A three star apartment hotel on Mawensi Road in Upper Hill, built around suites with kitchens and a pool. The deciding factor is whether you want a self-catering base on the ridge, because you will be taking a ride into the centre for anything else.
01What it is
Laurel Hill Suites is a three star property on Mawensi Road, and the facility list reads like an apartment block rather than a hotel: kitchen, oven, microwave, refrigerator, toaster and washing machine, plus balcony, patio and terrace, so a stay here can run on its own cooking and its own laundry. The rest is what you would expect of a business address on this ridge: free wifi, a business centre, a desk, a fitness centre, an outdoor pool, a sauna, a lounge and bars on site. Security is listed as 24 hour, cars park free, and lifts, wheelchair access, family rooms and high chairs cover most of the practical ground. Where the list goes thin is transport and the evening: car rental service is the only mobility item, and once the hotel bars close you are into a ride to go anywhere.
For the right visitor, Laurel Hill Suites works because the room carries the trip: you get the kitchen, the washing machine and the balcony, you get a pool and a fitness centre for the hours between meetings, and you get free parking and 24 hour security if you keep a car. Upper Hill is new concrete on a ridge, built for the car and the conference room, and that is the honest trade. If your day is at a nearby institution and your evenings are quiet, this is a sensible, unexciting base. If you came for the centre itself, the streets, the markets and the late tables, Laurel Hill Suites puts you a ride away from all of it, and you should weigh whether that suits you before booking.
02The supplier's photographs
0336 facilities the supplier lists
and 11 more on the supplier's own record. Facilities are the supplier's list, not a check made on the ground.
04Standing in Upper Hill and Community
Upper Hill and Community sits on the western ridge, 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. The street feel is new concrete on a ridge, built for the car and the conference room. The quarter lies 1.9 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 24 minutes on foot in a direct line.
It is best for meetings, a quiet night close in, and a fast run to the airport. After dark it is safe and dull: hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else. That suits people here to work and people who want their evening contained. It does not suit anyone expecting street life outside the door. The streets are built for the car and the conference room, so plan to move by vehicle once the working day ends.
Read the whole of Upper Hill and Community05Booking it
Book Laurel Hill Suites if a self-catering suite with parking and a pool on the Upper Hill ridge matches how you plan to spend the days, and look elsewhere if you want the centre on foot. 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 Laurel Hill Suites?+
It is on Mawensi Road in Nairobi, in the Upper Hill and Community area. It sits 1.01 km from the centre of Upper Hill and Community, and 2.51 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 32 minutes on foot in a direct line.
What does the property list in the rooms?+
Kitchen, oven, microwave, refrigerator, toaster and washing machine, plus balcony, patio or terrace depending on the room, with towels, toiletries, bathrobe, slippers, hairdryer, iron and board, desk, safe and TV. Lifts and wheelchair accessible rooms are listed.
What is the area around it like in the evening?+
Safe and dull. Hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else. Upper Hill is new concrete on a ridge, built for the car and the conference room, so the halls shut in the late afternoon and you should plan on the hotel bars or a ride into the centre.
How do I check availability and cancel?+
Availability and rooms are shown through app.impt.io, where you book. Most rooms can be cancelled free, and the terms attached to your specific room appear at the point of booking, so read them there before you confirm.
