Kifaru House Karen is a three star property on Karen Hardy Milima Road, out on the ridge in Greater Nairobi. The list covers the domestic basics, a garden, a fireplace, wifi and laundry, and a car is assumed. That is the whole decision: it suits people driving, not people walking into the centre.
01What it is
Kifaru House Karen lists the useful ordinary things: breakfast, free wifi, a reception area, luggage storage, laundry service, a TV and a fireplace. Meals in are covered too, with a microwave, a refrigerator and a picnic area, plus a garden, a terrace, a playground, a smoking area and water. It is a 3 star property. The list is thin in two places: none of the sixteen amenities is a restaurant, a bar or any form of transport, and horse back riding is listed as a surcharge, so it is an arrangement rather than something on site.
For a stay, that adds up to a self contained, car dependent address. Kifaru House Karen sits in a part of Greater Nairobi where the street feel is new concrete on a ridge, built for the car and the conference room, and the evenings are safe and dull, hotel bars and a ride anywhere else. The distances tell the same story: 14.31 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 179 minutes on foot in a direct line. It suits families and drivers, people working in Karen or from a car. It does not suit anyone who wants the centre on foot.
02The supplier's photographs
0317 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 Kifaru House Karen if you have a car and want the Karen side of Greater Nairobi rather than the centre. 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 exactly is Kifaru House Karen?+
It is on Karen Hardy Milima Road in Nairobi, in the Greater Nairobi part of the city rather than the Central Business District. The nearest of the ten quarters this site covers is Upper Hill and Community, at 12.41 km from Upper Hill and Community, which is the nearest of the ten quarters this site covers.
What does Kifaru House Karen actually have on site?+
Breakfast, free wifi, a reception area, luggage storage, laundry service, a TV and a fireplace. Outside there is a garden, a terrace, a picnic area, a playground and a smoking area. Rooms have a microwave and a refrigerator. There is no restaurant or bar on the list, and no transport.
Do I need a car to stay here and get into central Nairobi?+
Yes, in practice. The centre is a long way off, and the area is built for the car and the conference room. Public transport is not something the property lists, and the evenings are quiet, so plan on driving or arranging a ride for anything beyond the hotel.
How do I check availability for Kifaru House Karen?+
Book through app.impt.io, where most rooms can be cancelled free. The date you want is the thing to confirm, since the property is small and the listed facilities do not include a restaurant or bar, so you will want your nights settled before you commit.
