It was some time ago when I was randomly browsing a blog and learned about this eerie abandoned building in Baguio. The writer managed to sneak inside the dilapidated Diplomat Hotel and took some photos of him with the stone Dominican crucifix erected at the rooftop adorning the façade, backdropped by the stunning vista of the city on a seemingly bright afternoon. It piqued my interest to see and, if possible, creep into the old edifice myself.
I’ve been to Baguio City twice but never passed by the deserted hotel before. Apparently it was newly opened and not yet detected by tourist radars back then. But I got another chance to roam around Baguio again and what made the trip special, apart from being with the family this time, was when I found myself gazing upon the decrepit walls of the once flourishing hotel, turned haunted, and now a protected historical property.
History and Stories of Mystery
A trip to Baguio won’t be complete without taking a sacrificial climb upon the 252-step concrete staircase, or driving up through a winding and steep asphalt-paved road leading to the popular Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. After taking a short moment of stillness at the shrine, we drove along an unfamiliar road, unaware that we're bound for the old Diplomat Hotel. Kuya Jim, the man behind the wheel during my previous trip in the city, mentioned “Dominican hill” repeatedly when referring to an attraction we had not checked before, as well as when I asked him where we would go next.
But what and where the hell was this so-called Dominican hill? I did not even know then that Lourdes Grotto itself was enshrined at the foot of this hill.
We reached an estate at the end of Dominican Hill Rd., on top of the hill, where a sight of some familiar structure seeps through its gate. It was exactly how it looks like in photos, but with colorful flowers instead of tall weeds. I walked slightly uphill into the porch. Instead of a concierge, a historical marker apparently mounted and unveiled in 2014 welcomes hotel guests. Named Dominican Hill and Retreat House, Kuya Jim probably got the term "Dominican hill" from that informative black tablet where I also found out that the old building had housed not only the infamous hotel before it laid in ruins.
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Two years after its completion, the building was inaugurated as a vacation house for Dominican priests in 1915. A school, Colegio del Santissimo Rosario, opened on that same year but closed down three years after, reverting the building back to its original use as a rest house. During the World War II, it served as a refuge of Dominican priests and Filipino families. The Japanese army invaded the property and used it as fortress but it didn’t take long when the Americans bombed the building in 1945. After the war, it was rebuilt. Diplomat Hotel, as the decaying building was widely known today, was established in 1973, ceased operation in 1987 and left unoccupied since then.
I was able to get inside but not by sneaking past the security as I had wished before. I strolled along the hall to look for staircases that would lead me to the second floor, then to the rooftop. But before getting there, the hotel's fountain made famous by the inexplicable encounters on it flashed before my eyes. Legend has it that babies were mercilessly killed near this fountain and that a secret bunker where ashes of Dominican priests were kept lies beneath. I just took photos of my sister and cousin with the fountain while hoping for a headless apparition to join them.
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As I moved along, my heart missed a beat when I found what I’ve been looking for. Not yet the way up but the headless entity. Well, it’s actually not headless but just faceless. A souvenir photo booth where guests would put their faces in place of the actual person wearing a priest’s clothing and a nun’s habit was cleverly placed on a corner hidden from visitors entering the main door to supposedly put a bit of adrenaline when they reach the end of the hallway. None of us tried to take a souvenir photo though as it was more scary behind the booth. Who knows? "They" might have had joined us if we did.
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I finally reached the stairs leading to the upper level only to find out it was off-limits. A makeshift wooden door with its doorknob locked blocked the way. A part of the upper floor’s broken windows seeping through the jamb made me even more frustrated. Another way was to take the grand staircase but it was barricaded with concrete blocks. I looked for other paths that might bring me to the top but to no avail.
I exited through the door just below the stairs and found myself at the back of the old hotel where a view of the city was a sight to behold. It might not be as scenic as the vista from the rooftop because of trees blocking some view but it wasn't bad at all.
Before we left, I went back inside to check the foyer that holds a gallery featuring the then and now of the haunted estate. I delighted myself in its rich history. Old photographs were just amazing, though some of them were somehow disturbing.
Yet another history: the Ten Commandments Tablet
Another edifice that stands on the same property, not an old one this time, is also one for the books, literally. Simulating the biblical Ten Commandments, this building scored a page on the Guinness Book of World Records for being the world’s largest Ten Commandments Tablet building.
Kingdom of Jerusalem Halleluyah Foundation International built the building made of giant granite slabs and unveiled it in 2011. The record holder was Grace Galindez-Gupana who, interestingly, holds other world records of largest things. It was said during its inauguration that the edifice was built “to drive away the evils of spirits that time and again emerge”. And with “evils of spirits”, they must mean the ghostly encounters of the adjacent Diplomat Hotel.
ABOUT
DJ Rivera is an I.T. professional, entrepreneur, travel blogger, writer and the online publisher of PinoyTravelogue.com based in Rizal province, Philippines. Click here to know more.
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