The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay: Family-friendly mountain resort in Baguio City

Baguio City never gets old. The view of pine trees, mountains, and cold weather is always a great experience for those coming from the lowland areas. You can feel the Christmas spirit here all-year around, which makes it a great place to visit with friends and family. With a super long weekend coming up at the end of the month and the upcoming holiday season, Baguio is an easy destination for travelers coming from Manila.

For families traveling with kids, seniors, and pets looking for a place to stay in Baguio, The Forest Lodge at Camp John Hay is one of the top hotels to consider. This chill 5-story mountain resort with 178 rooms caters mostly to families, couples, group travelers, and leisure tourists.

What’s great about staying inside Camp John Hay is that guests can enjoy the old Baguio charm, get easy access to hiking trails, have picnics under the pine trees, dine in several homegrown restaurants, and enjoy the cooler weather without having to navigate through crowded city centers for the duration of their stay. Even during the rainy season, Baguio can be magical.

Camp John Hay offers a few kid-friendly activities, including horseback riding, forest bathing, biking, GoKart rentals, a Butterfly Garden, paintball, the Christmas Village, and more. The hotel also has ramps and elevators for guests with wheelchairs.

The hotel has a few pet-friendly rooms for those who want to take their fur babies along during vacations. Dogs are allowed on the hiking trails, so you can enjoy peaceful walks with them.

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Location

The Forest Lodge is located in a hilly portion of Camp John Hay right near The Manor. It’s in the middle of the camp near the Golf Course, where guests can enjoy a view of mountains and pine trees from the rooms. There’s a wide parking area at the back for those bringing their own vehicles, though you can also get here easily by taxis from the city center and bus station.

Ambiance

Our trip was in mid-October, but the whole hotel was fully decorated for Christmas, with Christmas lights hanging from the pine trees and the lobby decked out.

Guests can enjoy listening to live music while dining by the fireplace. When we arrived on a Friday, the place was generally quiet and empty, but the whole place was very busy on Saturday and Sunday.

Rooms

We booked a Superior room with one bed. The room was very spacious . There’s a separate area with a closet leading to the bathroom, a comfy bed, quality linens, huge tv, desk, couch seating area, coffee and tea making area, and fully stocked minibar and ref.

For those who want peace and serenity during the mid-week, the hotel would be a great place for a workation since they have hi-speed Wi-Fi.

The room’s balcony offered a good view of pine trees and mountains at the back of the lodge overlooking the parking area.

Dining

The Forest Lodge has its own in-house restaurant on the ground floor called The Twist. This large café beside the Lobby serves ala carte options and Asian fusion dishes from Chef Billy King.

There’s also a small cafe near the entrance called Coffee Stains, which is open 24 hours a day.

A new cocktail bar called Louie Y’s at The Lodge is currently in the works. The hotel’s front yard also has a beer kiosk from Baguio Craft Brewery, so guests can enjoy drinking beer outdoors right next to a bonfire pit, under the trees.

For those who want to get local specialties, there are several homegrown restos inside Camp John Hay near the hotel, like Choco-late de Batirol, a garden restaurant that serves hot chocolate and traditional Filipino food.

Ayala Technohub near the main gate has smaller branches of Vizco’s, Bistro by Hill Station, and Pizza Volante.

You can also find some fast food joints and international coffee chains inside CJH. Filling Station, a small food court area near the horseback riding spot, has a Shakey’s Kiosk. There are two branches of Starbucks, including a unique branch converted from an American style Bungalow surrounded by pine trees.

Here’s a list of restaurants you can find inside Ayala Technohub at Camp John Hay.

Fog Photo Cafe
Sumosam
J.Co Donuts & Coffee
Vizco’s Cafe
Kung Fu Kitchen
Crustasia Baguio
Hill Station Bistro CJH
Takoyatea
Starbucks Baguio Technohub
Yellow Cab Pizza Co.
ArmyNavy Burger + Burrito

Melt Steak House
Seafood Island Camp
Turks
Macao Imperial Tea
Potato Corner
Ramen Nagi
Fruits and Ice Cream
Pizza Volante

The strip of restaurants that used to be in the Mile Hi Inn / Mile Hi Commissary (like Dencio’s, Illy’s, etc.) and outlet shops are no longer operational though there a few pop-up stalls open during the weekend.

Le Chef at The Manor, a fine dining restaurant in the more upscale hotel next to The Forest Lodge, is also open to walk-in guests.

Bike rentals

The Forest Lodge offers bicycle rentals for P350 an hour. They have 8 bike units including 4 MTBs, 1 medium sized bike, and 3 bikes suitable for kids. If you’re up for a quick workout around Camp John Hay, it’s good exercise. Guests just need to leave an ID and sign a waiver to borrow bikes.

Be sure to check the bike’s brakes before you ride off, as you’ll need it for downhill areas. You can’t bring bikes out Camp John Hay premises. Biking is no longer allowed on the Yellow Trail. I just biked around for a while to explore the grounds and check out which restaurants are still open like Starbucks and Choco-late de Batirol.

Right now, the area where you can bike around is a bit limited and might be hard for kids because of the volume of cars passing through and steep roads. Some roads are also restricted to residents. There’s another smaller and safer area where smaller kids can rent GoKarts.

Hiking trails

Another good reason to stay in Camp John Hay is the easy access to nature trails, including the Red Trail, Yellow Trail and Blue Trail. We spent a couple of hours hiking the Yellow trail and forest bathing. The entrance is near the horseback riding station and exit is near Treetop Adventure (which is no longer operational as of October 2023) for a satisfying loop.

I’ll be sharing more updated tips on things to do inside Camp John Hay soon. You can also check out previous articles on things to do in Baguio and where to eat in Baguio.

Room rates and how to book

The Forest Lodge recently offered a rainy day promo where Superior Rooms were going for P3,500 a night (without breakfast). These are their latest published room rates as of October 2023.

Superior Room (1-2 persons) – P 6,610.00 weekdays / P7,610.00 weekends
Deluxe Room (1-2 persons) – P7,610.00 weekdays / P8,610.00 weekends
Family Room (1-3 person) – P9,110.00 weekdays / 10,110.00 weekends
One Bedroon Suite (1-3 persons) – P11,110.00 weekdays / P11,610 weekends

There’s an additional charge of P1,500 net per night for an extra bed or extra person per room. Children 12 years old or younger sharing room and bed with parents are free of charge. Check-in time is 3:00 pm and check-out time is 11:00 am.

While generally, hotels say it’s cheapest to book directly through their website or via phone-in reservations, sometimes you can get cheaper rooms when booking via Agoda. Book here. Other hotels to consider inside Camp John Hay are The Manor and Le Monet.