For all media and Film inquiries, Partnerships, and Property-wide buyout,
please reach out to President & CEO, Heidi Stone.
Contact Heidi Stone
Heidi Stone is President & CEO of Mountain Lake Lodge, having served as its General Manager since 2013. During that time, she has led an extensive grassroots effort to transform the resort - where the cult classic Dirty Dancing movie was filmed 35 years ago - into a thriving, award-winning lodging destination. In 2018, she was named Hotelier of the Year by the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association and Mountain Lake was named Hotel of the Year.
According to Mountain Lake's Chairman of the Board, Bob Donovan, "Mountain Lake Lodge would not exist today if it wasn't for Heidi Stone. When I first visited in 2011, it was rundown and neglected. The Endowment was considering closing the property, but Heidi, a talented hotelier and true visionary, used her insight and passion to save Mountain Lake and make it into the successful resort it is today."
According to Mountain Lake's Chairman of the Board, Bob Donovan, "Mountain Lake Lodge would not exist today if it wasn't for Heidi Stone. When I first visited in 2011, it was rundown and neglected. The Endowment was considering closing the property, but Heidi, a talented hotelier and true visionary, used her insight and passion to save Mountain Lake and make it into the successful resort it is today."
Under Stone's leadership, occupancy, revenues and group business have soared and the property has seen consistent growth every year during her tenure. During 2020 and the pandemic, Mountain Lake Lodge recorded its best year ever as guests sought the timeless allure of its refreshing mountain air, outdoor activities and cabin-like accommodations.
With 30-plus years of hospitality experience, Stone was Director of Sales and Marketing for the four-star High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, NY for five years. She built its sales and marketing department from scratch and by 2010, despite an economic downturn, the resort was thriving and finished 30% over budget. She also served as Director of Sales and Marketing for The Berkeley Hotel in Richmond, VA, and has worked with such top brands as Hilton, Doubletree, Disney World, Peabody Hotels and Omni Resorts.
Stone has liaised with hundreds of professional meeting planners, Fortune 500 companies and government contract groups, legendary Olympic athletes, and movie and sports celebrities around the world. Most recently, she and her team hosted Eureka Productions and Lionsgate Television to film the "The Real Dirty Dancing" celebrity reality dance competition mini-series; it aired on FOX to a national audience during the month-long February 2022 sweeps.
A native upstate New Yorker, Stone earned her degree in hotel and restaurant management at SUNY. Ever since her teens, when she worked summers as a front desk clerk at the Howard Johnson property down the road, she has wanted to run a hotel. Her mentor, the hotel's general manager, taught her that anything is possible, which is one of the motivations she lives by and now shares with those embarking on a career in the hospitality industry.