Sankara Nairobi in Westland, one of the OG 5-star hotels in Nairobi, first opened in 2010. Almost 15 years later, the hotel remains one of the most recognizable brand names in the city. Part of Marriott, up until recently Sankara was the only high-profile Marriott hotel in Nairobi, until JW Marriott entered the chat 🙂
We have stayed at Sankara a total of three times over the last five years—once as a family and twice Solo. Sankara is in an excellent location in the heart of Westlands, within walking distance of Sarit Mall, Westgate Mall, and various restaurants and shops. Artcaffe Coffee & Bakery is just a few meters down the road, with plenty of nightlife and supermarkets nearby. The area is full of life at night, very busy during the day, and very vibrant. The biggest selling point for Sankara lies in its great and central location.
Spacious, Old but Minimalistic Rooms
The rooms are very spacious, especially for us coming from London, where a ÂŁ600 hotel room is the size of a shoebox. We appreciated the space and the natural light coming into the room from the massive floor-to-ceiling windows.
The bed was very comfortable—not as comfortable as the JW Marriott Nairobi, wish we reviewed as well—but still quite nice and fluffy. The bathroom was quite large, with a bathtub and branded amenities.
We stayed in the Executive Room and found it quite decent, with minimal brown and grey tones. Each room came with a spacious table next to the floor-to-ceiling window, an armchair, a decent TV, and a minibar.
However, the hotel is a bit dated and could use some upgrades. The furniture is a bit old, and the same goes for the carpet and the bathroom tiles.
On the plus side, cleanliness is taken very seriously. The housekeeping team was amazing. You get turndown service every day, along with fresh water and handcrafted Sankara “Big 7” wooden animal figurines delivered to the room daily.
Facilities and Dining
The hotel feels very small. Once you enter—obviously through airport-style security, which is good—just a few steps later, you’re at the reception desk. You can tell that the hotel is quite old; the lifts, for example, are small and smell of a mixture of dampness and mold. In the lobby next to the reception desk, they offer some snacks, tea, coffee, and sweets, which is a nice gesture. However, the facilities are very limited. I think there was only one restaurant that had decent food but no spa. The gym is on the smaller side, and on the roof, there is a small swimming pool that definitely shows its age, along with a bar.
Inside the hotel, there is little to do. We always ate outside, and apart from the Executive Lounge, which we had access to, there were no highlights.
Safety
We definitely felt very safe. Upon entering the hotel, the gate security searches the car, and then at the main entrance, there is an airport-style baggage scanner and metal detectors. We always saw security personnel everywhere, which can be a bit intimidating, but for safety, we definitely recommend it.
We had no issues in the room, but we heard from one guest at the reception who was very upset and complaining about missing money in the room. While looking at Google reviews, we noticed a few other people complaining about money missing from their room and safe. Again, we had no bad experiences, but the number of reviews mentioning missing money from the safe is concerning, especially since Sankara did not directly respond to those reviews.
The Area – The Heart of Westlands
As stated in the introduction, the main reason many people book Sankara is the location. The hotel is in the heart of Westlands, where you can find everything around it: big malls, shops, food, supermarkets, etc.
The area is vibrant and busy, giving you a good first-time experience of bustling Nairobi. It is also close to the city centre, Parklands, and Kilimani.
If you have further questions please don’t hesitate to write us a comment or email us, we are more then happy to help out.
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