With more travelers crowding Baguio City to cool down during summer, the longing to escape from its noisy streets is strong. The spacious Grand Sierra Pines Hotel solves this problem. It is situated at a quieter yet still convenient area nearby must-visit destinations, and the hotel itself has enough food options and amenities to keep one satisfied.
Stay
Grand Sierra Pines has recently renovated, upgrading the look and feel of the facilities and the rooms. With that, everything in the hotel feels crisp and clean yet welcoming and warm, from the lobby area up until you check inside your room.
The hotel offers Deluxe (queen sized bed, P6,960/night), Superior (2 single beds, P5,760/night , and Family Rooms (loft type, P11,760/night). Each room type comes with both airconditioning and ceiling fan, and come with its own private balcony so you can sink into a chair and enjoy the view. Adjacent rooms are available with sliding room dividers if you're coming as a bigger group.
The place is all about ambiance. It makes the most out of being in Baguio City — their spacious and open first floor, atrium, and outdoor garden area reclaims everything you've loved about Baguio. Cool breeze, open spaces, lush views of pine trees, greenery, and the great outdoors. Sierra Pines is also known as a 'green' hotel: it built itself around the trees of the property instead of cutting them down, and the hotel gets to re-use rainwater by installing a rain catcher system.
They have an outdoor playground for children, and in the evenings the garden transforms into a cozy bonfire area where guests can roast marshmallows on sticks and sink into one of the bean bags to enjoy the foggy evening.
Grand Sierra Pines also has an indoor gym called Ibdiyan Wellness Center with new equipment such as treadmill, bike, elliptical trainer, free weights, and even a rowing machine if you are the type like myself to want to squeeze in a workout or two during a vacation. The wellness center also has a spa facility just next to the gym, if you want to book a massage to unwind and relax. It is also equipped with a sauna room good for 2 to 3 persons–I highly recommend using this to rejuvenate yourself during your stay.
Nearby
The property is strategically located — far enough from the busy main streets of Baguio City (especially on weekends where traffic can be extra congested), yet still nearby key destinations. It's a short walk to Mines View, and a short drive to Burnharm Park.
Within close radius of Sierra Pines are noteworthy food establishments along Outlook Drive like Chef's Home and Lemons and Olives Greek Taverna; during our Baguio weekend, we discovered a new cafe by the owner of Hill Station called Café Adriana. With a cool breezy atmosphere, walking around the area to discover shops and establishments nearby Sierra Pines becomes less of a chore. The view of tall pine trees and being surrounded by nature makes it even more enjoyable.
Eat and Drink
Rise early for the breakfast buffet at The Atrium Lobby Cafe: feed yourself healthy grub with their fruits and salad station (make the most out of Baguios fresh produce!), or fill yourself up with hearty morning staples like crispy bacon, corned beef, arroz caldo/goto, tapa, and garlicky Baguio longganisa (a favorite). Don't forget to pair it with rice and eggs cooked your way at the egg station! For sweeter options, there are assorted cereals and a bread and dessert station for sweeter carb endings.
The Atrium also offers an la carte menu for their all-day dining; the restaurant serves Filipino food from lunch onwards until closing at 10pm. We feasted on no-fail favorites like Crispy Pata (P570), Sizzling Pork Sisig (P150), and Pinakbet with Bagnet (P150) paired with Yangchow Rice Platter (P250).
Craving for meat? The hotel's steakhouse offers juicy steaks, and for the thirsty, they have a solid cocktail lineup. The Outlook Steak & Grill is all about American comfort food, mouthwatering steaks, and all the trimmings that come along with it–served with a relaxing view of Baguio's pine trees and lush greenery. Outlook has great options for the hungry carnivore, from Tender Grilled Pork Chops, Mesquite Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Angus Beef Salpicao, to sous vide Porterhouse and T-Bone steaks. For something different, start your dinner with the restaurant's Parmesan Crusted Mac & Cheese with Marinara Sauce — they can get quite addicting!
Before leaving Grand Sierra Pines, drop by their little Bakeshop to do some pasalubong shopping. The hotel bakes treats like Raisin, Ube, Cheese, and Monggo Bread; Crinkles, Pesto & Cheese and Ham & Cheese Bread Rolls. Aside from their own baked goods, the bakeshop also sells popular Baguio delicacies like ube jam so that you get to save time from hopping around other pasalubong stores.
Art Appreciation
One of the thrusts of Grand Sierra Pines is to advocate Philippine art — from regional to indigenous, with their second level area showcasing local art that changes from time to time. During our stay, there were interesting artwork by Jordan Mang-osan–he creates sun paintings by using a magnifying glass to direct sun or the solar heat to etch drawings.
The second floor of Grand Sierra Pines also has the hotel's library, which has shelves lined with books and magazines you can borrow, as well as board games to enjoy with family and barkada for a stay-in kind of day.
We were surprised to discover their Adkos Gallery, a room dedicated especially for paintings of National Artists of the Philippines. Drop by while you are there to experience the artworks up close–it's free for hotel guests and to the public.
There's already so much to eat, see, and do within Grand Sierra Pines when you head to Baguio for a quick trip that it makes it a great choice for your home away from home. If you want a more peaceful vacation yet have enough things to keep everyone busy–far away from getting bored–this is the place for you.
Getting There
Grand Sierra Pines Hotel is located at South Outlook corner C. Arellano Street, Baguio, Benguet. For more information, visit www.sierrapinesbaguio.com, like Sierra Pines on Facebook (/sierrapinesbaguio) and follow on Instagram (@sierrapinesbaguio).
