For years, friends who had been there said to us, "Oooh, you live in Mexico. Have you been to Oaxaca?"

The answer was no, and we quickly became accustomed to the inevitable response: eyes glazing over with the pleasure of a rich memory, accompanied with the insistent directive, "It's amazing. You have to go," said in a quiet but firm voice, in a tone that could almost be described as awestruck.

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When we drove into Oaxaca, I could hardly see what made friends consistently enter a semi-altered state when they talked about this city that's known for its handcrafts, its mole, and its student and laborer protests.

For one thing, the traffic was terrible, with pedestrians dressed in dark clothing darting across the roadway in the day's dying light. One was even lying on the pavement, having been struck by a bus. The roads seemed difficult to navigate, with few directional signs guiding us toward our final destination. And then there was the magic: Where was it? Why wasn't it immediately apparent? I'd half expected to feel some sort of transformation as soon we crossed the Oaxaca city limits, and so far, I wasn't feeling it.

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We wound our way up the road, headed toward Hacienda Los Laureles, a boutique inn at the foot of San Felipe Mountain. San Felipe, the residential neighborhood in which the Hacienda is located does offer a sense of the mysterious, if inaccessible--most of the half-million and million dollar homes are safe from the view of passersby, constructed behind imposing walls. Hacienda Los Laureles is no exception, but with a reservation, the formidable front gate swings open, you're welcomed warmly, and the gate closes behind you again.

It's then when you begin to discover some of the magic. Hacienda Los Laureles, once part of a coffee plantation, was acquired by Peter Kaiser, a German transplanted to Mexico after years spent circumnavigating the globe (with extended stops in the Bahamas, Belize, and Ireland) as a hotel developer. It opened in 2000, after Kaiser invested plenty of money and an equivalent amount of sweat equity into the property's complete renovation. 

Hacienda Los Laureles (Photo: Francisco Collazo)

There were the fun aspects of renovation: the property came with several pieces of Spanish antique furniture desperately in need of conservation and restoration. Kaiser hired an 80 year old local to restore the pieces, scraping black paint off the pre-Revolution furniture with a piece of glass.

And then there were the tedious but important details, including planning and installing a grey water recycling system and developing a landscape plan that would leave the 50 year old cypresses and the 200+ year old laurel trees intact.

For Kaiser, though, it's not the devil that's in the details; it's the divine. Though he has a gardening staff responsible for the grounds, he's hands-on with the plants and flowers that give this property so much character. In fact, he seems to find this part of his job as inn owner to be the most satisfying.

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Hacienda Los Laureles feels sprawling, and it is-- many of the inn's 23 rooms are enormous, and there's an excellent restaurant, Los Cipreses (The Cypresses) on the property, as well as a spa. There's a pool and a hot tub, and naturlalists are sure to enjoy watching the fauna that flutter through--butterflies especially. People watchers are likely to be entertained as well; Los Laureles is a favorite meeting place of the Governor of Oaxaca and popular Mexican singer Luis Miguel has rested his head here as well.

The service is quite good, and the inn has been recognized with numerous hospitality industry awards, including AAA's coveted Four Diamond designation. Travelers on Trip Advisor have ranked Los Laureles among the top three of Oaxaca's 99 hotels, and Los Laureles has the highest ranking within its own price category.

Finally, it's worth noting, the neighborhood and the city reveal their charms to the traveler willing to take the time to discover them. My eyes are starting to glaze and I'm feeling nostalgic... you have to go there and experience it for yourself to discover what those charms are.

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Details:

Hacienda Los Laureles

Address: Hidalgo #21

Phone: 951-501-5300 or 5302

Website: http://www.haciendaloslaureles.com

Reservations can be made directly with the Hacienda or through the excellent service, Mexico Boutique Hotels.

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