LET'S 'SOUL-SEARCH' AT THE DIPLOMAT HOTEL
I find haunted houses
charming. There must be something wrong
with me I suppose. Baguio City for me
has been pictured as a gallery of haunted houses. The thrill of knowing the stories that
abounds each house, the eerie vibe and slight dilapidation whilst making its exterior
composure firm and nostalgic is what interests me a lot of abandoned old houses
and hotels.
A mystery yet to be unveiled,
we were lead to the famed Diplomat Hotel of the Dominican Hill, Baguio City at
dusk.
I’ve recently watched a
Filipino film entitled The Diplomat Hotel shot on the same location as the
title suggests and I found it worth watching.
That was the start of my curiosity and eagerness to visit this abandoned
structure.
In the same circumstance as
in the film, we entered the compound nearly dusk, but contrary to the fictional
details of that film, we were not trapped inside the old building. It is not a secluded place after all. Residential houses line up on our way to the
Diplomat Hotel.
We entered the vicinity in
silence. It was a moment like anyone is not allowed to make noises of whatever
sort. I don’t know what my companions
are thinking at that time but as for me, I was more than curious of the details
of the abandoned hotel as I slowly recall scenes from that Filipino film.
It is getting
commercialized. It appears a mini-museum
at the ground floor and other staircases are off-limits to the public. I was wondering if there would be a chance
for me to climb that stairs and reach the rooftop where the cross stands. To no avail, we contented ourselves with a
quick grasp of the vicinity and the ground floor of the Diplomat Hotel.
The city lights of Baguio
were getting visible when we exited the hotel and for a few minutes we loiter
at the vast compound. The Diplomat Hotel
was a former retreat house of the Dominican priests, later on established as a
school and destroyed by the Americans.
In the years 1945 to 1947, it was reconstructed and made the Diplomat
Hotel.
This 17-hectare property is
believed to be haunted. With the
emergence of dark tourism, the literal ‘soul-searching’ individuals has found
home at The Diplomat Hotel.
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