The Forest Lodge
We love Baguio sooooo much! Baguio still remains as one of our most favorite places to spend our vacations and for this special weekend, we were very surprised when we got an invite to attend the launching of Camp John Hay‘s newest hotel – The Forest Lodge!
Located just beside the legendary Manor Hotel is this equally homey hotel which guarantees the same comfort for a lesser cost. For budget conscious travelers who still would like to have the ultimate Baguio experience, The Forest Lodge then would be our recommended place for you!
8:am- off to another adventure!
Last September 1st (Baguio Day!), Frank and I represented wheninmanila.com for The Forest Lodge’s grand launching! I believe we were also the only blog which got invited to join the media entourage that day (we were so privileged)! We’re really thankful for the trust they have given us and of course, I believe they made the right choice in choosing us for very obvious reasons. It was really great to see the staff again and we felt really touched that most of them remembered us!
Anyway, I won’t keep you waiting for long… here’s a photo tour of the happenings that day!
2:00pm – arrival at The Forest Lodge along with the media entourage
the red carpet has been rolled out! We’re born for this!
welcome drinks on the house! So happy to see familiar faces!
meet Ms Lady from Le Chef!
welcome to our super cozy room! The rooms at The Forest Lodge looked very similar with the rooms at The Manor!
time check: 2:30 – ….time to rest a bit in preparation for the launch
Cocktails were served at around 6pm followed by traditional rituals and dance performances. We were surprised by the huge number of attendees despite the heavy rain showers that night. After the traditional dance performance, we were asked to light our candles for the blessing.
We were surprised by the huge number of attendees despite the heavy rain showers that night.
the grand occasion was attended by Camp John Hay officials, The Forest Lodge management, local celebrities, Baguio politicians and other prominent people in Baguio City.
After the blessing, everyone witnessed the grand fireworks display!
Baguio City’s prominent personalities led the toast in celebration of The Forest Lodge’s launch!
dinner time came and we didn’t know where to start! The food was prepared by non other than Le Chef!
The drinks were overflowing and the food was more than enough! It was a well organized event!
the most tenderlicious Roasted Pork loin we’ve ever tasted (saliva now dripping)
fresh sushi
The Edralins serenaded everyone with their own renditions of timeless Beatles songs and other 60’s hits!
meet ze lovely Baguio lasses!
it sure was nice to meet Ma’am Che once again!
Sir Mides graciously introduced us to the very dedicated people behind The Manor and The Forest Lodge.
Right next to Sir Mides was The Manor’s General Manager Sir Ramon Cabrera
Operations Manager to The Forest Lodge Ma’am Crystal Camacho, Sir Mides and yours truly
Me, Mia, Mark, Christine, Maricar, Crystal, Chinky, Mides
Sir Mides (IT Manager) and Sir Chris who is the Assistant Operations Manager at The Forest Lodge
me, Director of Sales and Marketing Sir Nilo Agustin and Sir Mides
After meeting the big bosses, it was time for us to chill and enjoy the rest of the night. Usually, Frank and I prefer quiet places with not many people around but I remember him telling me that he was really enjoying the event that night. I did too! =) It felt like having a huge family reunion at home. We felt very welcome there. The weather may have been chilly but it was no match as compared with the warm hospitality which we received! No wonder we really love The Manor and The Forest Lodge sooo much! We consider both as our homes!
awww! I remember other people started taking photos of them when they saw me clicking on my cam…. this was really sweet!
I admire sweet old couples a lot. The new generation should look up to them. This is something which I wanna experience someday.
Frank and I have developed an appreciation for fine wine. We don’t really like beer anymore.
Drinking wine is way way better than beer!
~the next day~
around 5:30am, I saw Frank outside the balcony, taking shots of the sunrise. I pretended I was asleep of course (hihihi). I never thought he’d make an effort to wake-up really early just for this! I really appreciated it a lot! His photos looked really lovely!
8:30am ~ Breakfast time! We were very excited during breakfast for we knew it was gonna be great!
The breakfast buffet at The Forest Lodge‘s restaurant consisted of an array of traditional Filipino breakfast items. Everything served by Le Chef is guaranteed great however, we really missed having their continental style breakfast. We missed having their delicious marmalades, buttered toasts and cold cuts! The reason for this perhaps is because The Forest Lodge is more of a budget type hotel therefore, the food selection isn’t as extravagant as the items at Le Chef at The Manor. If you are huge Le Chef fans like us, we highly suggest to take that very short walk to dine at the Le Chef!
It’s so great to know that the brilliant people from The Manor are now also behind The Forest Lodge! If I remember right, they now have around 50 available rooms for the public to enjoy and even more rooms are even built as we speak. They plan to build over 2oo rooms I believe!
So what’s the difference between The Manor and The Forest Lodge? Though we haven’t really stayed long enough to observe and experience all their amenities etc, we must say that the difference is really very slight. In terms of the rooms, they are almost the same however, the over-all “feel” of the bathrooms at The Manor are more luxurious of course. The Manor also has a grand garden and forest overlooking views. In terms on service, they are just the same. With the food, as mentioned earlier, the food selections at The Forest Lodge are more “budget type” and quite limited for now. Anyway, they are still at their initial stages so we’re very sure that when we come back, we can then make a more thorough review for all of you to see!
The Forest Lodge is a very budget friendly type hotel so you won’t have to worry of spending a fortune next time you travel up north! It sure is great to know that even budget conscious people can now get to experience the Ultimate Baguio Experience at Camp John Hay with the launch of The Forest Lodge! Super super promising!
In behalf of wheninmanila.com, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the warm people of The Manor and The Forest Lodge for having us on-board to witness this grand event! We also would like to thank them for trusting us and opening their doors to bloggers like us! More power and more fruitful years to come!
The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay
Loakan Road, 2600 Baguio City, Philippines
(074) 424 0931
To know more about our adventures and misadventures, visit us on EATS A DATE!
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The Forest Lodge: The Newest Most Affordable Hotel in Camp John Hay!