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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