Baguio City has been called a lot of things—the City of Pines, the Summer Capital of the Philippines—but what it is, really, is my favorite city in the Philippines.

It is arguably the hub of tourism in Luzon, especially during the month-long festivities of the Panagbenga Festival every February. It has the best thrift shopping places with its ukay-ukay stores. A food trip paradise with its numerous restaurants lining Session Road. And a weekend-getaway haven with its numerous tourist spots and general accessibility from Metro Manila. Its year-round cool and temperate weather only adds to its charm as a tourist destination.

I know I’m not alone in nominating Baguio City as their favorite city, but if you’re still unconvinced, here’s a travel guide to convert you to become a certified Baguio Junkie.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED TOURS IN BAGUIO

One of the things I make sure I never miss whenever I travel to Baguio are their delicious garlic longganisa sausages. I dream about it during the six-hour bus ride en route to the city, then I make a breakfast out of it when I arrive. I eat it on cheap carinderias for lunch, and dine on it on posh restaurants for dinner. And more importantly, yes, I do bring some back home with me after the trip.

BAGUIO’S DE RECADO AND JAMONADO LONGGANISA

Apparently, Baguio’s very own longganisa has two versions. Most people are aware of the garlic one, the de recado type as they refer to it, but they also have a sweet one, the jamonado version. While I prefer the former, I haven’t really tried the latter that much.

Baguio City has the perfect weather for al fresco dining, but it’s even more perfect for outdoor drinking. Before discovering 108 Session Road Café, Bohemian Café was our go to place when we wanted a bucket of beer in the City of Pines.

BOHEMIAN CAFE’S AL FRESCO AREA

Located at the corner of Lower Assumption and Session Road, its setting is perfect for people watching. We’d usually sit ourselves on its outermost wooden table, almost kissing the sidewalk, before ordering our favorite drink, Red Horse Beer. The street intersecting Session Road is busy enough for an entertaining afternoon session. And yes, we usually frequent this place during the daytime, 108 Session Road Café being still closed during those hours.

During one of our trips to Baguio about a couple of years back, we hunted the city for a budget hotel we could crash into after going through the mountains of Banaue and Sagada. We checked the net en route to the City of Pines but we really need not have looked far, as right across SM Baguio, along one of the main thoroughfares of the city, is Hotel 45.

The hotel is quite prominent along Baguio’s chaotic skyline. You can easily see its billboard when going to Session Road. I have long since read about this place’s affordability, but haven’t really tried their rooms since they almost always were fully booked. I guess that’s a testament to how cheap their lodgings really are.

SEE: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

Session Road has always been special to me. I love walking along its chilly sidewalks, dodging both locals and tourists garbed in sweaters, boots, and bonnets. I love the many shops and restaurants inside both new and old buildings. I love how during rainy Baguio days, we’d hole up on a second floor veranda of a certain bar and simply watch the passing cars along its slick roadways, beer in hand, stories passed around.

That certain bar, 108 Session Road Café, is located at the old La Azotea building, the same one where celebrated filmmaker, Kidlat Tahimik’s quirky Oh My Gulay! can be found. But we frequent La Azotea, not for OMG’s leafy offerings, but for a few hours of beer and acoustic music.

I’ve always wondered what’s inside the Ifugao-inspired building at the corner of Harrison and Governor Pack Road in Baguio every time I pass it by. I know it’s a museum, but for the life of me, I can’t seem to find the time to visit it, considering how frequent I go up to the City of Pines.

This last time, I made sure I get to enter its doors.

CARVED WOODEN SPOONS DISPLAYED IN BAGUIO MUSEUM

Baguio City has always fascinated me and whenever I meet someone who actually lives here, I always make it a point to ask a few questions about its history. Like how the Americans discovered it, what it looked like before it became the Summer Capital of the Philippines, and even, how life was during the American Period.

SEE: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

It was raining in Baguio City and we wanted a bowl of piping hot bulalo (beef shank soup). We know there are a lot of eateries hawking bulalo in the city so there really was no challenge in finding one. And staying at the Paragon Hotel & Suites near Burnham Park, we easily found one such eatery, what surprised us though, was that besides bulalo, they also have pigar-pigar, a Pangasinan dish, on their menu!

The name of the restaurant is St. Martin Breadhouse Bulaluhan. Alright, there’s really no bread in sight, but that was alright—we wanted our bulalo with a steaming cup of white rice. Apparently, their original branch is located at Umingan in Pangasinan, and they do have a bakery in that particular eatery. That explains the mystery name, and the pigar-pigar.

We’ve passed by Zola Resto Cafe at the corner of Session Road countless times before, but it was only during this last Baguio trip that we finally got to try their food. The restaurant really didn’t attract us since it looked too western and had none of that native Baguio look that seems to automatically pull tourists (who wants western food while in Baguio, right?). Its façade belongs more to a restaurant inside a mall or a hang out strip rather than at Session Road.

Well, looks can be deceiving, we thought that food here would also be expensive. We were quite wrong.

ZOLA SIZZLING BURGER STEAK ~ PHP89.00

We settled on their comfy booth and ordered their chicken cordon blue and sizzling burger steak for PHP89.00 each. Price is certainly not that bad especially when our lunch was slid down the table—serving size was very generous.

If you have been following my blog, you know I have this obsession with pancit batil patong, a noodle dish famous in Tuguegarao City. During the years I’ve travelled to Baguio City, I have never thought that we would find the said delicacy on its street.

BAGUIO’S ATHLETIC BOWL BUS STATION NEAR BURNHAM PARK

By chance, I tried to googling it, just for the heck of it, and was quite surprised to find a hit. Google told of a panciteria inside the La Azotea building along Session Road, the same building that houses Kidlat Tahimik’s famous Oh My Gulay! restaurant and our go to inuman place in Baguio, 108 Session Road Cafe.

Right then and there, we trooped towards the building, only to find that the panciteria has already closed down. Not losing hope, we asked the on duty guard if he knows where it relocated. He said that he really didn’t know, but being from Tuguegarao himself, he knew a pancit batil patong place in Baguio City. Head on to the Athletic Bowl Bus Station, he said.

It has always been our custom to ride the midnight trip from the Victory Liner station in Caloocan City to the City of Pines. We’d sleep off the five-hour journey and arrive at Baguio City right before dawn. We’d take a quick CR break at the station, then walk along the city’s dark and empty streets with our jackets on, enjoying the pre-dawn chill, en route to our favorite first stop in Baguio, Goto BP.

OUR FAVORITE LUGAW IN BAGUIO

Located right below SM Baguio, at the city’s old bus terminal (which is still functioning, by the way), Goto BP has always been our go to place for our first breakfast in Baguio. It’s a simple open-aired lugawan right along the sidewalk of the terminal, complete with a white Formica bar and fixed wooden stools.

Baguio City bloomed right before my bleary eyes. Hung over from the previous night’s drinking bout at 108 Session Road Cafe, I luckily opened my eyes just in time for the sunrise. We actually left our room drapes open just for this moment. I gazed at Burnham Park below, still cloaked in the darkness of the early morning, contrasting greatly with the intense orange hues of the clouds above. I snapped one picture and promptly went back to bed. Snore.

It was quite unbelievable that an entire year has passed without visiting Baguio City. Some find this place horrendous but I absolutely love the City of Pines. And so, after one failed attempt after another, I finally managed to snag a free long weekend and whisked C along with me on a Victory Liner bus en route to my all-time favorite city in the Philippines.

It was way past midnight and the moon was at its zenith, shining brightly against the deep blue heavens, illuminating the towering pine trees just a few feet from where we were sitting. It was the year’s coldest night yet, with temperature almost hitting the single digit mark. But there we were, struggling to fight off the cold at Le Monet Hotel’s restaurant deck, enjoying bottles of beer and swapping stories like there’s no tomorrow.

LE MONET HOTEL SPARKLES DURING THE EVENINGS

We arrived in Baguio City the previous night, backpacks in tow, ready for a weekend of nothing but leisure and luxury. And there’s nowhere else we’d rather stay than at Le Monet Hotel inside Camp John Hay. To its door, our feet led us.

► CHECK OUT: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

Warmth emanated from the hearth as its embers crackled and hissed. It was a cold December evening, and evenings doesn’t get much colder in the Philippines than in Baguio City. We were at a residence-turned café, found on a lonely road en route to Mines View. We were at Café Yagam and we’re here for two things, their coffee and Cordilleran cuisine.

CAFE YAGAM IN BAGUIO CITY

Away from the maddening crowd of Baguio City, Café Yagam sets its ambience right before you get there. Twisting and climbing our way across a pine-laden road, we turned left and followed a narrow path that seem to lead nowhere. We held our route until a small sign told us we’re finally at our dinner place.

► EXPLORE MORE: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

Being a Baguio junkie, I’ve been to a number of lodgings around the pine city but have never heard of Baguio Holiday Villas. To be fair, there are a lot of accommodation options in Baguio City. And one of my main criteria when looking for a place to stay while in the city is its proximity to Burnham Park. I so love that park that I’m willing to pay more than my usual budget for hotels just to be near it.

►CHECK OUT: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

And so it was, that when I received an invitation from Baguio Holiday Villas to visit their place, I immediately checked how near it is to Burnham Park. A quick search at Google Maps revealed it to be just a few blocks away. A mere five-minute walk, which is really very nice. I never did mind walking around when in Baguio.

►BOOK DISCOUNTED TOURS IN BAGUIO

The first thing that greeted us upon setting our bags down at Baguio Holiday Villas was breakfast and coffee. The lodging has its own café right inside the lobby. Don’t look for something as grand as that of The Manor at Camp John Hay though, it’s a much more intimate affair; a few tables inside the lobby and a couple more at the garden out back.

Their breakfast options consists of the usual silogs—bacons, daings, and hams usually accompanied by mountain rice, fried egg and coffee. Everything is priced at ₱120.00. It’s not the usual ₱60.00 carinderia breakfast which I’m accustomed to, but the price is pretty standard for a hotel café.

After savoring a plate of Baguio longganisa and tocino, we then proceeded to our Baguio Holiday Villas room. But as its name suggests, it’s really not really a hotel, but a villa. At first, I thought it was just a name, but lo and behold, after passing through the lobby, we came out into a garden where rows of villas stood.

Although they also have regular rooms for couples and single visitors, most of their units are made up of these spacious, two-storey apartments. And it is huge. Depending on the unit, a single villa can accommodate up to eight individuals. Perfect for big group of friends or families visiting Baguio for a few days.

The unit we were given, a Superior Villa, has two bedrooms at the second floor. The master’s bedroom has a queen-sized bed with its own toilet and bath, while the other room has two single beds. The beds are really comfortable—the only thing I’m missing is the TV, which is located on the living room.

►CHECK DISCOUNTED ROOM RATES & AVAILABILITY

The villa has no air-conditioning, which is normal for lodgings in Baguio. With the city’s perpetually cool weather, it’s practically useless. They have fans however, just in case the weather for some reason turns unusually hot.

Besides the comfort room at the master’s bedroom, one is also provided at the ground floor near the kitchen. Both have hot and cold water, which is a must for Baguio lodgings. I know not a few people who base picking their accommodations via the comfort rooms, I’m happy to report that those in Baguio Holiday Villas are very clean and doesn’t feel cramped.

But what I really liked about Baguio Holiday Villas is their kitchen. I really dig the fact that those staying here can cook whatever they like at no cost at all. Pans, kettles, knives, and everything else is also included in the package, all you have to do is get your food at the nearby Baguio Public Market and cook yourself a feast.

While we initially planned on doing just that, we were unable to ignore Baguio Holiday Villas’ in-house café; our daily lunch and dinner usually coming straight from their menu (except for a dinner at Luisa’s Café Baguio along Session Road). We were able to try their Baguio Holiday Adobo, Southern Fried Chicken, Salisbury Steak and Vegetable Kare-Kare. I loved everything.

Besides the usual Filipino meals, they also serve soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and pasta. You have to try their Baguio Holiday Ceasar’s Salad. I’m not into eating leaves, but man, it’s so great I wanted to order another serving if not for my already full tummy.

For desserts, their menu is limited to three kinds of crepes; Strawberry Crème, Banana and Hazelnut, and Mango Melba Crepe. To be honest, I don’t like crepes. Heck, I don’t like desserts in general. But this Mango Melba Crepe is spectacular. I super super super love it.

We were initially turned off by the prices of Café Baguio Holiday Villas, which run from ₱140.00 to ₱260.00 each. But it was soon apparent why—a single serving is usually big enough for sharing, even the sandwiches. Not bad really.

A night at the Baguio Holiday Villas’ Superior Villa will cost you ₱3,500.00 which sounds a bit expensive at first. But if you consider that it can actually accommodate four persons, plus a few more for a little additional fee (₱480.00/pax), then you can see how affordable it really is. Add in the fact that you can cook your own meals—then costs get down really fast.

Friendly staff, good food, great location, affordable, and spacious lodgings, Baguio Holiday Villas is highly recommended for big groups looking for a comfortable place to stay in Baguio City.

~ OUR STAY WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY BAGUIO HOLIDAY VILLAS

Baguio Holiday Villas ►ROOM RATES
Address: No. 10 Legarda Road, Baguio City
Contact Number: (074) 442-6679 | (074) 619-3920 | (0917) 303-4970
GPS Coordinates Map: 16.410558, 120.590921

• BOOK TRANSPORTATION ONLINE TO/FROM BAGUIO CITY TO ANYWHERE •

Even though we should’ve been dining on the complimentary meals at Baguio Holiday Villas, we took time to dig inside our not-so-deep wallets and decide to hunt Baguio City’s Session Road for evening grub. We wanted to eat where locals eat, something traditionally Baguio.

Walking under the chilly, uphill sidewalks of Session Road and skillfully dodging the early evening crowd, we chanced upon an eatery that seemed to have stopped catching up with the present time, Luisa’s Café.

►CHECK OUT: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

I’ve been noticing this cafeteria every time I set foot on Baguio, being named after an old crush of mine. But entering and actually dining inside never even entered my mind. First, Luisa’s didn’t look that inviting with its very spartan interiors. And second, their menu prices ain’t really that cheap—well at least in my book.

►CHECK FOR AFFORDABLE HOTELS IN BAGUIO CITY

Heading to the airport for my flight to Thailand, I heaved my enormous backpack and boarded the MRT. A storm warning was being announced on TV as I went out of house about an hour ago. Now the rain fell, not all at once, but a slow pattering that incessantly pelted the train’s window, blurring EDSA from my view.

I was mulling over the invite I received a week ago to revisit Baguio City when my mobile phone rang. Visions of pine trees melted into a train full of early evening passengers. My Manila to Phuket Flight just got cancelled.

►CHECK OUT: BAGUIO TRAVEL GUIDE

My impromptu three-day plan to visit Baguio City has suddenly morphed into a longer trip. I was already here, I thought why not revisit Sagada too? It’s been a few years since my first sojourn to the Shangrila of the North and my first stop before proceeding there was of course breakfast; a good breakfast, a Good Taste breakfast.

So there I was in the early hours of dawn, looking for the Dangwa Bus station for my ticket to Sagada. I heard good things about a certain Good Taste restaurant that serves mean meals without breaking the bank within the vicinity. Perfect for my dwindling funds.

A swirling mob of shoppers generated a soft buzz through the bitter cold night of Baguio City as I descended from an alley across Session Road. I’ve been through many night markets in the city but have never seen anything quite like what I was witnessing now.
Considered as the country’s ukay ukay capital, Baguio City is outdoing itself every weekend nights as it lays down the biggest ukay fest along one of its main thoroughfares. The whole block adjacent to Burnham Park’s Melvin Jones Grandstand is being filled to brimming with nothing but secondhand apparels being sold at dirt cheap prices.

After another chaotic time shooting the Panagbenga Float Parade, I was again on the hunt for some peace and quiet. I took out my phone and checked the map for interesting places nearby. I found that the Wright Park was only a few minutes away by foot from the Azalea Residences. I packed my things and set to go.

I bade farewell to my fellow travel buddies and proceeded on foot towards the park. I passed the infamous Teacher’s Camp in Baguio City and was almost tempted to spend the remaining light of the afternoon there. But I was all alone, and so I chickened out.

It was the last day of Baguio City’s annual Panagbenga Festival. Yesterday’s street dancing frenzy still left me tired even after a restful night at the Azalea Residences. Still, I wouldn’t really want to miss the Float Parade, it’s not everyday that I’ll get to see a whole carload of flowers made up to look like anything but flowers.

Since I was denied access to the media area yesterday along Session Road, I decided to make my way through to the Athletic Bowl and simply wait for the culmination of the parade there. It was however easier said than done. The crowd was so thick and even the once expansive parks are replete with tourists camping for the festival.