Baguio is cool once again!

TOURISTS and city slickers usually troop to the City of Pines on the third week of February for the annual Panagbenga Flower Festival, or during the hot Holy Week months.

Not this time. People have been arriving several weeks earlier to take advantage of the extraordinary nippy air in Baguio as temperatures drop to as low as 8.5 degrees Celsius these past weeks.

PAGASA weather bureau chief Nathaniel Cruz predicts that temperatures in Baguio are even going to drop further as colder days lie ahead during the forthcoming peak of the northeast monsoon. The coldest day recorded in the country was last Jan. 30. Baguio temperatures have been hitting as low as 9.2 degrees Celsius, while Metro Manila cooled at 17 degrees just last Sunday. Clearly, it’s time to bring out the jackets. Baguio is cool once again!

The sudden drop in temperatures, according to Cruz, is also caused by the tailend of a cold front that extends over Eastern Visayas and Northeastern Mindanao. However, he stressed that the falling temperatures in Baguio is but ordinary during this season.

This is why the month of February has always been the best time to go to the country’s summer capital. While here, though, tourists are faced with the arduous task of finding a good, affordable place to stay, when most hotels have already been reserved or are running on full occupancy because of several events leading to the famous Flower Festival.

Among the newest but reliable hotels is the Microtel Inn & Suites Baguio, a franchise of the well-known and trusted US-based hotel chain Microtel. This economy-class hotel does away with the unnecessary luxuries and high costs of a five-star hotel, but without sacrificing comfort, convenience and safety. In fact, it even features thoughtful details such as chiropractic bed mattresses and standard airconditioning in every room despite Baguio’s already cold weather.

As a bed-and-breakfast inn, Microtel usually provides standard Continental complimentary breakfast, but guests will be pleased to find Pinoy buffet-style fare in the morning. Standard safety services include a 24-hour roving security, fire alarm system and fire-retardant building materials, and a keycard entry system.

The new establishment was put up just in time for the 2004 Philippine Advertising Congress, anticipating a healthy market of local tourists from the advertising industry. It has proven to be more popular since then, catering to the varied tourist types that visit Baguio, from couples on a honeymoon to large families and group of friends. Its clientele range from merchants and shoppers to simple backpackers out to experience the natural wonders of the area. Microtel Suites is located beside the new Victory Liner Passenger Center along Session Road.