Heritage Tour Within The City
This is a story about history, love, perseverance, and success. Who does not love such stories? Hotels to me for the longest time have just been buildings but Sarova Stanley’s Heritage Tour opened my mind to it being more than just that. We go back to a time when Kenya was a British colony when Stanley hotel was opened in 1902 as a small restaurant with approximately six rooms by Mayence Bent. The story doesn’t stop there, the Stanley hotel survived a fire and that is how their journey of perseverance begins. After the fire, the owners were able to salvage the staircase which leads to the rooms, the revolving door which is now the exit and a wall clock.
The fire gave birth to the New Stanley hotel which had 60 rooms in three stories. May together with her husband ran the hotel until he fell ill and they moved back to London, the death of May’s husband went with her interest to run the hotel.
New Stanley hotel was then sold to Abraham Lazarus Block and in 1958 the hotel was torn down and rebuilt in an expansion bid. As it stands now the hotel has preserved its history with a few modifications here and there to keep up with the changing times. The hotel has 214 rooms on 8 floors with three heritage suites that have their styles. The presidential suite is a sight to behold and it comes with its own bodyguard room.` Each room has a story to tell from Lamu to Karen Blixen. They are designed to capture distinct artifacts from that era or from that person. Sarova Stanley is a hotel within the city, you would expect it to be noisy but a walk through the rooms you would think that you are on the outskirts of the city
The Thorn Tree Restaurant was one of the first open-air restaurants in Nairobi. It was named after the Naivasha thorn tree which is at the center of the restaurant. The first post office in Nairobi was based here. This is where people used to leave messages for their loved ones on the thorns of the tree. To this day people still leave messages on the tree as an ode to the first post office. The tree, however, is the third of its variety. During the replanting ceremony of the tree, they buried a time capsule that will be opened in 2038.
The Exchange Bar has stories to tell through its name changes. It was first opened in 1932 as The New Stanley Long Bar, this referred to the length of the bar. The Exchange Bar is the successor of the renowned Long Bar. In 1922, the Stanley Hotel was the first hotel to serve Tusker Beer. The Exchange Bar acknowledges the Nairobi Securities Exchange. At the Exchange Bar there is a love story, a man walked from Cape Town in a bid to win the love of his life. He walked into the Exchange Bar and ordered the most expensive drink in the house to quench his thirst. There is a bell at the bar which rings only when the most expensive drink in the house is bought. Once you ring the bell you have to buy everyone in the bar a drink. When I took the Heritage Tour the drink had been bought the previous night. The 1902 Club lounge is an exclusive blend of sophistication and luxury. It is only accessible to people who have paid for rooms that are in the second category and above.
The hotel has hosted many dignitaries from Queen Elizabeth to Ernest Hemingway. All these dignitaries have influenced in part the history of Sarova Stanley and through this, we can experience the in-depth Heritage tour. The journey from the Stanley hotel to Sarova Stanley has shown the growth of this beautiful establishment to one of the five-star luxury hotels in the country. The moniker Sarova was derived from the names of the wives of the new owners of the establishment.
Truly Sarova Stanley has a story to tell and you too can experience the Heritage Tour. They accept walk-ins but the tour ends by 6 in the evening to avoid colliding with the guests of the hotel.