Diplomat Hotel

The building on Dominican Hill was put up in the 1910s as a Dominican retreat house and vacation home, later served as a school, was occupied during the Second World War, and reopened in the 1970s as the Diplomat Hotel before closing for good in the 1980s. It has stood empty since: a long white structure with arched galleries and a chapel-like frontage, roofless in places, weeds through the floors, and the whole thing open to anyone who walks up. Baguio's tourism office has done some stabilisation work and the grounds are maintained, but it remains a ruin rather than a restored building. It has a reputation as a haunted site, driven by its wartime history, and ghost tours and a steady stream of curious visitors are part of what happens there now. The hill gives one of the better views over Baguio, and the walk up is steep enough to be a workout.

History

In 1911 American and Spanish Dominican friars planned a vacation house here, designed by Father Roque Ruaño, the architect of the main building of the University of Santo Tomas, on a 17-hectare hill. Diplomat Hotels, Inc. turned it into a 33-bedroom hotel in 1973, run by the Baguio faith healer Tony Agpaoa until his death in 1987, after which it closed; rehabilitation began in April 2022 with a grant of 15 million pesos (Wikipedia, Diplomat Hotel).

What you'll find

• The arched galleries - the long white frontage, roofless in parts.
• The empty interiors - open rooms and overgrown floors.
• The hill view - Baguio spread out below.
• The grounds - maintained lawns around the shell.

When to go

November to May for dry weather; Baguio is cool year-round. Daytime only - the site closes in the evening and the hill is dark.

Good to know

It is an unrestored ruin with open floors and unstable sections. There is no interpretation beyond a marker. The haunted-site framing brings tour groups and noise at weekends.

Nearby

Baguio's Session Road, Burnham Park and the Bell Church at the city's edge are all close.

Key facts