Somewhere far, far away is a place where only a certain gal would go, the sort who gets excited about a watermelon, would love to do a lift in a lake and who still swoons when Patrick Swayze immortalises the line 'Nobody puts Baby in the corner'

I was 11 when I first watched Dirty Dancing. It was 1987 and 11-year-olds were pretty innocent then. I recall wanting to be Penny, Patrick Swizzle's glam, blonde dance partner, but after twigging that she was 'in trouble', I switched my wannabe allegiance to Baby, although 'that' scene in Johnny's shack did seem rather saucy.

Little did I know that 20 years later, I'd be re-living Baby's every move, along with four fellow DD freaks, at the very hotel where it was filmed. Set amid 2,600 acres of the beautiful Appalachian mountains of Pembroke, Virginia, about five hours south of Washington DC, it was by pure coincidence that it became the chosen location for what would be a huge, iconic movie, after one of its producers happened to stumble up on it.

Now, several times a year, it hosts themed Dirty Dancing weekends. All are welcome, but it helps if you like, no, LOVE, the film (it's played on a loop in the lobby all weekend). The hotel has an intensely likeable feel. It's not fancy, but it's cosy and comfortable with friendly staff and their irresistible relaxed Virginia drawl. Don't ask for ranch dressing, ask for raaaaaanch.

Hit the floor

Friday night's dancing takes place in the cheesily named Activities Barn. It was a little like arriving as an evening wedding guest where you don't know anyone, and there's only one solution: knock back the G&Ts and get on the dance floor with made-up mambo and faux foxtrot. And once Rick the DJ started spinning those discs, the rhythm was gonna get you, regardless.

While the Activities Barn didn't quite resemble the film's gritty dance shack where sexy couples got raw and raunchy, the hotel and surroundings recall the movie to perfection. The Saturday tour, led by manager Buzz who was there during filming, is for hard-core fanatics only. Bring your cotton dress and frumpy blue cardy and you too could run across the lawn to the Main House, pose by the Staff Quarters sign (watermelons, sadly, not provided) and crouch on the kitchen floor where Baby finds Penny crying and has to shake off creepy Neil Kellerman to get help.

In the breakfast room, site of many scenes with the Houseman family, cad waiter Robbie and Max Kellerman, I got to re-enact my favourite line telling anyone and everyone to 'put your pickle on everybody's plate college boy and leave the hard stuff to me.'

One of the most iconic spots is the tranquil, lakeside gazebo, location for Penny's merengue lesson and that tearful father-daughter conversation. Close by is the Houseman's cabin. Film geeks will love the fact that the door is the exact same one where Daddy Houseman shunned Johnny when he tried to thank the doc for his help with Penny. If it all gets too much, take advantage of the many walking and cycling trails which offer sublime views of the Virginia countryside.

The vista from atop Bald Knob (yes, giggle away) mountain is particularly pretty. The Wilderness Conservancy, who maintain the parkland, also run guided walks. Back at the hotel, there's a heated, outdoor pool, hot tub, lakeside beach and all manner of Kellerman-style activities from volleyball to giant checkers. We chose bunny-hopping across the lawn.

Test your knowledge

The grand tour was followed by a Dirty Dancing trivia quiz. It was frightening to not only discover your own in-depth knowledge, but to realise that others on this planet also know Robbie's surname, the song playing when Baby carries the watermelon and the registration number of Patrick Swayze's car.

That afternoon included a two-hour lesson in mambo, foxtrot and merengue with private lessons bookable afterwards. I learnt why you don?t step on the one or put your heel down. Sadly, we didn't learn the final dance, but in truth, with the combination of spaghetti-armed dancers and two-left-feet-folk, the end result would have borne closer resemblance to a drunken game of Twister. Everyone got very into it all. To quote Penny: 'God wouldn't have given you maracas if He didn't want you to shake 'em.'

Saturday night, the big dance, and after an ultra-cheesy film synopsis by our dance teachers, only one question remained: would our girls rule the dance floor? We had stiff competition. A North Carolina dance troupe was determined to show off their fancy footwork, even when the music changed tempo and Rick started playing Kanye West.

And in true Baby style, we also danced to 'I've Had The Time Of My Life', 'Hungry Eyes', 'Stay', 'Be My Baby' and all the classics in a euphoric display of swirling skirts and killer moves.

It's another world at Mountain Lake, the location beautiful, the experience, top cheesy fun. Leaving was always going to be hard, but I left scared, scared of everything, scared of what I saw, scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I was scared of walking out of that activities barn and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I felt when I'm dancing the foxtrot to Kanye West.

And if you don't get that, then this is no place for you...either that or you just need to see that film again.

For more information on Virginia as a destination visit www.capitalregionusa.co.uk or call 020 8339 6048.

Virgin Atlantic offers return flights from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles from £346 per person. Price includes all taxes and charges. For more information and to book, visit www.virginatlantic.com or call 08705 747 747.

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.

Dirty Dancing weekends are taking place 11 & 12 July, 15 & 16 August, 5 & 6 September and 21 & 22 November 2008. For more information, visit www.mountainlakehotel.com