Karibu kwetu Kenya 🙂 . Today as my first post on this amazing journey we are planning to take with you through out our country and history of certain areas that you probably just always over look. The business of luxury in Nairobi particularly took root in 1902. Back then Nairobi was a railway hub.
A British Lady enterprenuer by the name of Mayance Bent saw the potential for hotel industry and created a 6 room, 2 storey luxury hotel on Victoria street ( now known as Tom Mboya ) for the railway engineers and named it The Stanley Hotel. But then she decided that she will expand and moved her business to Government road ( now Moi Avenue) which was bigger and consisted of 15 rooms in total. At this point everything was okay but unfortunately the offices on government street discovered a rodent infestation and the only means of extermination was to burn down all the offices on that street this was in 1905.
Her marriage wasn't flourishing as well during this time and Mayance decided to get a divorce because her husband at the time William Stanley Bent was slow in business and therefore was a hindrance to her business growth.Due to her resilience with her new boyfriend Fred Francis Tate ( he has a suite named after him currently on the 3rd floor) , , they together bought and estate on Dalamare street where they set up The New Stanley which is to date is known for its elegant accommodations that provided a level of sophisticated comfort that was uncommon in the early 1900s and is unmatched even to date, making it the county's premier Luxury hotel. The hotel now has a capacity of up to 217 rooms and 9 floors plus the basement.
In all the 114 years of existence The Sarova Stanely has some pieces that have stood the test of time and are now part of their reception and are as well functioning till date.
- the house phone
- the clock at the reception
- The Gramophone at the exchange bar - this particular piece was a gift to Karen Blixen the famous danish author to the book 'Out of Africa' from the husband to carry during her travels. The funniest thing about this particular instrument was that to regulate the sound they would cover it with a cloth or fix one down the throat of the pavilion
- In the middle of the thorn tree restaurant there is an actual thorn tree that has been there since the rebuild of the Stanley Hotel.The best part about it is the board that you can see below, In the past they formed the tradition of using a board to write down reviews of the hotel by their customers and to this date the tradition still lives on. Shows how confident the Stanley are about their services,
- Being a lover of Tusker beer this particular part of the Sarova Stanley Hotel holds a special place i my heart as it is where the first Tusker beer was tasted and from that brought to life.How about that bet you dint know that.i
- All the wood used during contraction and furnishing from way back when is still in use till today. The stare case, the bars and in the rooms too .Talk about long lasting wood.
Haha no the pool is not a hundred years old , trust me i had to ask but its definitely a part of the Sarova Stanley that i loved , its just all about the vibes you get .
This is the first post on our Karibu Kwetu Kenya campaign and i hope you enjoyed learning something a little bit new today.
