Vermont resort for ‘Bachelor Winter Games’ ordered to close

WILMINGTON, Vt. – A private Vermont ski resort that was the setting for “The Bachelor Winter Games” on ABC has been shut down for failing to pay taxes.

The resort missed a required payment to the state and was ordered to close until it is paid, Meridith Dennes, a spokeswoman for The Hermitage Club, said Monday. “We are working diligently to secure the funds to allow us to open for this coming weekend.”

The members-only resort owes more than $1 million in back taxes and recently laid off about 80 people, citing poor weather and cash-flow issues.

Last month, a bank filed a foreclosure notice on several of the resort’s properties, saying the club had defaulted on more than $16 million in loans.

State employees were posting public notices on the doors of the resort Monday afternoon, and the company was not allowed to open until it is able to come up with enough money to make its payments to the tax department, said Vermont Tax Commissioner Kaj Samsom.

The Hermitage Club hosted “The Bachelor Winter Games,” a four-episode spin-off of “The Bachelor” that ran in conjunction with the Olympics.