A private investor, The View by the Park Limited, plans a new Sh1.3 billion mixed-use hotel complex in Nairobi’s South-C area, targeting to tap on the city’s budding hospitality industry.
The facility, to overlook the Nairobi National Park, will comprise 170 hotel rooms and 126 apartments of between two and four bedrooms.
Disclosures showed that the three to four-star hotel, known as The View, would be built on the edge of the Southern by-pass, a short distance from the Emara Ole Sereni Hotel.
“Project envisages putting up 126 apartment units on a concave-shaped block of the mixed-use project. These apartments will be two, three, and four-bedroom apartments. The hotel will feature 170 room facility and a sky restaurant,” the investor said.
“The current proposal is for a three to four star hotel. The hotel tower block which is circular in nature is expected to be the tallest, standing at 37 floors when fully developed. A mix of office spaces is proposed including meeting rooms, co-working spaces, and conference rooms,” it added.
The hotel industry in Kenya has shown a revival amid a recovery in tourism and conference visits, with notable increases in greenfield as well as operator and acquisition deals, as investors sought to capitalise on rebounded room sales.
For example, global hospitality firm Marriot International plans a new 180-room hotel at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), targeting both local and foreign guests.
The facility, Courtyard by Marriott Airport Hotel, would become the second facility operated by the hospitality firm at the JKIA. Marriot already runs the JKIA-based 172-bed Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport Hotel, which opened its doors seven years ago.
Disclosures showed that the hotel construction project would cost approximately Sh1.19 billion and run over 30 months.
The Courtyard by Marriott Airport Hotel, will have 174 standard suite rooms and six junior suites.
The proposed project site is surrounded by the Kenya Airports Authority head office to the East, Freight Lane to the South, Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi Airport Hotel to the West, and Maya Freight to the North.
Other immediate neighbours to the proposed project site include Freight in Time, Nippon Express, Airflow, Freight Wings, Explolanka, Siginon Group Logistics, Kuhne Nagel, United Freight Logistics and Airflo.
Apart from greenfield projects, there have also been recent acquisitions in the Nairobi hotel industry. For example, a Qatari-backed private equity fund, Kasanda on July 28, 2022, announced a Sh4.9 billion acquisition of the former Crowne Plaza in Nairobi.
The Crowne Plaza, which opened in 2010, is located in Upper Hill-- Nairobi’s financial centre and a commercial hub that is home to the headquarters of several local businesses, international institutions, and diplomatic delegations.
The hotel has 206 rooms, a ballroom that can accommodate 300 people, and over 10 meeting rooms with a total capacity of 550 people—making it one of the facilities with the largest meeting and event spaces in Nairobi.
In another recent acquisition deal, the South African owners of Nairobi’s Fairview Hotel, Town Lodge, and City Lodge Two Rivers announced the sale of the three hotels to private equity fund Actis for Sh1 billion.
City Lodge Hotel Group put up the three Kenyan hotels and Tanzania’s City Lodge Hotel in Dar es Salaam for sale in plans to exit East Africa.
