Prime Minister opens Sankara Hotel in Westlands

Last Updated 2 years ago by Kenya Engineer

Nairobi’s status as a conference and business centre hub got a major boost with the official opening of the Sankara Hotel owned by The Grenadier Group in Westlands by Prime Minister Raila Odinga. The Prime Minister was accompanied by Grenadier Group Chairman, Mr Baloo Patel, the hotel chairman Mr Charles Njonjo, Tourism Minister  Najib Balala and Mr Rohan Patel, one of the directors. The Prime Minister congratulated the hotel group on their confidence in Kenya and praised them on the excellent facilities they had provided.

Mr Patel said the location of the property as well as the demand for beds and meeting rooms has kept the hotel busy and we are looking to break even earlier than anticipated. Mr. Balala asked the industry to continue re-investing to keep the standards high and remain competitive. He said that Kenya had excellent accommodation for visitors and he mentioned that tourist numbers had increased considerably this year and he was confident they would keep on growing.

The number of new hotels which have opened in Nairobi in the past few years is considerable and additional ones are under construction or at the planning stage.  Four five-star hotels in addition to Sakara  have recently opened. They are:-

Ole Sereni 130 rooms

Crowne Plaza 162 rooms

Panari 136 rooms

Tribe142  rooms

The Ole Serena is the former US Embassy, overlooking the game park off the Mombasa Road. Crown Plaza is on Upper hill, Panari is on the Mombasa Road on the way to Nairobi Airport while Tribe is at Gigiri.

The other long established five-star hotels in Nairobi are:

Fairmont Norfolk 165 rooms

Sarova Stanley 217 rooms

Intercontinental 376 rooms

Hilton 287 rooms

Nairobi Safari Club 146 rooms

Serena 184 rooms

Southern Sun 171 rooms

Windsor 180 rooms

Safari Park 204 rooms

In addition Nairobi has a number of comfortable three and four star hotels, including:

Fairview, Boulevard, La Mada, Jacaranda, Lenana Mount, Red Court, Silver Springs, Six Eighty, Utalii and Ambassadeur.There are also numerous of guest houses and lodges that specialize in catering for tourists.

Facts about sankara

Interior designers: Anil Badan

Acreage: 1.6 acres

Architects: Beglin & Woods

Investment cost US $37 million