Azalea Residences: New holiday haven in Baguio

MANILA, Philippines - Azalea Residences is fast becoming Baguio City’s next important landmark, offering a unique guest experience defined by its host of international qualities and proudly traditional features.

Launched only last February, Azalea Residences is gaining patronage from Baguio’s steady stream of vacationers. After six months of operations, it has already served about 8,000 visitors.

But what makes Azalea the newest gem in Baguio’s hospitality scene?

You can begin with its 99 modern luxury suites, with each unit having its own kitchen, living and bedroom areas. This is why Azalea is already being touted as the only hotel in Baguio with the full services and amenities of an upscale serviced apartment.

Guest can choose from any of its 46 deluxe hotel rooms, 17 one-bedroom suites, 33 two-bedroom suites, and three three-bedroom suites. There is enough room for everybody that the hotel is undaunted by large numbers of guests.

Fancy surprises? With the narrow, unassuming, uphill road leading to Azalea, you’ll be surprised to discover at the end of it, a commanding structure that makes a fitting home to deluxe serviced apartments.

Azalea Residences is nicely tucked in a tranquil location. Being located along the Leonard Wood Loop, it’s off Baguio’s bustling central district, but still accessible to the city’s must-see destinations. Session Road, Mines View Park, the Baguio market, Good Shepherd Convent, SM Baguio, etc., are just some five minutes away. Azalea Residences is also only 10 minutes away from the bus station, where a service shuttle can take you to and from the hotel.

As a nod to its natural environs, Azalea embraces a mountain lodge architectural design, which is very Filipino in character, but can still meet the standards of the seasoned and discerning international traveler.

Its contemporary look, for one, is marked by clean lines and sleek styles that work beautifully in the interiors, which will also catch your eye right away because of the over-sized Azalea wood cutouts adorning the walls. A spacious, high-ceiling lobby, meanwhile, welcomes the guests, inducing a sense of renewed energy as the cool, crisp Baguio air freely circulates.

Getting inside the rooms, it would seem that Azalea Residences has stepped up the concept of space. No matter which room you select, the rooms are spacious enough for big families or group of friends to stay in, minus the cramped feeling found in traditional hotels.

According to Dulah Lipardo, Azalea Residences COO, the Apartment Suites, for one, are the practical choices for families and extended families on a getaway. Why get multiple hotel rooms when the Apartment Suites allow families to stay together? Plus, they come with individual bedrooms, with flat-screen TVs and DVD players in every single room.

Actually, Azalea has upped the coziness and comfort levels of each room with its sofa bed and flat-screen TV with cable; toilet and bath with hot and cold water; a bath tub (for two and three-bedroom’s master toilet); queen-sized beds with imported bed linens; and a balcony in choice rooms, etc. Plus, you have amenities to take care of your cooking and dining needs. Even while on vacation, get-togethers can’t do without home-cooked meals. Azalea guests can whip up dishes in the room’s kitchen with the freshest produce from the Baguio market.

Lipardo said the idea is really for “families to enjoy bonding moments as they also enjoy their very own living and entertainment facilities.”

When staying at Azalea, be sure to check out the other facilities spread throughout its premises. At the lobby lounge, you can find the souvenir shop, business center, coffee shop and bar lounge, and a playground. You can make the most out of these, while staying connected through its Wi-Fi connection.

The hotel also has laundry and dry cleaning management, handicap accessibility, and even a driver’s dorm for an affordable nightly rate.

Of course, there’s a concierge, help desk, daily housekeeping service, in-room dining and restaurant plus measures are in place to make you feel always safe and secure.

Wishing to stay one day more or longer in Baguio? Azalea’s Vacation Services can draw up a worry-free Baguio holiday package for families, honeymooners or group travelers for a reasonable price. The package may include room accommodation, breakfast, tour itinerary and arrangement, 20 percent discount on F&B bills taken in the hotel, in-room massage, complimentary local calls, free parking for one car, and complimentary transfer to and from the Baguio bus terminal.

No stomach is left empty in Azalea, thanks to its main restaurant outlet, aptly named Tradisyon, for Filipino gustatory delights. You can also head to the 8 Degrees Bar Lounge to unwind with its selection of fresh smoothies, specialty coffee or cocktails for a nightcap.

All these naturally make sense for vacationers seeking value for their money. Instead of paying the price of a hotel that limits the enjoyment, you can consider a vacation home that’s equipped with the services and amenities of a luxury hotel.

As one of the hotel testimonials reads: “Our stay at the Azalea Residences was very relaxing and it was a good treat for my entire family. We did not bring any toys for my daughter to play with but she did not complain, she enjoyed every inch of the hotel experience. My wife and I did not even want to go out of the hotel, we just wanted to stay there the whole day and relax. If you want your family to relax during your vacation in Baguio City, the Azalea Residences is the hotel of choice.”

For the more frequent holiday-goers, the Azalea Timeshare Vacation Club membership is highly suited. Currently offered on a special promotion, the Azalea Timeshare offers a lifetime of membership, free seven nights of vacation every year enjoyed not just in one vacation destination but in all Azalea hotels and resorts in Baguio and soon in Boracay. A member’s vacation may also be spent in international partner properties through its affiliation with RCI, the world leader in vacation exchange.

* * *

Azalea Residences Baguio is located at Leonard Wood Loop across the Teacher’s Camp. For reservations or inquiries, call 02-5794894 or 02-5794890 (Manila), 074-4428888 (Baguio) or 0917-8611641, or e-mail at reservations@azalea.com.ph. For Azalea Timeshare inquiries, call 02-6347742 or e-mail at marketing@azalea.com.ph. Visit its website at www.azalea.com.ph.