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.

VICTORY LINER STATION IN BAGUIO CITY

As our custom, we left Manila at midnight and arrived in Baguio at around five in the morning. We had a quick morning fix of a steaming bowl of lugaw (rice porridge) on our favorite Baguio lugawan, Goto BP, before proceeding to our hotel, the Paragon Hotel & Suites near Burnham Park.

It's a cold and dewy morning here at the City of Pines! Finally back after a year and a half of Baguio hiatus! #LakadPilipinas

A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on Jul 22, 2016 at 3:59pm PDT

Since it was quite early, we decided to walk instead of hailing a cab, cheap they may be in Baguio City.

The sun was peeping through the dewy pines of the park as we arrived at the lobby of the hotel. We inquired if it was possible to check in early. Luckily, our room was available and we were allowed to check in very, very early without additional charges.

HALLWAY AT THE PARAGON HOTEL BAGUIO

Paragon Hotel is a pretty new player on Baguio’s hotel scene. In fact, they’ve only soft opened a year ago and a few of their facilities are still in the works. Still, the hotel seems to be functioning quite well despite the ongoing construction.

Located literally just a minute away by foot from Burnham Park and known restaurants like Good Taste, their location is indeed a premium.

THE PREMIERE PARK ROOM AT THE PARAGON HOTEL BAGUIO

THE PRESTIGE SUITE AT THE PARAGON HOTEL BAGUIO

PARAGON’S SMALLER ROOMS STILL LOOK LOVELY

They have a total of eight room suites, each one tastefully unique in décor and layout from each other, which they showed us before finally going to our room. If we were to judge from what we saw, we were definitely in for a treat.

THE HALLWAY TO OUR ROOM HAS A REALLY NICE VIEW TOO

OUR ROOM, THE KING SUITE AT PARAGON HOTEL BAGUIO

And indeed, as we opened the door to our King Suite [CHECK RATES & AVAILABILITY], we were quite pleased with what we saw. With floor to ceiling glass windows overlooking Burnham Park, our room has its own dining space complete with a counter, a sink, and a mini living area. The living hall is divided from the open bedroom by a wooden panel with a rotatable flatscreen television. Genius.

VERY SPACIOUS, INDEED

TOILET AND BATH LOOKS NICE

And as the trend is with toilet and baths, it has a huge glass panel that looks out to the bedroom.

Like the previous rooms we visited, our own room is very spacious and is equipped with all the amenities you’d expect from a quality hotel; coffee making facilities, a microwave oven, mini-bar, electronic safe, and of course, free Internet Wi-Fi. The speed is quite decent but connection does get wonky at times.

FORTUNE RESTAURANT AT THE FIRST FLOOR OF THE PARAGON HOTEL BAGUIO

Paragon has two dining spaces, the Fortune Restaurant at the ground floor, a full blown Chinese restaurant complete with elegant furniture and beautifully lit chandeliers. Unfortunately we were unable to try their food, but judging from the amount of people it has during lunch, I presume they serve superb dishes.

THE UBER COLORFUL BREAKFAST AREA

There's no buffet breakfast at Paragon Hotel, but they do serve superb Baguio longanisa. And that's good enough for me. #LakadPilipinas x #ParagonHotelBaguio

A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on Jul 26, 2016 at 8:03pm PDT

Their other restaurant is at the second floor of the hotel. Decorated in colorful tapestries, which surprisingly blends well with each other, this is where hotel guests have their complimentary breakfast. It’s not a buffet, but they have a pretty good selection of Filipino and International fares. Me, I’m happy with my Baguio garlic longanisa each and every day.

~ OUR STAY IN BAGUIO WAS HOSTED BY PARAGON HOTEL & SUITES. VIEWS AND OPINIONS ARE ALL MINE

Paragon Hotel & Suites
Address: 14-16 Otek St., Baguio City, Benguet
Contact Number: (+6374) 444-9968 to 71 | (+63905) 206-8578 | (+63998) 862-4951
Email: inquire@paragonhotelandsuites.com
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GPS Coordinates Map: 16.412503, 120.592125

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