Published: 30 July 2018
Last updated: 5 March 2024
THINK ABOUT A RESORT spread out over dozens of kilometrss, filled with hundreds of luxury hotels and guest houses – 532 if you want to know the exact number. About tens of thousands of tourists paddling in Olympic-sized swimming pools every day in summer, and tens of thousands skiing on the slopes of the nearby snow-covered mountains every day in winter.
Think about dozens of filled-to-capacity, five-star hotels with glittering lobbies and more rooms than the largest hotels you’ve seen in Las Vegas. About wild parties with loud music and thousands of party-goers dancing into the wee hours of the night.
About modern fitness rooms with boxing arenas where giants like Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano used to train. About gleaming basketball courts for the convenience of legends like Wilt Chamberlain (the man and his 100-point game) and Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerback, one of the greatest basketball coaches in US history, with nine NBA championships to his credit.
Think about concerts and musicals staged in the theaters at the hotels, and about Barbra Streisand and Paul Newman who stay there on a regular basis. About comedians like Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld who show up to entertain vacationers – and if you’re lucky you will probably also find Elizabeth Taylor there quite often, relaxing in the lobby of the luxurious Grossinger’s hotel.
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Photo: Guests sit by the pool at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel, in 1977. John Margolies / Library of Congress
