A four star serviced apartment on Gerbera Road, built for the car and the conference room. The full kitchen and free parking decide it: this suits you if you are driving and self catering, and does not if you want the centre on foot.
01What it is
16 Arabella Nova near Waterfront Mall Karen lists a full indoor kit rather than hotel services: kitchen and kitchenette with oven, microwave, refrigerator and toaster, washing machine, iron and board, desk, sofa bed, TV, free wifi and internet access. The bathroom has a shower, WC, bidet, hairdryer, towels and toiletries, and there is a balcony and a terrace. Free car parking, 24 hour security and a shuttle service are listed. The list is thin on food and drink and on the ordinary hotel front desk, and one listed item, a golf course, is not part of the property.
What that adds up to is an apartment for someone staying a week or more in Greater Nairobi with a car, cooking some meals, parking on site and treating the room as a base. 16 Arabella Nova sits 12.69 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 159 minutes on foot in a direct line, so you are not walking into the centre from here, and this site's own note on the area is that after dark it is safe and dull, hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else. Book it if you want space, a kitchen and parking. Do not book it if you want the Central Business District on foot, a restaurant downstairs or any street life outside the gate.
02The supplier's photographs
0335 facilities the supplier lists
Facilities are the supplier's list, not a check made on the ground.
04Standing outside the ten quarters
These hotels are not in Upper Hill and Community, and they are not in any of the ten quarters of the centre this site covers. They sit a long way out, in the wider city, and Upper Hill and Community is only the nearest of the ten quarters to them, which is not the same as being in it. Treat the quarter as a reference point, not an address. Anything you want in the CBD means travelling in and out.
The quarter itself is the western ridge above the centre: new concrete on a ridge, built for the car and the conference room. It is not the CBD proper but the ridge immediately above it, and the place most of the CBD's office space has been moving to since the 2000s: the tallest towers in the country, the big hospitals, the aid agencies, and an expressway ramp to the airport. It is best for meetings, a quiet night close in, and a fast run to the airport, and after dark it is safe and dull: hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else. The quarter lies 1.9 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 24 minutes on foot in a direct line.
Read the nearest quarter, Upper Hill and Community05Booking it
Book 16 Arabella Nova direct if you want the kitchen and the parking space confirmed before you commit, and check the cancellation terms at the same time. Most rooms here can be cancelled free, and you book them through app.impt.io. Every confirmed booking removes one tonne of CO2, at no extra cost to you. Five percent of what you pay comes back as IMPT credit, out of the hotel commission rather than added to your bill.
Facts on this page come from the booking supplier's record: star class, address, photographs and facility list. Guest scores come from verified stays. Nobody from this site has stayed here; the quarter copy around it is this site's own.
06Questions
Where is 16 Arabella Nova near Waterfront Mall Karen?+
It is on Gerbera Road in Nairobi, in Greater Nairobi rather than the centre. It sits 10.94 km from Upper Hill and Community, which is the nearest of the ten quarters this site covers, and 12.69 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 159 minutes on foot in a direct line.
What facilities does the property actually list?+
The list is built around self catering: kitchen and kitchenette, oven, microwave, refrigerator, toaster, washing machine, iron and board. There is free wifi, a desk, a sofa bed, a TV, a balcony and a terrace, plus free car parking and 24 hour security. The bathroom has a shower, WC, bidet, hairdryer, towels and toiletries.
Can I walk from here into the Central Business District?+
No. The centre is 12.69 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 159 minutes on foot in a direct line, so this is a driving or shuttle base rather than a walking one. The area is built for the car and the conference room, and after dark it is safe and dull, hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else.
How do I check availability at 16 Arabella Nova?+
Availability and room types are shown through app.impt.io, where you can compare what is open for your dates. Bookings made there can be cancelled free in most cases. Because this is a small serviced property on Gerbera Road, it is worth checking before you arrange a shuttle or a car.
