Diplomat Hotel

The Baguio City Heritage Hill and Nature Park (formerly and still commonly known as the Diplomat Hotel) is an abandoned structure atop Dominican Hill, Baguio, Philippines. The local government initiated rehabilitation efforts, which was started in April 2022, through a 15 million Philippine pesos grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts. The whole property on which it stands has been renamed as the Dominican Heritage Hill and Nature Park. A panoramic view of the city unfolds from its vantage point, the stone crucifix on the outdoor patio of the hotel's second floor.





== History ==





=== Dominican vacation house ===

In 1911, American friars of the Order of Preachers (commonly known as "Dominican Order") along with a few Spanish members made plans for the construction of a vacation house for them and the nuns of their order in Baguio. One of the members of the order, Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., the same architect of the main building of the current campus of the University of Santo Tomas, designed the building. A 17-hectare hill property was acquired from Americans who reside in Baguio and construction is said to have started in 1913 and was supervised by Ruano himself. It was then inaugurated in May 1915. To take advantage of tax exemptions, the order set up a seminary named Colegio del Santissimo Rosario in June 1915 but due to the very small enrollment, the school closed two years later and the building was reverted to its original use.