Hemingways Nairobi, an SLH Hotel

This is a simply lovely property. The rooms are quite large, spacious and extremely comfortable. The bathroom is huge and well appointed. The beds are very comfortable and afforded a good night sleep. The breakfast buffet is exceptional with many tasty treats to enjoy. For me, what makes a hotel exceptional is the staff, and Hemingway's does not disappoint. The reception staff, restaurant workers, housekeeping staff, gardening staff, personal butlers, and cart drivers were all warm, welcoming, courteous and eager to assist with any need. Management should be proud of the entire staff.

We stayed at Hemingways Nairobi for two nights - 5th & 6th October - as a restful end to a week-long safari and to celebrate my mum’s 70th birthday.||This hotel is absolutely gorgeous, with stunning location, buildings, furniture and decor. It screams luxury. The rooms are just incredible - beautiful and cosy/welcoming.||The only reason I have given 4 stars instead of 5, is because of a very bad experience in the restaurant on the first night - we had to ask to get some drinks, the main course took about 45-60 mins to arrive (even though I had stressed that I am diabetic), and when the food did arrive, it was cold and incorrect for one of our party. We spoke to management, who took our feedback very seriously and they apologised profusely (even offered us free dessert). Our waiter, John (I think his name was), also apologised and looked genuinely distraught about our feedback. I really have to stress, John was fantastic and none of our complaints were his fault in the slightest. John was wonderful and we have nothing but praise for him.||Since providing this feedback, the restaurant staff made a huge effort to make up for yesterday, apologising again. We’ve just come back from our second dinner, which was the total opposite and was perfection. Food arrived promptly (especially for me as a diabetic), was delicious and the service exemplary - our waiter Newton was absolutely fantastic.||I think as a general comment, I otherwise noticed that communication from staff could be lacking a bit - for example, letting us know whether they had ordered a cart to take us back to our room, or checking in on us. At times it felt a bit like we were forgotten about. But I hasten to add that when we did interact with staff, all of them were lovely and friendly. It turned out last night they were having kitchen issues with lots of guests to serve, which is completely understandable - it just might have helped to let us know about this, as we would have completely understood and not been so disappointed.||As a side note, the checking in process felt like it took an extremely long time (and again, with no updates while we waited).||Overall, if you are looking for luxury, this is definitely the place for you. Aside from the one bad meal at the restaurant, we have otherwise loved Hemingways - I also really want to praise the staff for trying to make it up to us tonight; especially decorating a table for my mum’s birthday and providing a delicious cake!

1 star service from a “5 star” hotel. We stayed in the Papa suite, just a step down and a door down the hall from the presidential suite. Nice place. People seem nice. Our waitress Lorna was actually great the first night. Unfortunately my wife is allergic to flowers and all the products provided in the room - shampoo, soap, conditioner, lotion, etc are all floral. We told the butler this when we arrived. We told the front desk the next morning. Then the following day we had to ask for management. After all this they brought us hypoallergenic hand soap and lotion but no shampoo or conditioner. They told us they could not find hypoallergenic shampoo and conditioner… We didn’t ask for hypoallergenic, simply something without rose and geranium, without floral. Anything else would have done just fine. So what we have here is a 3 level failure of customer service. 1) the butler failed to think and act when we shared the allergy. 2) the front desk failed to take accountability and respond 3) the manager failed to listen and execute As a man I don’t want to smell like flowers. As my wife has allergies 🤧 she can’t use the initial room accompaniments. When you pay $1800 USD or more a night to stay at a “5 star” hotel you’d think they would have options for people who might have allergies to flowers or maybe even options for men who don’t want to smell like flowers all day. It seems if someone is spending $1800 a night to stay with you a $50-100 accommodation for an allergy might be a pretty simple thing. Not here. We also had to request a bottle of water at dinner 3 times before we actually got it and one morning at breakfast we got our coffee drinks 5 mins after a couple that sat down about 15 mins after us. Would NOT return.

I express my gratitude for exemptional service you provided during our visit. All the staffs were amazing. Eunice, our waitress was very knowledgeable and professional. She went above and beyond to ensure all our needs were met. We had a nice experience. We enjoyed the ambiance. We are definitely coming back.

We had the most phenomenal stay at Hemingway’s! We started our trip here and finished it here and highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kenya. The service is impeccable, the property immaculate and the food heavenly! Our room was bigger than our apartment and beautifully maintained. We will absolutely be visiting again. A huge thank you to all the staff for looking after us.

My wife and I stayed here for a total of four nights -- two before our safaris and two after. It's a beautiful property with lovely views from all of the rooms. We stayed in the Stanley Suite first, then the Meryl Streep Suite at the end of our trip. Both rooms were the same. Very nice four-poster bed, dual sinks, walk-in closet, a safe and a spacious balcony. Except for one lunch while out on a tour, we ate all of our meals here. The food was very good: burgers and crocodile burgers for lunch, lasagna, prawns and Indian food for dinner. The service was great and we had some excellent servers. They are locals but have all adopted western-style names so that we can pronounce them. Kind of a shame they have to do this. But our favorite server, Eunice, told us her given name and we had no chance to pronounce it. James, Abagael and everyone there was fantastic -- warm, personable and eager to provide great service. On our last day there, we had an 11:30pm flight out of Nairobi, so we bought a day pass and were able to stay in our room until 7pm. Then we had dinner and off to the airport. We highly recommend this hotel!

Your hotel is stunning. The entrance, lobby, restaurant and surroundings are spectacular. I began my Kenya and Tanzania Safari at your hotel and spent an extra night with you to complete my magical journey. Your staff is top notch. Jones was a wonderful porter and somehow knew I was familiar with my room, so he simply delivered my luggage to the closet. I was dining alone and my server, Abigael, was most professional yet very kind and friendly. She made me feel most welcome, comfortable, and was extremely attentive to my dining experience. Jackie, the restaurant manager followed up to make my dining experience was impeccable. Mildred was most helpful and kind in making sure I was checked out in a timely manner, my luggage was in the proper place and attended to my cash request. You have a world class hotel, and I will return.

We had the most wonderful stay at Hemingways Nairobi. The hotel itself is absolutely beautiful—calm, elegant, and thoughtfully designed—but what really makes it special are the people.||From the moment we arrived, the staff went above and beyond to ensure everything was perfect. A special thank you to Lee, who truly made our day. He took such great care of us, was incredibly attentive, and is just a genuinely kind person. His warmth and professionalism made our experience unforgettable.||We would also love to recognize Gideon, the pastry chef, whose creations were not only delicious but crafted with such passion. He is truly amazing and a real asset to the hotel.||Hemingways is more than just a beautiful property—it’s a place where the people make you feel at home. We can’t recommend it enough and can’t wait to return!