Pairi Daiza: New Overnight Stays with Manatees

(eap) From Friday, 22 May, the first guests will be able to stay in the newly created “Manatee Cove” accommodation at the Belgian zoo Pairi Daiza. A total of eight submerged rooms are available, themed in the style of a sunken Mayan city and directly adjoining the manatee habitat. Guests can therefore spend the night in close proximity to the animals. Mosaics, stone textures, murals and warm colour tones are designed to create a calm and immersive room atmosphere.

© Photo: Courtesy of Pairi Daiza

The rooms are part of the large new tropical house “Edenya”, which was officially opened on 7 February (read more about it in EAP 3/2026). To ensure the wellbeing of the manatees, the animals were given additional time to acclimatise to their new habitat. The manatees at Pairi Daiza belong to the Caribbean species (Trichechus manatus), which is classified as “vulnerable” by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). The animals are rarely seen in European zoos. The group at Pairi Daiza has recently grown to three animals after “Alùs”, a two-and-a-half-year-old male from Poland, joined “Cuango” and “Ambroży”. Further animals will be added gradually as part of a coordinated European breeding programme.

With the commissioning of Manatee Cove, the Pairi Daiza Resort now offers 209 accommodation units, 88 of which are located in Edenya. The park’s offer comprises 15 different immersive overnight experiences: in close proximity to Brown, Polar or Black bears, Siberian tigers, walruses, jaguars, farm animals, sharks, Steller sea lions, Giant otters, tapirs, Squirrel monkeys, Pygmy hippos or penguins. ■