Friday, March 20, 2015

High Point Boutique Inn and Restaurant, Kennon Road

Unknowingly, throngs of city dwellers were also planning to spend their Christmas holiday at the City of Pines hence we ended up staying for 5D/4N in a boutique hotel along Kennon road. All hotels within the city proper have been booked as early as November.

It was a blessing in disguise actually since the city proper was clogged with Baguio's seasonal crowds while traffic was horrendous in most of its narrow roads especially within Camp John Hay area. Whereas in our hotel, we were able to enjoy the blissful surrounding and quiet evening during our stay. Moreover, after leaving the round-about near Baguio Hospital the traffic was free flowing along Kennon road on our way back to our hotel.

We got a huge family room with three double beds thus our family of five was able to sleep comfortably. Upon arrival we noticed that the amenities provided were for three guests only so we asked for extra towels, bottled water and toiletries; noticeably, the linens and towels were in good condition.

There was a small air conditioning unit that needs to be adjusted during evening due to unavailability of comforter or duvet; there was only a thin sheet covering the comfy and firm bed. Anyhow, we visited Baguio to enjoy its chilly weather.



Let's tackle first the most important part of any hotel's room, according to the wife, the toilet and bathroom.



Nothing special regarding the small toilet and bathroom. In fact, we found the centralized hot water difficult to control, sometimes the shower was either too hot if not too cold. Plain and ordinary wall and floor tiles adorned the T&B ; no wow factor according again to the wife, LOL.

Though the small flat screen looked awkward inside a huge family room my wife was able to watch her favorite teleserye at night time while I enjoyed my steaming hot coffee. Fortunately I remembered to bring our own portable electric water kettle.




The small lobby is barely enough to accommodate a few guests but beside it was the restaurant/bar area where you can spend some time while waiting for reception staff to process hotel's formalities.

Complimentary breakfast is limited to usual Filipino's morning meal such as "Tapsilog," "Daing" and corned beef with hot coffee or chocolate; my picky eater youngest son orders pancake every morning. Their in-house menu was great, I loved some of their specialties while the kids never failed in asking for Blueberry cheese cake for dessert. In case you run out of bottled water you can ask for a refillable glass pitcher from the restaurant/bar.



Probably due to Christmas holiday there were plenty of guests dining at the restaurant everyday that thus the nearby gazebo was sometimes occupied. Surprisingly, plenty of travelers were having their stop-over here while at night time you'd find some Koreans or foreigners enjoying their alcohol shots at the bar. Perhaps there were no other restaurants/bar nearby making this place as watering hole for night owls. One time, upon returning from our day trip, we found the place full of diners so we reluctantly requested for room service which we found burdensome since there wasn't any dining space inside our room so we had no choice but to eat on our bed.


Parking was also limited inside the hotel compound and if you're unlucky you'd have no choice but to park outside, beside the road, though it is also guarded at night time according to the hotel staff.

We paid 14,880 pesos for four nights for five adults or 3,620 pesos per night with complimentary breakfast and WIFI. I could say that the price is reasonable considering the difficulty in finding family rooms in many hotels in Baguio. Otherwise we would end up paying two rooms which means being charged twice for VAT and other taxes. Another thing that the wife and I appreciated during our stay was the friendly and courteous staff of both reception and restaurant/bar.

This boutique hotel is ideal for those who need a peaceful and relaxing night far from the hustle and bustle of the city proper. Added bonus is the reduced travel time in going back to Manila since the hotel is located outside the city proper.


See: Road trip to Baguio

   

1 comment:

  1. Thank you for your post as it was written well and informative for me. I travel to Manila and Baguio Jan 15

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