Panari to open Sh1.2bn resort in Nyahururu

Panari Hotels is set to open a Sh1.2 billion resort in Nyahururu this April. Naiya Ratna, one of the directors of Panari Hotels, said in an interview Tuesday that construction of the 100-room Panari Resort is almost complete.

The resort is already receiving bookings by both local and international guests.

“Unlike what we have in Nairobi with the transit hotel and the Westlands residences, we want to do something different where we have more personal interaction with our clients,” said Ms Ratna.

The five-star resort has 22 four-bedroom cottages, two villas and four conference halls which seat on a 20-acre piece of land overlooking the Thompson Falls gorge.

Early guests are set to benefit from three-month introductory rates of Sh11,750 for bed and breakfast and Sh17,750 for guests on full board accommodation.

“Most of the financing was done in-house but we got a bank loan to facilitate the remaining quarter of the investment. We wanted to spare no detail in making the resort appealing not only to the business traveller but also tourists travelling the Samburu circuit looking for a break and the Nairobian looking for a relaxing weekend getaway,” she said.

Initially, construction of the hotel was meant to be completed by last December but Ms Ratna said the heavy El Nino rains caused delays.

“We did not want to open just half the venue and have visitors while construction was still ongoing. We wanted the guests to have the complete feel of the resort including the spa experience,” she explained.

The firm secured $17.8 million funding from the International Finance Corporation to build the multi-purpose, 11-storey, Panari Centre in Nairobi.

The centre, which has a five-star, 137-room airport hotel, a shopping facility, conference centre, an ice-skating rink, two movie theatres and additional facilities opened the Mombasa Road operation in 2005.

Four years ago the company set up 10 units of furnished three and four-bedroom residences targeting long-stay clients such as diplomats and families visiting Nairobi but looking for alternatives to hotel accommodation.

“Diplomats who are either moving in or out of their official residences as  well as  families attending weddings have been the main  source of business though we have had families from as far as Uganda and Tanzania who have relatives seeking treatment within the city,” she said.

The group of hotels is also looking to set up a three-star hotel within Nyahururu town as well as hospitality investment in Kajiado.