January 23, 2013

Casa Vallejo

Learning history is important for us to understand and appreciate the present. If we don’t know our history, we would be like a hand that doesn’t know it is part of a body. Well, it was exactly because of its rich history that attracted me to Casa Vallejo, one of Baguio’s 10 oldest institutions that survived World War II. Prior to that, it served as a German prisoner of war detention center in 1917, and a British and Indian refugee center in 1940.  Maybe that’s why the ghosts of the past still linger in this place until now.

Originally built as Dormitory 4 in 1909 for the employees of the Bureau of Public Works, and developed in 1923 by Spanish soldier immigrant Salvador Vallejo as a hotel, Casa Vallejo is now a cozy boutique hotel but still managed to retain its old American rustic charm and structure. More than that, it also houses a fine-dining restaurant (Hill Station), spa (North Haven Spa), bookshop (Mt. Cloud Bookstore), and mini-cinema (Cinematheque of the Film Development Council of the Philippines).











But beyond all these, the 1909 signage was the main reason I got fascinated with the century-old hotel. Pagdating sa numero, di kasi sila masyadong nagkakalayo sa alma mater ko na tinayo nung 1908.

Casa Vallejo
Upper Session Rd., Baguio City
Tel. No.: (074) 424-3397

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