“We had the darndest time keeping the numbers on the door,” said the resort’s general manager. “People kept taking them, so we did this.”
The door leads to the room where Patrick Swayze made his home while filming Dirty Dancing in 1986.
The numbers 232 are the kind you’d buy from Bunnings for your mailbox – reflective stickers, easily replaced.
The other doors in the Main Stone Lodge are all outfitted identically, with brass numerals. No one nicks those.
I’m at Kellerman’s Resort in The Catskills – except I’m not.
Kellerman’s Mountain House, the site of the iconic movie which still savours a cult following, is actually Mountain Lake Lodge, and it’s in bucolic Pembroke, Virginia, not New York. Yes, it’s a real place, and you can experience it.
I’m on a Dirty Dancing Weekend, and the resort hosts six per year. They are already popular but will be even more so when the Dirty Dancing sequel, which will star Jennifer Grey and return to Kellerman’s, finally comes out.
There’s a definite quiver in the air. Couples, mums and daughters, and groups of girlfriends wander about agog, mugging for photos carrying watermelons and playing lawn games around the giant firepit.
Staff wear Kellerman’s T-shirts and high ponytails with scarves in an ode to 1963, the era of the movie.
There’s a run on “Nobody Puts Baby In A Corner” tank tops at the gift shop, which pays homage to the dance studio where Baby and Johnny spent so much time perfecting their routines – “Look spaghetti arms. This is my dance space, this is your dance space. I don’t go into yours, you don’t go into mine.”
We arrive on Friday and eagerly review the schedule for the weekend. (Seriously, it’s impossible not to get swept up in the fervour for all things Dirty Dancing once you’re here.)
Commencing after dinner, which is served buffet style in the rustic-chic Harvest restaurant, the costume contest is what everyone is waiting for.
Some come to dinner dressed in their garb and owning their character. There are at least 30 Babys, a gang of non-gendered Johnnys, a handful of Pennys, and a few pairs of thieving Schumachers.
On the lawn, under a marquee, each introduces themselves, and one of the Lisas brings the house down with her version of the Hula Hana complete with ear-splittingly off-key vocals. The winner is judged on applause, and she triumphs single-handedly.
Though the film is set in New York’s Catskills, it was prohibitively expensive to film there. Studio execs discovered Virginia’s warmer and more southern Mountain Lake Lodge while flipping through an in-flight magazine, perhaps the most bang-for-the-buck advertisement that has ever been placed in an onboard publication.
The movie saved the resort, which had previously been slated to shut down. To this day, people come from all over the world to have the time of their life (sorry, I had to do it).
Guests can choose from several accommodations, including rooms in the stately Main Stone Lodge (no TVs), various mountain cabins and cottages with room to spread out, and completely furnished mountain village homes.
It’s not unusual for people to book their all-inclusive Dirty Dancing weekend more than a year in advance, so it’s advisable to plan well ahead as demand often exceeds availability. But for those not able to make the fully themed weekends, the resort offers a Kellerman’s Film Package.
Think of it as the next best thing. It includes two nights’ lodging, a special screening of the movie, a welcome drink, film swag and souvenirs, and a scavenger hunt to test your Dirty Dancing knowledge.
There’s also access to all the other activities the resort offers such as archery, treetop adventure zip-lining, outdoor pools, clay shooting, guided ATV tours through the backcountry, “beach” volleyball and over 35 kilometres of hiking tracks, including the approach to the famed Appalachian Trail.
Take me there
How to get to Kellerman’s Mountain House/Mountain Lake Lodge: The closest major international airport is Dulles, Virginia, near Washington DC. It’s a scenic 4.5-hour road trip through some of Virginia’s most charming towns to reach Mountain Lake Lodge.
When to visit: Dirty Dancing Themed Weekend three-night packages are available for selected weekends in April and June-October for 2023.
Explore more: mtnlakelodge.com
