The Birds of Las Mananitas

There’s a pink flamingo at my door!

The plastered stone halls echoed with a curious gentle double-honk that sounds a bit like Harpo Marx. I peeked out the door to our room to see a 3 foot high pink flamingo delicately treading up the shallow stone steps, cock his head and fix me with a baleful unblinking eye, and then edge toward the half–open door, clearly seeking entry. Not knowing the etiquette of allowing large avians in the rooms at 5 star Relais & Chateau resorts, I gently denied him entry by slowly closing the door, and he soon honk-honked off down the hall, out to the entrance and back into his garden domain.

Las Mananitas is a lovely and tranquil resort set in an old mansion in Cuernavaca, Mexico, nestled under the ring of the Sierra de Morelos Mountains an hour south of Mexico City. The hotel/restaurant is renowned for its cuisine, its gardens, and as a home to many exotic birds since shortly after it’s opening in the late 1950’s. Las Mananitas’ signature is its African crested cranes, of which there are currently two and a half pair. Gorgeous, stately birds, they have dark charcoal bodies, stark black and white patterned wings, white cheeks with a rouge patch, and fine golden crests. Two spend most of their time at the pond at the very bottom of the pool garden, along with the single resident flamingo, who indolently wanders the gardens (and, apparently, sometimes the hallways), stretching and dipping his 2 foot neck, shaking his hooked-beak head, and occasionally spreading his broad, black-tipped pink wings.

The five-acre gardens, which take 15 full-time gardeners to keep, are nothing short of spectacular—three individual spaces, separated by 2-story brick and stone walls covered in vines, creepers and bougainvillea. Rolling lawns fill the core of each space, centered with enormous spreading Ule (rubber), pepper trees and flame orange Tabachin, or Royal Poincianas, and crossed by winding brick and stone pathways. Luxuriant plantings layer against the walls—azaleas, rhododendrons, cycads, flax, hibiscus, daisies and juniper, backed at the edges bananas, halyconia, philodendrons, bamboo and dracaena, all towered over royal palms and tropical hardwoods. Verdigris bronze sculptures by noted Mexican artist Francisco Zuniga are scattered throughout the gardens (and dozens of his works line the walls of the main areas).

Peacocks dot the several gardens—two pairs of multi-colored and, in the back garden, three pairs of spectacular albinos. A full male peacock display is an impressive sight in any event, but a spread albino is like a vision of something from paradise. They strut around the gardens, walk along the top of the high garden walls, fly up into the trees, or onto a second story terrace, and hop up onto the courtyard fountain to drink from the bubbling water. The birds are all are fully acclimated to people, and while they don’t relish being chased by little boys, they are happy to approach closely, especially the peacocks, looking for a handout.

One day while we were lounging poolside, one of the males sidled near us, fixing the eye above his iridescent blue neck on the small plate of pepitas de calabasa on the side table. He turned this way and that, but didn’t quite have the courage to dart in and steal with us both right there. I tossed him a few seeds that he happily recovered from the ground, and then ambled off behind a low hedge. A bit later, after I’d gone up to the room, my wife started to gather her pool things to leave, and noticed his pointed beak and beady eye watchful just over the top of the hedge, concentrated on the bowl of seeds. The moment she cleared the pool terrace, she looked back and saw him dart out from cover and close on the morsels.

Las Mananitas is as much restaurant as hotel, attracting both locals and the weekend visiting Chilangos (slang for residents of Mexico City). There are several cocktail and dining areas—inside the original hacienda dining room, a covered loggia, an umbrella-shaded stone patio, dotted with fountains, ollas and shallow pots filled with bonsai plants, and underneath the spreading shade trees. The margaritas are near-perfect, and the food is excellent, befitting a 5-star property. We sampled and enjoyed dishes ranging from chilled avocado soup to calves brains in black butter to grilled arrachera steak, served by friendly, professional and attentive waiters—two of our favorites, Viktor and Juan, like many have been her for many, many years. Fernando Silvar, the restaurant manager for thirty years told us “our menu is essentially a collection of family recipes, and recipes from friends over the years“

An integral part of dining at Mananitas is being surrounded by the beauty of the gardens, and watching the antics of the avian population. The resident parrots, just across the lawn from the dining terrace include a large and small green parrot, an enormous blue and gold macaw, and a pair of scarlet macaws—all on open perches. They exhibit such personality and wit—guests are free to approach closely, although I saw no-one try and touch them, and converse (either in English, Spanish or like some of us, in parrot-ese). The large blue boy puffs himself up and ruffles his head feathers until he’s half again as large appearing, and burbles happily. The red pair is constantly chattering, playing with each other, bill fighting, dancing and screeching to be heard across town. In a near cage, a single toucan bounces athletically from perch to perch.

As we watched, one of the gardeners took the blue macaw from his perch, and after shouldering him for a while, put him down on the ground. A few moments later, the gardener was up a tall ladder, pruning a 15 foot philodendron, and the intrepid blue bird was climbing the ladder, beak over claw, rung at a time. Another gardener spoted him and removed him back to his perch just in time, before he disappears into the canopy.

There is not a huge amount to do in Cuernavaca—a couple of museums of some interest, and an herbal botanical garden. Walking around is not a great option, as the quaint colonial remnant of narrow, cobbled streets that it was twenty years ago (before the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 engorged the population hugely) is not more. Really relaxing by the pool, reading, recharging, swimming, and enjoying the gardens, the cuisine and the service are the reasons to go. There are currently various spa and massage treatments available on an in-room basis, and a full spa facility is under construction behind the property, scheduled for opening shortly, which will make Las Mananitas even more of a destination resort.

Having done all that for five days, we enjoyed a last late breakfast on the terrace, and as we began to pack for departure, we heard that singular double-honk echoing down the corridor--our flamingo friend coming to wish us goodbye, and bid us return soon to the charms of his home.