The Fairview — Hotel in Nairobi

I love this hotel and my family have stayed many times over the years. The staff are so helpful (especially Helen in reception)the beds comfortable and it’s like escaping to a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city. This really feels like home in NBO rather than a soulless corporate hotel with branded dripmats. Monkeys parade around the beautiful gardens and all staff are so welcoming||The breakfasts are incredible and the food and cocktails are fabulous (happy hour is 5-7pm!) ||The one flaw is that there are no sun loungers next to the pool. They are up some stairs in a separate area and unfortunately my elderly mother couldn’t manage the steps. ||It used to be a mix of pool side sun loungers with tables and chairs which worked well…(one can feel a bit self conscious going in to the pool in-front of everyone having lunch!)|Please can we have a few sun beds around the pool even if it’s a tiny amount?|Otherwise this hotel gets 10/10||Whilst in Kenya here’s some further recommendations… ||We have used a fantastic driver and travel organiser called Jimmy Kamau for around 20 years. A very reliable family man and reasonably priced. He booked everything for us including the fairview for our annual 10 day trip around Kenya. He even went to the market to buy flowers we wanted as we didn’t want to be sat in heavy traffic on our last day. Highly recommended his number is +254 722 706 521||I can also recommend a fantastic masseuse who comes to your room at the Fairview with her own bed etc (mum and I had ours outside in the garden which was heaven) It’s 6800 for a 1 hour massage (7500 for 90 mins which is approx £50) and is one of the best I’ve ever had in a beautiful setting. Contact Judy on...

Horrible place, horrible people. My advice is to avoid.

The rudest most dishonest staff I have ever experienced.

The character limit does not allow me to tell the full story unfortunately. Suffice to say. We booked a table over the phone. We arrived all dressed up and ready to go. Only to be told that they had no record of our booking. They challenged the fact that we had booked. Because we couldn’t remember the name of the person we spoke to they couldn’t take our problem seriously. The restaurant manager Edward was beyond rude. He made a bad situation worse. He eventually escalated to the duty manager who took the same stance until we showed evidence of the calls on our phones. We had never mentioned compensation but Edward said that they would offer compensation if we could remember of the man who took the booking. I had to correct Edward three times on my name. We were supposed to remember the name of someone who had not given his name. He wouldn’t remember my name after I had told him it three times in half an hour. Eventually they took our phone numbers and email addresses and said everything would be put right. Did we receive an email or call a week later? No. I emailed to remind them to be begrudgingly offered two courses and a drink at a lower level restaurant. I pointed out that it wasn’t the restaurant we wanted. They then told us we needed 6 people to eat in that restaurant. Something that had never been mentioned in a 30 minute discussion on the night or on the website. I asked for the name of the duty manager we had spoken to on the night. I didn’t receive a reply.

The rudest, most dishonest staff I have ever experienced.

My advice...

Been to Fairview a couple of times for meetings at the poolside and restaurant and I loved the place. My most recent visit was for a 5-day meeting in one of their conference halls and a couple of things disappointed me. Firstly, the wooden floor distracted guests' attention when people moved around, into or outside the room. Secondly, mints were only offered in the morning and not replenished in the afternoon, so the little bowl would sit empty. Thirdly, snacks for tea/coffee would always run out before all the guests served so we almost always asked for additional snacks - this was the first conference facility at this price range in which my team had experienced this. Forthly, it took quite some effort to get mixed tea - seems this is not normally served at their conference facilities. Other than that, the conference room itself was clean, spacious and airy (25 pax), and the hosts were very friendly. The grilled meat at the restaurant was just fantastic. So was their brocolli and the "carrot and something soup" - totally out of this world.

A major aspect that the hotel needs to improve is their communication with guests who are unaware that drop-off at the hotel gate is strictly forbidden. There is no warning given beforehand so guests feel harassed and embarassed by the way they are handled when they get off a vehicle and are impolitely forced by armed guards to return into the vehicle. Two of our guests faced this during this recent 5-day meeting. While we understand that hotel is concerned with it security, it is important that guests do not feel "accused" or suspected to pose a threat...