Nairobi was somewhere I was looking forward to seeing on our African tour. Its name conjures images of safari animals, vast national parks and vibrant colour in fabrics, art work and local culture.
We wanted to really feel the heartbeat of the city and choice the Trademark Hotel for accommodation…
I am not quite sure what I was expecting, but the Trademark Hotel is new, modern and very stylish with an impressive smudge grey frontage and huge areas of reflective glass. This hotel is one of the chain of hotels bearing the same name. It has been designed with businessmen in mind and certainly has excellent facilities for the business world including smart conference facilities.
We were warmly welcomed at the Reception and were speedily taken through the COVID procedure before being shown to our room. Our suitcases were already there! The room was decorated in shades of grey with crisp dazzling white bed linen. The bathroom was elegant with a walk-in rainfall shower and complimentary toiletries.
We ventured out into the city and within a few moments we were at the Mall named ‘Village Market’. There seemed to be plenty of places to eat round and about the hotel, but we decided that the hotel’s Harvest Restaurant sounded appealing.
The Harvest Restaurant is informal and cheerfully, decorated with plenty of light wood wall panelling that enhances the gold, grey and white patterned chairs.
We were hungry so we were delighted with the menu selection. Everyone loves meat in Nairobi and certainly there were plenty of meaty options, but some great fish and seafood dishes and several choices for vegetarians. Whilst we waited for our meal, I perused the international wine list, which had plenty of variety. The starters are from ‘garden, land or sea’ or there were several soups. The Chef prides himself on sourcing most of the produce he uses from local growers, For our main we plumped for the pan-seared Red Snapper and were delighted with the quality and presentation of the dish.
We couldn’t resist the Chocolate Buffalo Dessert which is for two people – decadent or what!! Really rich chocolate grenache with chocolate sponge, topped by creamy vanilla ice cream.
During our stay, we became very familiar with the Harvest as it serves great lunchtime snacks too. Good food is obviously very important in this hotel, because the day starts with an excellent breakfast – either continental or full English.
We wanted to see as much of Nairobi as possible so we didn’t take advantage of the hotel’s fitness centre or spa, but we did have a go in the snooker hall which has a huge modern stained glass window. I like to think that I was so busy admiring it that it put me off my game!
Whilst I hotel was central, we wanted to travel further afield too. There are several transport options, but after talking with hotel staff and guests, we opted for taxis and were lucky that they could be picked up just outside the Trademark Hotel. The big tip is that because there is no taxi meter, agree the fare first.
There are several bus companies; the main one is KBS but you have to squeeze yourself on and it is almost impossible to get off at your chosen stop. City Hoppa and MM are the others. The central bus station is where you find buses to Karen and Langata There is also the Matabus which is a shared minibus – good in theory, but often overloaded and some of the drivers’ skills are questionable.
.jpg)
