The Golden Pine Hotel, Baguio City

On our two previous trips to Baguio City, due to lack of time, we had no choice but to stay outside the city proper since we couldn`t find any available family room anymore in any hotel inside the city. But on our recent trip last December, we opted to stay within the vicinity of Burnham Park and booked our room at The Golden Pine Hotel as early as August. We were fortunate to find a family suite with two large bedrooms and a living room albeit a single T&B.

The family suite is good for four people only so we have to pay extra since we are five. It seemed that housekeeping wasn’t updated on the number of guests staying in the room because we kept on asking extra towel every day.

A small fridge with mini-bar, free wifi  and flat screen comprised the creature comforts inside the suite; but the ladies are more appreciative of the hair dryer. One of the rooms has a small flat screen while the other has split type a/c and a small coffee table set. Both rooms have huge walk-in cabinets as well.

The main drawback for car owners is the tiny parking area at the basement of the hotel where five cars can barely fit. One time, I asked the security guard to locate the driver of the car blocking our parked vehicle. If I am not mistaken, another four vehicles can be accommodated at the front façade of the hotel. For the rest of the guests’ cars, good luck in locating parking area along the roads. On our last night, we couldn’t find any parking space so we ended up leaving our vehicle along the sidewalk beside the hotel. Nevertheless, the hotel’s staff assured us that they have security guard manning the area even at night time. The following morning, I braved the chilly weather just to check our car. Actually, we were just breaking-in our new family car. It was there with misty windshield; nothing amiss.

Upon arrival, we had our lunch at their restaurant while waiting for our room to be released. The food was decent and the price was mid-range. We had the entire place for us. However, when breakfast comes, we have to wait for a table to be vacated. Since it was peak season, I believe the hotel was full. You have several breakfast selections such as Pinoy or American with choices of coffee or juice. By the way, you need to ask for your breakfast coupons every morning at the reception.

The staffs, as expected, are courteous and approachable. They committed mistake by charging my wife’s card for two nights only during our check-in. Since it was too late to correct their mistake, they told us we could pay the remaining third night while checking-out. In addition, they gave us a coupon upon check-in since we need to leave our room key whenever we go out. Without this coupon they won’t release our room key; of course if you lost the coupon you have to provide proper identification proving that you are the room’s registered occupants.

We find the place ideal for family or group. For almost 20,000 pesos for three nights for five people, you might think that it is cheaper to book two rooms. Maybe, but since there is a common living area, we could easily have our bonding moments anytime while enjoying our privacy, not to mention the comfort of having to watch movies together with plenty of midnight snacks and a few cans of beer; we brought our external HDD with digital movies.

The hotel is conveniently located just two blocks away from Burnham Park, Kisad Road area. As we made our way to the park we passed by at Good Taste Café & Restaurant; we decided to have an affordable dinner before having a leisurely stroll at Session Road.

Read: One of Baguio City's Hidden Gems - Good Taste Cafe & Restaurants

For our 2015 Baguio Road Trip, see: Road trip to Baguio - 2015

Fortune Hong Kong Restaurant and Café by the Ruins are also walking distance from the hotel. If you have sturdy legs, you can even thread to City Market for your souvenir and “pasalubongs.”