Radisson Blu opens its doors in Upper Hill

What you need to know:

This 271-room modern hotel has one of the largest conference facilities in Kenya and a large outdoor sitting area close to the bar.

The bed capacity in Nairobi has just increased by 271 rooms following the opening of Radisson Blu Nairobi, Upper Hill this month.

The upscale hotel is set to tap into the growing business and conference tourism in the city, especially around the Upper Hill area where major international companies have set up shop.

“The demand for meetings and events in this part of the city is high as corporates are looking to be away from the city centre and Westlands,” said Jens Brandin, Radisson Blu Hotel’s General Manager during a tour of the new property earlier this week.

Modern African

“Kenya is growing, with an increasing number of international businesses opening up in the country. There is therefore need for new hotels that service the requirements for the modern African and international traveller,” he said.

“We are immensely proud to be opening this amazing hotel in Nairobi and the whole team is looking forward to showing off our inimitable ‘Yes I Can!’ hospitality.”

The opening of the hotel comes at a time when Nairobi is aggressively marketing itself as a major MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferencing and Exhibition) destination. This is visible with the many major conferences recently hosted in the country.

“We already have bookings ahead of the WTO conference in December,” said Radisson Blu Nairobi’s Director of Sales and Marketing Vickie Muyanga.

During a recent tour, most of the meeting rooms were already occupied as corporates in Nairobi quickly moved to experience the new property.

Travel in Nairobi has become location- based, with corporates opting to accommodate their guests close to their offices, due to the inordinate time spent in traffic. It’s for this reason that this new hotel will be offering shuttle services within the Upper Hill area, with scheduled times “to offer time saving and comfort for our guests,” said Ms Muyanga.

The first thing that catches one’s attention at the front is the vertical garden, creating a warm welcoming feel. The atrium lobby is well-lit and airy with mixed designs of blue and white seats round low tables and white walls.

Open space

This space opens up to the hotel’s main bar, Humidor, an open space that allows guests to interact freely with the staff and opens up to the patio beyond. The hotel supposedly has the longest patio in the city where guests can sit to enjoy the outdoors and dine.

Next to the bar is the main dining area The Larder, which offers a wide range of dishes apart from the buffet that was laid out for the guests on that day. The restaurant has one wall decorated with African cooking sticks and trays adding an African touch.

By early 2016, the hotel will open The Chop steak House and Al Fresco Pool Bar & Grill.

To the right of the entrance is the check-in area, with a corner for guests to rest as they wait to check in.

The white stair case leads you to the first floor where the hotel has 12 meeting rooms. Along the stair case are Mali mud cloth Bògòlan hangings in black and white patterns adding some colour to the high white walls.

Guests have a choice of three contemporary room designs. There are 190 standard rooms, 36 superior rooms, 31 business, 13 executive suites and a Presidential Suite. Guests can enjoy the One Touch App, which allows one to order for any service they need from one single point.

Architecture

Originally expected to open its doors earlier this year, the hotel opened its doors on November 9.

The investors put in Sh8.7 billion to put up the property including acquiring the extra land behind the hotel which will offer extra parting and a landscaped corner ideal for events.

When the ownership bought the land they wanted to build apartments this changed along the way and before long they had signed a management contract with Radisson Blu, an international hospitality company that is part of Carlson Rezidor, which is listed at the Stockholm Stock Exchange since 2006.

The architecture of the hotel was done by Christian Lundwall of Lundwall Architects, who also developed the Radisson Blu in Nigeria.