A five star tower on Elgon Road in Upper Hill and Community, built for conferences, business travel and anyone who wants a pool, a gym and a spa in a quiet quarter. It suits people whose day is already arranged around the ridge. It does not suit anyone who wants the centre on foot at night.
01What it is
Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill lists the full apparatus of a five star business hotel: restaurant, bars, lounge, room service, banquet and conference space, business center and free wifi. There is an outdoor pool with a pool bar, a fitness center and gymnasium, a spa with sauna, steam room, massage and jacuzzi, plus a tennis court and a garden. Rooms come air conditioned with desk, safe, minibar, bath or shower, bathrobe and slippers. Parking is free, with valet parking and a garage.
The list is thick on leisure and meetings and thin on anything to do with the street outside. Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill sits in a quarter of new concrete built for the car and the conference room, and the hotel knows it: car rental, shuttle service, currency exchange and a 24 hour front desk are there because you arrive and leave by vehicle. For a delegate on a schedule, or a family that wants the pool and the space between meetings, it works. For a visitor who wants to step out into the centre, it does not: Upper Hill is a daytime quarter, and after dark it is hotel bars and a ride anywhere else.
02The supplier's photographs
0336 facilities the supplier lists
and 51 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 this one if the ridge and the meeting rooms are the point of the trip rather than the city around them. 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 Radisson Blu Hotel Nairobi Upper Hill?+
On Elgon Rd in Nairobi, in the Upper Hill and Community area, 0.9 km from the centre of Upper Hill and Community and 2.12 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 27 minutes on foot in a direct line. The quarter is built for the car and the conference room.
What facilities does the hotel list?+
A restaurant, bars, lounge, room service, banquet and conference space, business center and free wifi. An outdoor pool with pool bar, gymnasium, fitness center, spa with sauna, steam room, massage and jacuzzi, tennis court and garden. Rooms are air conditioned with desk, safe and minibar. Parking is free, with valet parking.
Can I walk into central Nairobi from the hotel?+
You can walk the direct line, but Upper Hill is a daytime quarter and the halls shut in the late afternoon. After dark it is safe and dull: hotel bars, and a ride anywhere else. Most people staying here treat the centre as a car trip rather than a walk.
What does the guest score of 4.7 out of 5 mean?+
It is the average from 11607 reviews, which is a large enough sample to show a settled pattern rather than a few strong opinions. It tells you most people leave satisfied, and it says nothing about whether the location suits you. That depends on whether you want the ridge or the centre.
