The Sarova Stanley

Nairobi, Kenya. Located in the heart of downtown Nairobi on Kimathi Street.

The Sarova StanleyNairobi, Kenya

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Practical information

217 rooms and suites, including 21 themed suites such as the Karen Blixen suite, a presidential suite and the Windsor penthouse.
The Thorn Tree Café with its message-board acacia, Thai Chi restaurant and the historic Exchange Bar.
Heated rooftop pool, health club, the Churchill Ballroom and nine meeting rooms.
Located in the heart of downtown Nairobi on Kimathi Street.

12 dates, written by Grand Hotels of the World from the sources below.

1902
Mayence Bent opens the Victoria Hotel, four rooms above a general store, considered Nairobi’s first luxury hotel.
1904
With Daniel Ernest Cooper she opens the first Stanley Hotel, a two-storey wooden building with 15 beds.
1907
Winston Churchill frequents the hotel; its ballroom now bears his name.
1913
A new 60-room, three-storey hotel commissioned by Fred Tate opens on Delamere Avenue as the New Stanley Hotel, after a dispute over the name.
1922
The hotel is the first to sell Tusker beer, and a stock exchange starts trading in its Exchange Bar.
1933 – 1934
Ernest Hemingway recovers here from amoebic dysentery, writing at the Thorn Tree; he returns in 1954.
1947
Mayence Bent sells to Abraham Lazarus Block; The Macomber Affair is filmed at the hotel the same year.
1952
Princess Elizabeth visits during her world tour.
1958
Most of the hotel is demolished and rebuilt.
1961
The first thorn tree is planted at the café, whose noticeboard becomes a legendary meeting point for travellers.
1978
The Sarova Group buys the hotel from the Block family.
1998
A US$20 million renovation is completed and the original name, The Stanley, is restored.