To celebrate the 20th anniversary of blockbusting chick-flick Dirty Dancing, Virgin Media journeyed on a girls-only holiday to the US locations where the film came to life - and where you can re-live all the drama...
Imagine wistfully gazing over the lake from your cabin just like Baby, aka Jennifer Grey, did as she thought of Johnny Castle, aka Patrick Swayze, on the set of Dirty Dancing 20 years ago. Well, you can. If the phrases "Don't put your heel down" and "I carried a watermelon" ring any bells, you and your girlfriends are perfect candidates for a Kellermans-style weekend at the Mountain Lake Hotel in Giles Country in the southwest Virginian mountains, five hours south of Washington, DC.
This cosy lakeside mountain retreat is where Dirty Dancing was filmed back in 1986. Its themed weekends attract many a die-hard dirty dancer - and you better be a real fan of the film; it's played on a loop in the lobby and makes for strangely compelling viewing even if it's the 117th time you've heard the phrase, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."
On Friday night, the activities barn is the hottest spot in town with guests mamboing, grinding and sashaying their way through the soundtrack. Saturday's dance lessons are excellent prep for the evening's dancing in the ballroom. Trained dancers teach mambo, merengue and foxtrot from scratch and the final result doesn't look half-bad - no "lifts" are attempted though...
The tour of the grounds proves highly entertaining. Pose at the "Staff quarters" sign where Baby carried the famous watermelon or crouch in the kitchen where she found Penny crying. Following the tour is a fiercely-contested trivia quiz where groups of scarily-knowledgeable fans outdo each other with the ins and outs of characters' surnames, scene changes and song details.
There's time to tune out, too. The Wilderness Conservancy protects the Mountain Lake's 2,600 acres and does a good job of it. The hotel is surrounded by several trails leading up through the mountains, through woodlands or looping the lake. There's a swimming pool, games room, library, bicycle hire and plenty more besides - enough to give you the time of your life anyway.
Mountain Lake Hotel offers Dirty Dancing weekends starting from $460/£223 plus tax for two people and includes dinner Friday and Saturday night, breakfast Saturday and Sunday morning, lunch buffet on Saturday, dances, tour and trivia quiz. Private dance instruction starts from $25/£12 for 30 minutes. Dates for Dirty Dancing weekends in 2008 are 11/12 July, 15/16 August, 5/6 September and 21/22 November.
Virgin Atlantic offers return flights from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles from £346 per person including taxes and charges. Please visit www.virginatlantic.com or call 08705 747 747. For more information on Washington DC or Virginia as a destination, visit www.capitalregionusa.co.uk or call 020 8339 6048. NEXT: More great ideas for girls-only getaways...
