Last year, as I stood in the ruins of the Nevele Hotel, memories flooded back despite the devastation around me.
Every surface is covered in graffiti, roofs have caved in throughout the property, and not a single piece of carpet or wood paneling remains — all stripped away by years of looting. The grand ballroom where my grandmother once insisted on the best table in the house is now a dangerous shell. The room where my extended family held our seder is exposed to the elements, every piece of the glass window in shards on the ground. The building clearly isn’t safe to enter, though that didn’t stop me from making this pilgrimage.
Yet even in its decrepit state, the hotel sparked profound emotion, particularly as I visited in the week after my grandfather’s death. The image of my grandparents greeting their nine grandchildren at the Nevele’s doors each year remains etched in my mind as the highlight of our family calendar. This wasn’t high-end luxury — it was something far more valuable: authentic Jewish family experience.
For generations of Jewish families, the “Borscht Belt” hotels in New York’s Catskill Mountains weren’t just vacation spots — they were the cornerstone of family life. My childhood Passovers at the Nevele, one of the last to close in 2009, created the kind of memories money can’t buy: cousins running wild through hidden tunnels and unexplored rooms, extended family gathered for meals, and entertainment that launched careers of scores of Jewish comedians.
Today’s family vacations often involve expensive resorts or carefully curated experiences. The closing scenes of “Dirty Dancing” captured this shift perfectly — as the characters lament that kids don’t want to come to the Catskills anymore, preferring fancy European vacations instead. That 1987 cinematic eulogy to the Borscht Belt proved prescient.
Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze in a famous scene from the original “Dirty Dancing” from 1987. (Getty Images)
But what we’ve lost in the decline of the Catskill hotels is something uniquely valuable: spaces designed for Jewish families to simply be together, where Jewish culture wasn’t an add-on but the very foundation of the experience. In an era of increasing isolation and digital distraction, we need these spaces more than ever.
The ruins of these once-vibrant hotels remind us of what we’ve lost. But they also point the way forward — showing us how to create spaces that prioritize family connection, Jewish community and the kind of unstructured time that builds lasting bonds. It’s time to reinvent this model for a new generation.
Significant obstacles confront any attempt to revive the Catskills model. Real-estate costs in today’s market dwarf those of the Borscht Belt era, while insurance and liability concerns make family-friendly facilities increasingly expensive to maintain. Modern work culture, with its expectations of constant connectivity, makes extended family stays challenging to coordinate. Any new venture would need to navigate these financial and logistical hurdles through innovative funding and operational models.
We’re not starting from scratch. Some initiatives are already exploring this territory: Ramah Berkshires’ family camp offers traditional camp activities alongside Jewish programming; Camp Havaya welcomes diverse Jewish families for immersive experiences in the Poconos; and Pearlstone’s Family Farm Camp weaves earth-based Jewish wisdom into outdoor adventures. But these remain limited in scope and scale compared to the year-round, accessible model of the Catskills era. Most operate only during peak seasons and can accommodate relatively few families at a time.
What might a modern interpretation look like? Imagine season-long communal residences where families could book recurring weeks or weekends throughout the year, creating consistent community rather than one-off vacations. Consider converted summer camps that transform into multi-generational spaces during school breaks, complete with kosher dining halls and shared Shabbat experiences. Picture affordable time-share arrangements specifically designed for extended Jewish families, with flexible spaces that accommodate both private family time and community gathering.
These new spaces could blend traditional elements — communal dining rooms, entertainment venues and plenty of unstructured spaces for kids to explore — with modern amenities like co-working spaces for parents who can’t fully disconnect and teen lounges that thoughtfully integrate technology. They could offer programming that spans generations: storytelling workshops where grandparents share family histories, cooking classes that pass down traditional recipes, and spaces for both organized and impromptu music and performance.
The key is maintaining what made the Catskills special: affordability, extended family accessibility and an environment where Jewish life flows naturally rather than feeling forced. In my grandparents’ memory, and for all the grandparents who once stood proudly at hotel entrances welcoming their growing families, we should work to recreate these spaces of Jewish family life — not as museums to the past, but as vital centers for building the Jewish family memories of tomorrow.
Keep Jewish Stories in Focus.
(JR) has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
is vice president of Israel and Jewish affairs at JCRC-NY. She earned a doctorate in higher education administration and previously worked as the chief of staff at the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life at NYU.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of (JR) or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.
