When we were looking for hotels to stay in Baguio City, we wanted to be somewhere slightly away from the City Proper where there were lesser crowds and more trees. This decision might be influenced by the fact that I have been to Baguio around 25 years ago, when there were a lot less people in the city and the view from Mines View Park were purely forests and mountains without a house in sight. I wanted that feeling again and when I was checking out accommodations in Baguio I was looking at hotels in Camp John Hay where there are less concrete structure, more nature and less crowds, and we chose The Forest Lodge first.
Here are some of the reasons why you should consider staying at The Forest Lodge.
- Located at Camp John Hay
- Clean and Big Rooms
- Bathroom and Water Pressure
- Generous and Delicious Breakfast
- Spacious Hotel Lobby
- WiFi Internet, Mobile Signal and Electric Sockets
- Near Restaurants and Convenience Stores
- Activities inside Camp John Hay
- Baguio City Tour from the Forest Lodge
- CAP John Hay Trade & Cultural Center
- The Golf Club
- The Little Things
Book Forest Lodge here for discounted rates.
1. Located at Camp John Hay
What I love about Camp John Hay there were only limited developments inside which makes it have more trees and open areas than buildings. Quiet and one can sit down on the grass and just contemplate alone. Here are some pictures to let you know what it’s like to be inside Camp John Hay.
The view from our room.
Forest Lodge driveway
The Forest Lodge from the road going up to the hotel.
There are a lot more photos that I want to show you but the 6 photos above would be enough to let you know what Camp John Hay looks like in general. Imagine friends and families just walking and sitting on the grass and having great conversations.
Camp John Hay is far away from the City Proper! How is the accessibility of The Forest Lodge?
This was actually one of our biggest concerns when we stayed in The Forest Lodge. We do not have our own private vehicle so staying at The Forest Lodge where there are no jeepney routes, less people and structures was actually a big concern. As it turns out taxi’s are very much accessible from The Forest Lodge.
Taxi from The Forest Lodge
When we were going out of Camp John Hay, we would just approach the front desk and tell them that we needed a taxi. The longest time we waited for a taxi was about 10 minutes. Once we asked the front desk to get us a taxi at around 8PM and a taxi came about 5 minutes.
When we were heading back to The Forest Lodge from Baguio City Proper, like Session Road, we just hailed a taxi and tell them where we wanted to go to and they would gladly make us ride the taxi and bring us there.
Note: Baguio Taxi Drivers have a really good reputation that they maintain. They give change up to the last Peso or Centavo and they will always pick-up passengers.
There are available taxis 24/7 in Camp John Hay this is because of the Technohub is located in Camp John Hay. Convergy’s is located at The Technohub where their operation is 24 hours. This is the reason why there are a lot of taxis that you can request at The Forest Lodge at any time of the day or night and why taxis are comfortable bringing passengers to The Forest Lodge because they know they have a high chance of getting passengers going out of Camp John Hay.
Our usual taxi fare from Session Road was around 87 Pesos. Travel Time is around
The front of The Forest Lodge
2. Clean Rooms
We stayed ata Family Room which was really spacious and I would recommend this room for those traveling with children since you have a lot of room to move. But let me describe it more in detail just for you.
Room Configuration
The room had 2 queen size beds good for 4 persons, a sala with a sofa, cable television, two mirrors, an office desk a dining table, walk-in closet, a kitchen and the bathroom.
Walk-in closet that leads to the bathroom.
On the walk-in closet there is a flat iron and it’s board, a bathrobe and a safe.
Safe
There is also a small kitchen with sink, cupboards, small refrigerator, microwave oven and a trash can under the sink.
There’s also some complimentary bottled water and coffee.
Note: There are no aircon units inside the rooms because Baguio weather is generally cold. There is no need for an aircondition. In fact, in all the hotels that we stayed in Baguio, everyone had no airconditioning in the rooms.
If you want to make the room cooler, turn on the ceiling fan.
3. Bathroom and Water Pressure
The bathroom was clean and spacious too. It included handtowels and towels.
I am happy to tell you that the toilet has a bidet and tissues.
There was also a hairdryer.
Compliments of the hotel.
What I loved most about the bathroom is their water pressure. Throughout our stay the water pressure was strong. We did not have any problems with water.
4. Generous and Delicious Breakfast
Breakfast was not included in the reservation but if you want to have breakfast in The Forest Lodge you would need to pay an additional 500 Pesos/person but it’s totally worth it. Delicious and it’s Buffet.
Breakfast is available from 6AM to 10AM.
Hint: If you want to go cheap you can have brunch. This way you get to not spend on lunch.
There were pastries.
Cereals.
You can have an omelet cooked for you.
What I loved about this is that you can request on how you want your omelet to be. For me, I like my omelet extra cheesy and so far they have cooked my extra cheesy omelet more than what I wanted, better than when I was the one who cooked it.
And my favorite of all the food in the buffet is the salted egg and tomato.
There’s also coffee, tea and hot chocolate.
Below are some of the viands that I liked.
Baguio Longganisa
Chicken Teriyaki and Tuyo
My own personal breakfast feast.
Note: If you feel like not going out and just staying at The Forest Lodge, they’re restaurant The Swift also serves lunch and dinner. We had dinner here once and we ordered Chicken Teriyaki and Honey Glazed Crispy Pork Belly.
Chicken Teriyaki
It was not in the menu but I ordered warm calamansi, perfect combination for the Honey Glazed Crispy Pork Belly.
Honey Glazed Cripy Pork Belly
5. Spacious Hotel Lobby
If I was not feeling staying inside the room but I would not like to go out also I would just sit down on the hotel lobby. It’s very spacious and where I could expand my thoughts.
During the night there are bands that play at the lobby. We enjoyed the music when we had our dinner. The band was good and the volume of the music was just right for us to have conversations.
If you want a more quiet experience, you should try the music room. I know, the music rooms sounds noisy but it’s actually a library with lots of vinyl records that you can play. Most of the time no one is there and if someone is there they do not usually play the music.
6. WiFi Internet, Mobile Signal and Electric Sockets
WiFi is available on the hotel lobbies and all the rooms. The front desk would give you a username and password so do not forget to ask this at the front desk when you check-in.
Generally, WiFi Internet is good that I was able to work. But when it acts up I am happy to tell you that Globe’s Mobile Internet Signal is good around the area. Sorry, I was not able to test Smart’s Mobile Internet Signal.
In terms of Electric Sockets there were lots of this in our room. They had many to the point that I did not have to use my extension cord.
7. Near Restaurants and Convenience Stores
In case you want to go out and get something to eat or buy something like souvenirs and The Forest Lodge is near the following locations.
- Mile Hi Center – we walked going here. Convenience Stores and Restaurants.
- Baguio Technohub – a bit of a walk but doable. There are many restaurants here. Better if you ride a taxi going here.
- Chocolate de Batirol – we walked going here.
- The Twist (in house restaurant)
- The Forest Lodge Souvenir Shop (in house)
Mile Hi Center
Chocolate de Batirol
The Forest Lodge in house Souvenir Shop
8. Activities inside Camp John Hay
In case you do not want to head to the City Proper of Baguio and not battle the traffic there but would still want to do some activities Camp John Hay is the right place for you.
During our stay in Camp John Hay we visited a lot of activities such as the following.
Paintball Republic Extreme Outdoor Adventure Park
Here you can do Paintball, Target Shooting, Zipline & Rappel, Wall Climbing and Eco Trail.
Butterfly Sanctuary
Horse Back Riding
Tree Top Adventure Nature Park
Mini Golf
Historical Core
From The Forest Lodge we walked to the Historical Core where we visited the Cemetery of Negativism, Bell House and the Bell Amphitheater.
9. Baguio City Tour from The Forest Lodge
It may seem far away but you could visit the different place of Baguio City from The Forest Lodge. What we did was we rented a taxi to take us around the city.
We went to the following desinations when we were in Baguio.
- Ambuklao Dam
- Bell Church
- Colors of Sobosa
- Good Shepherd
- Kennon Road Viewpoint
- Lion’s Head at Kennon Road
- Mines View Park
- Strawberry Picking at La Trinidad
- Bencab Museum
- Botanical Garden
- The Mansion
- Wright Park
10. CAP John Hay Trade & Cultural Center
If you have an event at the CAP John Hay Trade & Cultural Center, you can stay at The Eco Forest Lodge since it is only 1.9 km away from the center. 23 minutes walk according to Google Maps.
If you are the organizer you can also coordinate with The Forest Lodge for the reservation of CAP John Hay Trade & Cultural Center for reservation.
11. The Golf Club
If you want to do Golf in Camp John Hay you can stay at The Forest Lodge and just tell them that you wanted to do golf, they would coordinate with The Golf Club for reservation of slots.
12. The Little Things
Here are some of the smal details that you should know when staying at The Forest Lodge.
The Exit
This is actualy their smoking area but one of the quietest places in The Forest Lodge aside from their Music Room. Very instagrammable area.
The 19th T
The 19th T is a big conference room located at the second floor of The Forest Lodge. It could fit up to 200 persons and could host meetings, seminars, parties reunion and weddings. It has a its own veranda.
Here are some of the weddings I found in instagram that was held at The Forest Lodge.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPcZ0Llh8S9/
Unfortunately, there was a meeting going on when we visited the 19th T that is why I do not have photos of it.
Miniature model of Camp John Hay
Located at the second floor just past the 19th T you can locate a miniature model of the whole Camp John Hay. Note this is an old model so you would see the old configuration of Camp John Hay.
Parking Lot
If you are bringing your own vehicle then you do not have to worry since The Forest Lodge has a big parking lot located at the back of their building.
Conclusion
All in all, I had a wonderful stay at The Forest Lodge and I would seriously consider this hotel over the ones in the city proper when I am traveling again in Baguio City. Perfect for families and couples. Easily accessible via Taxi and their staff are very friendly and helpful.
I look forward to staying here again, especially on the cold and rainy days.
Check out more accommodation in Baguio City here.
P.S. I love cold weather.