cabin where Baby and her family stayed in the film.

They vacationed in the Virginia cottage, in case you wanted to book the exact one.

Virginia Cottage at Mountain Lake Lodge
Mountain Lake Lodge


RELATED: Watch this “Uptown Funk” mashup with all the famous movie scenes, including “Dirty Dancing.” It will make your day.


You can see some of the same spots that were featured in the film are still part of the resort today, like the lakeside gazebo where the conga-line scene took place. Here it is in real life, as the site of a wedding photo. How romantic would it be to tie the knot at what is essentially the set of one of the best love stories of our time?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUHuA2iDtDZ/?taken-by=mtnlakelodge

Do you recognize the resort today?


The film’s producers chose the Virginia resort for its retro feel, as many of the buildings on the property, including the main lodge, have been around since the 1930s. If you remember, “Dirty Dancing” was supposed to have taken place in 1963.

Who can forget that scene where Baby dances on the bridge in this classic 1960s outfit?

Courtesy of Lionsgate

RELATED: An Original Frank Lloyd Wright House Is For Sale In Minnesota

And while you prepare for your trip, it may interest you to know that “Dirty Dancing” was based on the screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein’s experiences.

eleanor bergstein photo
Getty Images | Claire Greenway

According to the writer, “dirty dancing” was what all the young, hip kids were doing in the mid-1950s when she was growing up. Bergstein first started dirty dancing herself while she was living in Brooklyn—and then eventually in the Catskills, like someone else we know.

“I was a dirty dancing queen,” Bergstein told TODAY in an interview. “A teenage mambo queen. And I had all kinds of trophies. In Brooklyn there were competitions in basements, just a couple of kids in basements. My signature step was my leg would go up around the neck of my partner.”

So, get packing, because a delightful trip down memory lane awaits. We’d even venture to say you’ll have the “time of your life.” And just remember—”Nobody puts Baby in the corner!”

Getty Images

RELATED: Hey, movie buffs! It may not be the actual set for Hogwarts, but this teacher recreated a magical classroom for his students!

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About the Author
Genevieve Lill
Editor in Chief of Simplemost. Passionate about digital media. Mom. Yogini. Grammar fan. Proud Northwestern University grad.

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