This is the perfect read for summer! A perfect escape to a resort and family drama and interactions. Such a great book!

This is a perfect book for summer reading. The story reminded me of being behind the scenes at the Dirty Dancing resort. I loved the Goldman and Weingold families, with all of their drama and secrets. They were human, just like everyone else, even if they had to be in the spotlight as joint owners of The Golden Hotel, one of the most prestigious resort escapes in the Catskills for many years. This is a great story of family, friendship, love, and the joy of vacation. Loved it!

This was the perfect summer read! I always adore a well-done family drama and Last Summer at the Golden Hotel did not disappoint! I always get a little nervous when there are alternating POVs within a book. I think it's one of the harder ways to write a book, but Friedland did such a great job with it! I really loved the Dirty Dancing vibes and enjoyed the flashbacks! I would definitely recommend this to other family drama lovers!

This is exactly the kind of family story with history that I love diving into. I really liked The Intermission, and I liked this one even better. I could clearly see the hotel, both in its glory days and present state. I could also see all of the family and staff. The ending was really satisfying.

I want to vacation at the Golden Hotel! Elyssa Friedland has created a vacation spot to remember through her novel "Last Summer at the Golden Hotel."

Just like its current owners, the Golden Hotel is past its prime. Once the summer residence for families, it's lost some, or admittedly most, of its luster. The "Dirty Dancing" atmosphere has lost its flair. The banisters don't sparkle, the activities are outdated and nothing seems to function correctly. The grand hotel co-owned by two families now is more like an aged senior living facility. When a casino conglomerate offers to buy the Golden, all the family members have to come to an agreement.

Three generations of family, memories and plans for the future come together for a last fling at the Golden before they make their decision. They quickly learn it's not so easy to put the past behind them whether it's in romance, secrets or life in general. Will goat yoga be enough to save the Golden? Will first crushes reignite or burn out? All is hilariously possible at the Golden Hotel.

My grandmother was born in Catskill, NY. It’s this small town that is adorable. Every summer we would go there and it was my favorite place to be. Any time I see a book that is set in the Catskills, I need to read it. Not only is the Last Summer at the Golden Hotel set in a resort in the Catskill but it seriously gives off Dirty Dancing vibes! This book can honestly be read in one sitting while lounging by the pool. I loved the families and the nostalgia that went with this book. This was such a wonderful read and I highly recommend it.

I haven't laughed this hard while reading in quite some time. This was everything I needed and more.

Thank you!

Thank you @berkleypub and @netgalley for Last Summer at the Golden Hotel!

I love a good family drama, and this one does not disappoint. It also has a little bit of humor that makes it a fun read as well. I enjoyed it. And boy, did it hit me right in the feels a few days after I finished it. Not because it’s reminiscent of Dirty Dancing (I loved Dirty Dancing!) or because it brought back memories of my childhood family vacations (there were very few), but because of what the vacations in the book represented: tradition.

Although we didn’t have a version of The Golden Hotel we went to every summer like the families in the book, we did have our summer traditions. The nostalgia of Last Summer at the Golden Hotel triggered so many memories of summers past and has inspired me to create as many summer traditions with the boy as I can.

I encourage you to add this one to your summer reading list, and if you’re not already, create your own summer traditions!

I loved this book! I had been in a bit of a book rut and was having a hard time getting sucked into the plot of any of my recent reads. Last Summer at the Golden Hotel changed that for me, and I read the book from start to finish in a day! This was a light but interesting read about two families who are faced with a tough but important decision about their Catskills Property. While I haven’t watched Dirty Dancing in years, I definitely felt similar vibes with this book, and wished I could be transported to the Golden Hotel to see it for myself! There was just enough drama and side stories to keep the plot interesting without anything feeling too heavy or emotional. A great read by Elyssa Friedland! Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is a fun summer romp through the Catskill Mountains also known as The Borscht Belt in its hay day.
Benny Goodman & Amos Weingold were childhood friends who realized their dream and opened The Golden Hotel in 1960. Benny and his wife Louise were very comfortable in their role as the glamorous hosts who adored the limelight and their guests. Amos and his wife Fanny were the glue that assured that their guests received the best possible experience at their hotel. Together both families worked hard to make The Golden Hotel the crown jewel of the Catskill Mountains, but that didn’t mean it came without drama. Their guests were accustomed to being entertained by celebrities, having access to an endless variety of delicious food, and a staff that catered to their guests every wish. It was a perfect annual vacation spot for wealthy families looking to escape the heat and hustle of New York City.
Fast forward to present day. It seems the Golden Hotel has lost its luster and is no longer the premier resort it once was. The family is struggling with maintaining the aging property and reservations are suffering. Benny has passed, and the Goodman and Weingold families are left with a decision to continue with their family legacy or to sell to a very interested developer looking to tear the Golden down and build a casino. Get ready because this book gives you lots of laughs, love, family fights, secret affairs, and a surprise at the end that you won’t see coming!
This is such an enjoyable book. Elyssa Freidman did a great job of character development. Her characters are loveable, believable, and I feel like I know some of them!
Since there are many characters in the book, I would highly recommend following the who’s who breakdown in the beginning of the book. Aside from that – I would recommend this book to others.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, and Elyssa Friedland for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
#LastSummerattheGoldenHotel #NetGalley

“It's not the changes so much this time. It's that it all seems to be ending. You think kids want to come with their parents and take fox-trot lessons? Trips to Europe, that’s what the kids want. Twenty-two countries in three days. It feels like it's all slipping away.”- Max Kellerman, Dirty Dancing

When I kept hearing comparisons be made between Last Summer at the Golden Hotel and the iconic film classic, Dirty Dancing, I knew this was a book that had to be read. And while there are momentary jolts of Dirty Dancing resort-like memories, I want to warn potential readers that this book isn’t really the nostalgia juggernaut you too might expect it to be.

We open on the Goldman and Weingold families as they are putting another successful season at The Golden Hotel to rest. Briefly we are introduced to the power couples in charge and meet their young children, hinting at all their angst yet to come. In fact, I assumed this would be the story of the families over the years as they faced the hotel’s decline.

So you can imagine my surprise when the golden years, and even many years thereafter, are glazed over-bringing us to the hotel in present day, currently on its last breath. As the families reunite to decide the future of The Golden Hotel, old habits die hard and long buried secrets emerge. Should they fight to save a place that once brought them such joy, or chalk up the “time of their lives” as something of the past?

I’m just going to come out and say it- I wanted more out of this book. I don’t mind it mostly occurring in present day, but I think the story would have been richer if we got to experience some of the golden years first hand. I mean, my mom talks about taking trips to Villa Roma, a Catskill like resort, when she was growing up. In the absence of direct experience though, nothing beats a detailed flashback.

You might argue it would be hard to juggle both past and present in one book. It would be like carrying the proverbial watermelon, so to speak. And yet, this story juggles A LOT of characters. Too many, in my opinion, to make any real investment as a reader. Less characters allows for more time to develop the ones you do have.

I’m not saying I didn’t like this book. I’m just saying it had a slightly different vibe than expected. But so many people love it. So who knows? One day I might say I’m wrong and if so, I’ll say I’m wrong. 😉

Thanks to @netgalley and @berkleypub for this title in exchange for an honest review!

Between this novel and The Floating Feldmans, Elyssa Friedland has shown a penchant for writing family sagas. And while I really enjoyed Feldmans, I liked Last Summer at the Golden Hotel even more!

The story was cute and funny throughout. At first, I thought it would be hard to keep up with all the characters, but it really wasn't. (Sometimes I'd lose track of who was narrating a chapter, but that happened more when I got interrupted and had to stop halfway through.) I really liked all the characters (minus one who will be pretty obvious early in the story) and the dynamic they had together. The historical facts about the hotel were fun and interesting and I like how Elyssa peppered in details about other hotels from that era, as well. It is definitely for fans of Dirty Dancing, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Schitt's Creek. I had no idea what would happen and was in for a lot of surprises. I was even rooting for the hotel to somehow get revived and brought back to its glory days. Details and descriptions made it easy to visualize characters and settings without taking away from the narrative.

I felt like some of the characters overreacted a bit to one of the surprise revelations, given how things are this day and age. Like the surprise would have been more outrageous a couple of decades ago vs. now. However, it was also reflective of how self-involved these characters were.

Overall, I just really enjoyed this novel and hope Elyssa will come up with another big family story for her next novel!

Movie casting suggestions:
Aimee: Robin Weigert
Brian: Paul Rudd
Louise: Kelly Bishop (for Dirty Dancing nostalgia reasons too)
Amos: Jeffrey Tambor
Zach: Joel Courtney
Phoebe: Gracie Dzienny
Michael: Joshua Bassett
Maddie: Sarah Hyland

I loved this book and will be choosing it for my book club. I learned a lot about the borscht belt. Most importantly I felt invested in the characters and. The hotel itself. I enjoyed the various points of view and the colorful characters.

The Golden Hotel was the prime summer place to vacation in the Catskills...but it had seen better days. The family members of the two original owners were all over the place on the future of The Golden. Do they sell, try to repair the major needs of the buildings and grounds, or just give up? A delightful story, with a good plot that will take you right along as the decision is made.

I had to DNF around 33%, there are so many characters and storylines to keep up with. It just isn’t the book the for me but I can also see why a lot of people like it. I hope to one day go back and try this again!

It was not the story I had hoped it would be. Too many characters with far too many storylines. Just an OKAY read for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity this novel.

Like all of Elyssa Friedland's previous books, this is just a flat out fun read! A family must come together to decide the fate of their hotel located in the Catskills, The glory days are over, and an offer has come in to buy the hotel and raze it. This book has a nostagic feel to it, back when the thing to do in the summer was head out to the Catskills and spend the summer at places like Grossingers. Full of family drama and entertaining characters, this is the perfect book to take along to the pool or the beach. Loved it!

The best kind of summer read! A perfect dose of nostalgia, heart, humor and well-executed plot lines with a few eply satisfying ending.

DNF @ 30%

While the premise and the setting of this book are idyllic and perfect for a summer read, there are far too many characters in this book. I am having a hard time following who is who. This story has so much potential, but I just can't invest anymore time trying to figure out all of these characters.

Dirty Dancing is one of my favourite movies of all-time and I loved the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel episodes that take place while the family spends their summer at a similar resort in the Catskills so Last Summer at the Golden Hotel seems to be written for a reader like me!

In the latest novel by Elyssa Friedland, three generations of the Goldman and Weingold families get together to decide the fate of the Catskills resort hotel that has been in their family for 60+ years. The Golden Hotel was once a glamorous resort in the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene but times have changed since the heyday of the '60s and '70s and The Golden is now the last hotel of its kind still standing. The Golden has been falling apart for years and a development company has offered to buy the resort in order to bulldoze it and build another casino. The two families must decide to either accept the offer or make one last-ditch attempt to save the resort.

The book has humour, family secrets and drama, a little romance, some suspense over the fate of the hotel, and a sense of nostalgia for the past but mostly it's a story about families that wraps up with a nice heartwarming ending. Last Summer at the Golden Hotel is a fun read that's perfect for lazy summer days whether it's on the beach, lounging by the pool or in a lakeside Adirondack chair!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Recommended on my website in 29 of the Best Summer Beach Reads in 2021 - https://www.gonewiththefamily.com/2021/06/best-summer-reads.html

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.