Forty years ago, in September 1986, a low-budget film crew set up camp in a stone hotel perched nearly 1,200 metres high in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The film was called Dirty Dancing, the hotel Mountain Lake, and it became Kellerman’s Mountain House where Baby meets Johnny. Mountain Lake Lodge still exists in Pembroke, and it has built its identity around that shoot: themed weekends, a summer festival, a Lionsgate-licensed boutique and, for 2027, the 40th anniversary of the film’s release. A practical guide to sleeping in the setting.
- 🎬 The film · Dirty Dancing, filmed at Mountain Lake in autumn 1986, released in August 1987; the hotel becomes Kellerman’s Mountain House
- 🏨 The hotel · Mountain Lake Lodge, 115 Hotel Circle, Pembroke, Virginia; 1936 main stone building, cottages and chalets, member of Historic Hotels of America since 2025
- 💃 What to do · Dirty Dancing weekends (meals, treasure hunt, quiz, group dance lessons, dancing evenings at Mary’s Barn), Dirty Dancing Days festival every summer
- 🗓️ 2027 Dates · 19-21 February, 23-25 April, 25-27 June, 23-25 July, 27-29 August, 10-12 September, 5-7 November
- 📍 Access · A one-hour drive from Roanoke, in Giles County; weekend bookings at (540) 626-7121 extension 8
Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkThe PlazaNew York, USA
Somewhere and La La LandChateau MarmontLos Angeles, USA
The ShiningBig Bear Lake cabinCalifornia, USA
La Dolce VitaVia Veneto, Experimental RomaRome, Italy
The Devil Wears PradaPlaza Athénée and Palazzo ParigiParis, Milan and New York
The OdysseyCosta NavarinoMessinia, GreeceContents
September 1986: Kellerman’s moves to Mountain Lake
Emile Ardolino’s team chose Mountain Lake to portray a 1963 Catskills resort hotel. Its stone facades, sloping lawn, cottages and gazebo are the ones seen in the film; the lift scene in the water and several exterior shots were filmed further south at Lake Lure in North Carolina. The film was released in August 1987, and the hotel was never just a hotel again. Four decades later, the “Kellerman’s Mountain House” sign still welcomes visitors at the entrance to the estate.
A hotel older than the film
The lake was discovered as early as 1751 by explorer Christopher Gist, and a first hotel opened in 1851 at the instigation of Henley Chapman. In 1930, Texas banker William Lewis Moody bought the estate and launched major works; the local stone main building, featured in the film, dates from 1936. His daughter Mary Moody Northen inherited it in 1954 and ran it for thirty years, before her foundation created the Mountain Lake Conservancy in 1986 and initiated a complete renovation in 1989. The lake itself has a unique history: it almost completely emptied in the late 2000s due to a natural geological phenomenon, and refills seasonally.
Dirty Dancing weekends and the summer festival
Since Heidi Stone took over as management in 2013, the hotel has revamped its themed weekends and signed a license with Lionsgate, the film’s distributor since 2003, for its boutique and merchandise. The package includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, a treasure hunt across the filming locations, a quiz, group dance lessons and Friday and Saturday evening dances at Mary’s Barn, the barn converted into a ballroom. Seven dates are available in 2027: 19-21 February, 23-25 April, 25-27 June, 23-25 July, 27-29 August, 10-12 September and 5-7 November. Every summer, the Dirty Dancing Days festival opens the estate for day visitors, featuring lift competitions and an open-air screening.
Staying at Mountain Lake Lodge today
The estate, inducted into Historic Hotels of America in 2025, offers rooms in the main building, cottages on the lawn and chalets in the woods, complete with a restaurant, bar, spa and an extensive network of hiking and mountain biking trails across the conservancy reserve. Allow a one-hour drive from Roanoke, the nearest airport, and a minimum one-night stay outside the package. Tourism has become Giles County’s second-largest industry, generating around 54 million dollars in economic impact, with the hotel acting as its primary driver. Discover USA hotel news on La Revue des Hôtels.
Our perspective
Few hotels have managed to turn a six-week film shoot into a sustainable economic model without betraying it. Mountain Lake Lodge succeeds because it did not turn the set into a theme park: the lawn, gazebo and 1936 stonework are straight out of the film, while the rest of the time it functions as a tranquil mountain lodge. For a fan, the themed weekend is well worth the journey; for others, the ideal season is autumn, when the Blue Ridge Mountains turn crimson and the lake fills back up. With the film’s 40th anniversary in 2027 and Lionsgate at the helm, it is best to book dates early.
Practical information
- Address · 115 Hotel Circle, Pembroke, VA 24136, USA
- Official website · mtnlakelodge.com
- Dirty Dancing weekends · bookings at (540) 626-7121 extension 8, 2027 dates above
- Access · Roanoke Airport (ROA), approx. 1 hr drive; Blacksburg (Virginia Tech) 35 mins
