Viewers of the clever comedyThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselwill undoubtedly remember a refreshing few episodes of season 2 that were set in a summer getaway in the Catskills, the Steiner Mountain Resort, considered a non-negotiable part of the Weissman and Maisel families' typical year. While air travel became more common for the wealthy in the latter part of the twentieth century, the early and mid-century saw a huge popularity for these types of resorts to escape from the heat of New York City.
These episodes were some of the best in the show’s second season, making it one of thebestThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselseasonsoverall. It provided the delightfulnovelty of seeing key characters in a different setting. Not only doesMrs. Maiselfeature characters based on real-life people; the setting in the Catskills is based on a real-life resort. Sadly, the filming location for the Steiner Resort closed in 2020, but it enjoyed many years of success while retaining its retro spirit.
Mrs. Maisel Season 2’s Steiner Resort Was A Real Place
The Steiner Mountain Resort Was Filmed At Scott’s Family Resort
The Steiner Mountain Resort inThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselwas filmed atScott’s Family Resort. Within the last few years, Scott’s has been purchased by a hotel group and is undergoing renovations (perThe Hollywood Reporter), but previously ran for 150 years. Guests enjoyed private waterfront decks, lakeside views, cottage-style cabins, an old-style bowling alley, an entertainment center, and many more luxuries.Scott’s Family Resort even hosted a retro weekend and fully embraced itsMrs. Maiselassociation- rightfully so, since it provided some of the best scenes in the series, not least Abe’s special calisthenics outfit, one ofMrs. Maisel’smost shocking scenes.
The Steiner Mountain Resort inThe Marvelous Mrs. Maiselwas filmed at Scott’s Family Resort.
Mrs. Maisel’s two-month vacation with her family in the Catskills' Steiner Resort is not only one of thereal places inMrs. Maisel, but one of a string of successful mountain resorts referred to as“The Borscht Belt”(perBritannica). This term, reportedly coined byVarietymagazine, referred to the successful destinations’ catering to the Jewish community. Country clubs in the early to mid-century were not as inclusive, which necessitated creating a safe space where Jewish guests had praying spaces, access to kosher meat and a welcoming environment. These resorts werevery lucrative before air travel became easier.
Dirty Dancing Also Showed An Interest In The Location
Scott’s Family Resort featured in three episodes ofThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season 2,after which it received a new wave of guests and national fame.Mrs. Maiselis not the only Hollywood production that courted Scott’s Family Resort- it was also approached as a location forDirty Dancingin the 1980s.However,Dirty Dancingultimately opted forMountain Lake Lodgein Virginia for the movie. Another example of a Catskills resort featured in a production is the 1999 movieA Walk on the Moonstarring Viggo Mortensen.
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Dan Palladino, an executive producer onThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,has spoken about theimportance of portraying Catskills resortsin the show. In an interview withVariety,Palladino stated:
“We felt that was an important part of the cultural history of Jews, just in general. The Catskills was the getaway,” Palladino says. “It’s just really interesting that there were 500 hotels and hundreds of thousands of people congregating in these hotels for two months. They were the cruise ships of their day.”
– viaVariety
The length of the Maisel family’s stay at Steiner may seem unusual to modern audiences. However, it was common for women and children to stay at these resorts all summer, while the husbands would visit on weekends. In the show, because Abe is an academic, he is also able to take the whole summer off with his family. It was great for stay at home mothers of the time, who would have been able to have a break from cooking, send their children to structured activities, and socialize with other adults, as shown inThe Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
