NC inn where ‘Dirty Dancing’ cast, Franklin D. Roosevelt stayed just sold for millions
A nearly century-old Western North Carolina inn and spa that hosted the cast and crew of the 1987 Hollywood classic “Dirty Dancing” film and President Franklin D. Roosevelt has sold for at least $10 million, the broker on the sale said Wednesday.
The 1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, is a landmark property and tourist attraction that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year, broker George Carter told The Charlotte Observer.
While the movie was partly made in the Lake Lure area, no filming took place at the inn.
Each September, the town of Lake Lure hosts a dance festival that supports the late “Dirty Dancing” star Patrick Swayze’s charitable foundation.
President Calvin Coolidge and authors Emily Post and F. Scott Fitzgerald also stayed at the inn, 25 miles south of Asheville in Rutherford County, according to Carter’s announcement of the sale.
Carter told the Observer the sale was in the “eight digits,” meaning at least $10 million, although he declined to release the specific figure.
The sale more than doubled the previous $4 million record of a commercial property sold in the Lake Lure area, he said.
72-room hotel, multiple restaurants
1927 Lake Lure Inn & Spa is located in the Hickory Nut Gorge that also encompasses Chimney Rock State Park.
The sale included the 72-room hotel; the property’s iconic Arcade Commerce Building; historic Keeter home and acreage; lrongate salon and spa; multiple restaurants; and offices and public spaces, Carter said.
The hotel includes several “Dirty Dancing”-themed rooms, such as “Baby’s Bungalow,” “Johnny’s Cabin” and the “Swayze Suite.”
Owners lovingly restored the inn
After 20 years preserving and revitalizing the inn, owners George and Hope Wittmer “were simply ready to take a step back from the helm and watch their project continue to thrive and grow under new ownership,” Carter said.
They sold to Ridgeline Acquisitions LLC, owner of boutique hotels in North Carolina and north Georgia mountain towns.
The Wittmers are long-time collectors of antiques, decorative arts and historic memorabilia, and the hotel is full of rare finds from around the world, including statutory, paintings, carvings and historic objects, Carter said.
In a statement, George Wittmer said he and his wife were glad to have welcomed so many visitors and locals “to share in the magic of Lake Lure.”
“We’ve seen welcomed growth and transformation of this mountain community, and we are excited to embark on our next set of local ventures,” he said.
Wittmer, owner of Lake Lure Properties LLC, said he and his wife are grateful to the staff at the inn, many of whom have been with them all 20 years.
“They have made this Town Center project possible and have contributed enormously over the years to the improvement of Lake Lure, our adopted hometown,” he said. “We are confident that the Lake Lure Inn and Town Center will continue to thrive.”
Keaton Nickelsen, partner at Ridgeline Acquisitions LLC, said Ridgeline is “thrilled to be able to honor the rich history” of the hotel “and the legacy of George and Hope Wittmer.”
“We are very excited to be a part of the next chapter of this beautiful and unique property and join the Lake Lure community,” Nickelsen said in a statement.
