Elaine Grossinger Etess, the third-generation Jewish proprietor of the famed Grossinger’s Catskill Resort Hotel, has died at 98.
Etess, who died at her home in Boca Raton, Florida, was the daughter of Jennie and Harry Grossinger, the couple who grew the resort from a small boarding house to a 35-building, 600-room luxury complex. Grossinger’s is cited as the inspiration for the fictional Kellerman’s Mountain Resort in the 1987 film “Dirty Dancing.”
Inheriting the property along with her older brother Paul, Etess continued the resort’s legacy as the “Waldorf in the Catskills.” Grossinger’s served three kosher meals per day and provided top-tier entertainment and athletic activities…