Business Traveler, December/January 2020
D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 0 b u s i n e s s t r a v e l e r u s a c o m 3 3 D E S T I N AT I O N S Another suburb growing in popularity is Karen Once considered more of a residential enclave with a colonial feel its a common misconception that it takes its name from the Karen Blixen portrayed in Out of Africa in fact its named after her cousin Karen Melchior whose father owned the Karen Coffee Company better roads have attracted numerous local businesses trendy office spaces such as 45 Karen Road and shopping centers containing international brands such as Carrefour and Yves Rocher This is having a ripple effect on the hotel scene There wasnt much competition in Westlands when we opened nine years ago says Krishna Unni Sankaras group general manager Conceived as a boutique business hotel it was independently owned and managed until it joined Marriott Internationals Autograph Collection this year Recent arrivals to the suburb include the Villa Rosa by Genevabased Kempinski Pullman Movenpick and Ibis Styles properties from Accor and a Park Inn by Radisson BOUNCING BACK Westlands is also home to the Dusit D2 hotel which reopened in August following the January terror attack by al Shabab militants that killed 21 people It came just after Kenya reported a 37 percent increase in visitor numbers for 2018 raising questions about what the impact would be Tourism is vital to the economy contributing 79 billion last year and accounting for 83 percent of jobs While a PwC report predicted a temporary dip in visitors of about 13 percent the African Travel and Tourism Association reported that the market was booming by the busy summer season Michael Metaxas the Dusit D2 s general manager is now optimistic promising a new positive energy as well as enhanced security certified by international bodies Tight security is part of the experience at any quality Nairobi hotel with arriving cars subject to thorough searches of trunks and undersides and guests passing through airport style scanners This is even the case at the bucolic Hemingways hotel out in Karen which has views over the Ngong Hills We call them the giant hills because the ridges look like they were pressed by the knuckles of a giant says Richard Kimenyi the hotels general manager over a delicious lunch of ostrich carpaccio and Creole style red snapper in a curry sauce Guests at the five star property range from tourists who stay
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