A pale, ruined building near the top of Dominican Hill, the Diplomat was originally a Spanish-era seminary built in 1913 and used by the Dominicans as a vacation retreat. The Japanese occupied it during the war, and dozens of religious workers and refugees were tortured and killed on the site — a history the locals have not forgotten.
The Dominicans abandoned the building after the war, and it was bought in 1973 by Filipino real-estate developer Tony Agpaoa, who renovated it as the Diplomat Hotel. The hotel failed within a few years and the building was left empty. It has stood abandoned ever since, slowly being reclaimed by the pines, and is now one of the most famous haunted sites in the Philippines.
The grounds are technically closed but informal tours can be arranged; the views from the front steps, across the city below, are spectacular at sunset.