The Time of My Life

The Virginia Cottage is among the most photographed structures on the property. I can assure you that on most weekends, Dirty Dancing themed or otherwise, the cottage is occupied, having been reserved usually at least a year in advance. There have been guests who have stayed on several days after the conclusion of a Dirty Dancing weekend just to stay in the cabin on a Tuesday or Wednesday when it became vacant, just so they could say that they stayed in Baby’s Cabin. It’s a very nice cottage, and guests do travel from all over the globe to celebrate the movie that means so much to them.

The Virginia Cottage

Guests touring the porch of the Virginia Cottage on an official Dirty Dancing weekend

The cottage is a little different now than when they filmed the movie. Most obviously, the roof is now green and the steps that extended down the front are gone, replaced by a ramp on the side. Now there are also large rocks just below the cabin, on the front facing the hotel, which were not there during filming. The installment of boulders occurred when the pool was constructed and the lawn was terraced. The boulders are there to help shore up the foundation of the cabin since part of the slope it sits on was excavated to level out the pool deck.

The cottage itself has three bedrooms and two doors, both of which face the lake. The second door is the one Johnny knocks on before having the confrontation with Dr. Houseman and storming off. Multiple other snippets of the movie were also filmed in the cabin or on the porch. Baby is seen leaning against the railing, longing for Johnny, shortly before the final dance, and she flits off the porch to check out the main house (i.e., the stone hotel) early in the movie.