This bus company does not know what customer service is. I booked my travel to vigan early to have…read morea good seat then they called me that that they will transfer me a seat to seat number 2. When I am already seating they asked me transfer again in back seat.. ung pinaka dulo. I feel dizzy whenever i seat on the back. They ruin my travel to vigan. I feel dizzy for the whole 7 hours...

This bus company is always so arbitrary and the booking booth is so inefficient. If you get a…read moreticket, STAY AT THE TERMINAL. Don't wander off because they will give away your reserve seats. I heard they have quite the monopoly in the North that's why they are arrogant enough to drive away passengers who complain. I told the lady at the ticket booth that their system is inefficient because they couldn't even tell me what time the next bus was coming, or they couldn't even issue advanced tickets because they don't know if the Southward buses from Laoag or Vigan have empty seats. Um, talk about inefficient. And they're the only one traveling from La Union to Manila with a terminal at San Fernando. Crazy. And the sad thing is, they will still get my business because THEY ARE THE ONLY ONE.

Tiny bus station with clean surroundings, toilets, and several food vendors. Route to Cubao/Pasay…read morevia Dau, Also route to Dagupan and Baguio. Verify with the conductor or driver for routes as they will make stops or non-stop to the final destination. Easy process. If you see a bus pull up with sign destined of your choice, stand in line, verify routes with driver or conductor, ask if any vacant seats, then hop in. Wallah!

I agree with a fellow Yelper that this Hotel needs a revamp. A much needed one…read more I stayed with my family for 2 nights. The rate is within my budget and breakfast is included. Food: Breakfast is plated and it is not enough. After 2 hours you wanted to eat again. Ha ha. Choices are : Fish, Sausage and Pork Tocino. Food was okay. Rooms: Good enough for 3 adults and 2 kids. Blankets and beddings are so old that there are visible stains, the sheets don't fit on the bed anymore - it keeps on coming off with just a slight movement, the curtains looks like it hasn't been washed forever, the a/c unit makes a lot of noise. Towels are thin and old that you will have to use 2 - 3 of them to dry yourself off. Bathroom: The bathroom needs heavy scrubbing - grouts on the tiles, and the water pressure is not enough. It will take you forever to finish showering. The toilet does have a bidet though. Location: The good part is in a Prime location. Less expenses for transportation. It is within walking distance to bus terminals, shopping centers, tourist spots, food places and it is in the heart of Session Road - where the most action is. * Express check in with free wifi but signal sucks. We were not able to enjoy it because you have to go to a certain area for a better signal. * Receptionist are smiling and accommodating. * Luggage storage is a plus. * I will not recommend it to my family and friends though. Pricey and old.

Excellent staff. But the place is run down. I don't want to think that the rooms are dirty but…read morebecause of the very bad taste in decor and upkeep of the place it seems really dingy. I would not want my worse enemy to stay here. Find something else. The only thing that is going for this place is the location. It is indeed a perfect location and for that alone and the hardworking staff I will give it a very generous 2 star rating.

Absolutely breathtaking! It's a nice place that offers golf cart shuttles throughout the resort,…read moreand even to their lake about 5 minutes away, where they even have jet skiing. Would recommend if you want a quick getaway

Highland Bali was quite the surprise... Whether it's good or bad, I'd say it's a mixed bag of good…read moreand things to improve. It is tucked in the beautiful province of Nueva Ecija in the Philippines and presented itself as an amazing place to commune with nature while enjoying a pleasurable luxurious "high-end" stay. Check-In: Check-In was a breeze, having the bookings made online while we were still in the US, confirmations were emailed and all we have to present when we arrived, the young lady at the reception was quite lovely and cheerful, she was very thorough explaining to us all that is included with our stay and also informed us of the breakfast hours and gave us our breakfast stubs, she also booked our spa/massage schedule as well as our activities for the days we're staying at the resort, Impressive front desk service! The Resort: A beautiful Balinese Inspired Resort surrounded by dense forest, a perfect place for some good R&R, lovely architecture and landscaping with beautifully laid out Suites and Rooms catered to your liking and budget, the place advertise itself as a high-end resort so make sure to save as even the junior suites could cost you + food cost & beverages (Breakfast is inclusive). The Resort boast a beautiful view of Pantabangan Lake and also a lush forest. The main reception lobby is nicely adorned with Bali inspired pieces from ceiling to floor. Beautiful cobblestone serves as your pathway as the bellhop takes you in his golf cart to take you to your suite while greeted by a well manicured vegetation and a clean spacious grounds which provide a peaceful and charming instagrammable welcome to your stay. They have (2) Swimming pools, one is literally just a few steps away from our suite and a lovely infinity pool located near Soraya Restaurant (which is the only restaurant in the premise - I have a separate review for the restaurant) They have a gym and a huge banquet hall/ballroom for special gatherings. The Room: We stayed at one of their Executive Suites which provided a comfy, spacious living space for us for 3 days and 2 nights. High ceilings with living room, work space, fridge, mini-bar, a king size bed, a beautiful bathroom with a modern tub and a balcony overlooking the lake and forest which is a wonderful place to chill in the morning with its beautiful and spectacular views; nature's splendor and the calming sound of the birds. So here are the CONS: On our 2nd day, we have requested to have our room cleaned while we were out ATV'ing and kayaking, however, the room never got cleaned, this was requested to the front desk when we checked-in. Trying to call the front desk leads you to nowhere as there is no reference # on the phone in the room. All the while, we saw several employees just outside our sliding glass door (in white tops and black pants) giggling and starstrucked with their cellphone cameras on, apparently a celebrity senator and his family was staying right next to us. I do not mind them being excited or wanting to hopefully have a selfie with a celebrity but they are seriously congregated in front of our suite therefore disturbing our stay. We booked the place with peace, quiet and privacy in mind not to mention paid good money for some peace and relaxation, but it seems the employees weren't properly briefed on proper hotel etiquette. The disregarded request to clean our room was a big let down to their service and what seems to be a lack of respect to their guests privacy. Also on our last day, the AC went bonkers spewing water in our room and on the flat screen TV, their service techs went in our room after we have reported it, which again imposed in our stay all the way to early noon just before the posted check out time, we cannot shower nor finish our packing, one of their employees gave us the extension # to call the front desk to request a late check out, the lady who answered our call was almost hesitant to extend the checkout time having mentioned why we needed our checkout extended, she initially gave us 30 mins!!! seriously??? I have stayed at the Ritz and Four Seasons and at the minimum they will give you an hour or longer especially for a shitty situation not of our own doing, needless to say, I was infuriated and in disbelief which I HAVE NO PROBLEM EXPRESSING, they did extend our checkout for a ludicrous 1hour in the end - BS. Highland Bali has tons of potential to be a real nice destination, the location and architecture are already there but if they want to keep their "High-End" Resort image, they better improve their SERVICE in some department, have QUALITY & BETTER tasting lunch & dinner menu, it's seriously beyond mediocre, REVIEW and UPDATE their "High End" operations policy as employees seem to lack basic HRM knowledge & etiquette, otherwise, it's just another sleazebag hotel hiding behind a lovely facade. There are so many good things going for them but the bad service is just hard to ignore.

This place is truly incredible! I'm so glad I visited. If I can suggest, if you're visiting Banaue,…read moredon't stay in the main city. Look it up. Hire guides. Venture out to the other rice fields in the area! Make a day trip to Sagada. Specifically, I spent a day in Banaue, visited a few other rice fields, and then proceeded to Batad(I'll review it in another review). In my opinion, if you're visiting Banaue, Batad is a must but it requires a 45-minute ride away, you're dropped off, and then have to hike 45-60 minutes into the village. There are no roads in/out of Batad and it's one of the Unesco-protected sites. Back to Banaue; After the long overnight bus ride from Manila... there are a ton of guides waiting at the main area when you arrive. You don't have to hire a guide but I did... and this is one time where I'm so happy that I did. I was able to see so much more of the area because of the tour company I hired for the 4 days of being there. To my surprise, when checking in, one of the tour companies already knew my name. They were aware that I had a reservation in Batad. Banaue is a neat place but I did love seeing the other rice terraces. Banaue has more businesses and a much larger town that has sprouted up amongst the terraces. Banaue is also the main place you're going to see the Ifugao people... some of them still wear their traditional clothing. I'd also suggest making your way uphill to the Banaue Museum. When we mentioned it to some of our tour guides, they gave us a weird look like 'Why do you want to go there?' It was full of useful information and historical artifacts from the area. It's definitely worth your time if you like learning about the places you visit. After finding a place to snag breakfast... our trike shuttled us to a few viewpoints before taking us to Hapao Rice Terraces. The lady that guided us around Hapao was so kind. I probably learned more from her than anyone I chatted with in the area. She had all the information. Hapao was worth the visit because it's immediately obvious that they're blessed with all the water. The terraces are green and they have so much water in the area that they have other food growing as well. There was also some homemade cheese bread being sold near one of the local's homes. IT WAS TASTY! The government has a small area near the church in Hapao that's for experimentation. It's a new thing but they're trying to see if they can produce different results in growing rice. Hapao also has a hot spring along with a cold swimming area. The cold swimming area was WAY TOO COLD so I spent most of my time in the hot spring with the locals! It was so much fun and I'll never forget the people I met there. After leaving Hapao, we had lunch back in Banaue and then started to make our way to Batad. One last stop before Batad was to an overlook to see Bangaan Rice Terraces. It was a good view but our guide mentioned that we couldn't go any closer. It's full of many old people and they don't like anyone that's not local coming to their village. It seemed like the main guide that we had also knew everyone around the area. Our route to Batad even included a stop by his parent's home(he was just dropping off a package), but I still loved the vibe of feeling included in the community while I was there. That feeling was even more enhanced while in Batad but I'll save that for the Batad review. Banaue is amazing in itself and it's totally worth the long trip to get there but as I said before, definitely use it as a springboard to other rice terraces and areas in North Luzon.

Visiting Banaue Rice Terraces as a kid made me realize as an adult what a beautiful place this…read morereally is. I remember being lucky enough seeing it in all its pure and untouched glory: once during almost harvest time when the golden sprigs swayed with the wind, and another when it was all just plain and beautiful green. Fast forward to adulthood, I have been lucky enough to showcase it many times to many friends and family touring Nueva Vizcaya. Only a couple of hours away from home, it was something not to be missed. It was still beautiful then. Fast forward a few more years (and visits) later, I started noticing structures being built. And then more. And more. And more...? To the point the views during part of the drive were blocked by various buildings. Some of the view points I know and familiar with we're even gone. I wondered why this was allowed to happen. It's been called the eight wonder of the world, why wasn't it more regulated...? I was told by a lot of locals that the number of tourists have waned down because of this exact reason. "It isn't as pretty or attractive as it used to be, thanks to these kinds of developments..." But despite this, it really does still hold its natural beauty - one just has to find a way to get behind said structures. You succeed this, and the view is breathtaking. Plenty of eateries to find, most people are really nice and friendly, and it really is like nothing else in the world. Here's hoping it doesn't get developed too much... it'd be a shame to lose this gift nature had bestowed upon this province.

Saw many recommendations to visit Mine's View Park, so we made a quick stop during our trip to…read moreBaguio. Definitely a lot busier and a lot more crowded than we expected - at times, you are walking with wall-to-wall people. And A LOT of vendors everywhere, both inside and outside the park. If you get claustrophobic, just be aware. The view of Baguio is nice. The vista point area is PACKED and you'll have to both wait your turn and push your way to the front to get your chance of the view. The view is nice, but we did see some better ones on our trip. I can't remember how much admission was, but it was CHEAP. I think it was somewhere around $1 per person. Don't think I would return again nor would I make it a top recommendation for those visiting Baguio for the first time. There are so many other nice places to go with better views. So if you have plenty of time on your trip to Baguio, consider it. If you're strapped for time, maybe pick another place to visit.

Very popular and busy spot in Baguio. It is tricky to get around because of several odd steps. The…read moreview is nice when no one is in front of you. Was told before it was all green but now there are homes visible, ruining the view. Plenty of vendors trying to get your money. Also the close quarters will feel tight so be sure you keep the valuables and money close. We visited shops on the side and outside the park. Vendors doesn't seem to be knowledgeable of with making a deal but hey it's their loss. Some are outright rude so don't let them give you crap. Overall the park is just ok. You can skip it if you don'd have the time or inclination.

They actually have decent rooms. Parking could be tight and WiFi was iffy. You can't beat the…read morelocation tho. There are a few restos in the area where you can dine 24/7. It's right across from the bus terminal and you could reach SM mall in about 10-15 minutes by foot. Check in/out was painless. The room had AC (I know, it's Baguio) which could be useful for those warm and damp nights. Breakfast was good with Filipino staples such as tocino, longganisa and arroz caldo. They also have cereal and some bread.

My friends and I hied off to Baguio during a long weekend, and we were so unprepared that we got…read moreoff the van (oh my god, that van -- we didn't have Victory Liner reservations so we took a sketchy van to Baguio) and walked around looking for a place to stay. Short of being desperate, we were ready to book at one of the ultra-expensive and posh hotels but even they were fully-booked by the Manila hordes who like us, apparently thought that Baguio would be a great idea. We stumbled in tired and groggy into Upstairs, and knew that it was our last option. The mixed dorm was unexciting and even drab, but we were grateful to have a roof over our heads for the night. At the very least, it was clean and the beddings were freshly laundered. The noise level was also managed, making it somewhat bearable. The common area is open-air, thus, affording you a chance to savor the crisp Baguio breeze. The winning points for the hostel, however, are its accessibility, and the level of service from the staff. It is a short walk away from SM, and just a staircase away from Mt. Cloud and Hill Station. The Chocolateria right outside has the best churros in Baguio, and you can also take a familiar yet fulfilling meal at Pamana, which is a few steps away from Upstairs' front door. You can also manage to get a cab as soon as you go out, as the street it's on is a major thoroughfare. If you want a 350-per night place to stay in Baguio, look no further than Upstairs