A 3 star hotel on Kuro Road, out on a ridge in Greater Nairobi where the streets were laid for cars and conference rooms rather than for walking. It lists parking, a pool and a spa. The single thing that decides it for you is whether you have a car and business out this way, because the centre is not on foot.
01What it is
Royale Karen Hotel is a 3 star property on Kuro Road, and its listed facilities are the practical kind rather than the decorative kind. There is a 24 hour front desk, housekeeping, free car parking and further parking, a restaurant, bars, a smoking area, an outdoor pool, a spa and wheelchair access. That is a workable set for a driver or a delegate. The list is thin on anything else: no airport transfer, no gym, no business centre, no laundry and no meeting rooms are named among the facilities on file, so if your day depends on any of those, the hotel has not said it can help.
For someone staying at Royale Karen Hotel, the package adds up to a self contained stop on the ridge. You arrive by car, park, eat, use the pool or the spa, and sleep, and the 24 hour front desk means a late arrival is not a problem in itself. The street is new concrete built for the car and the conference room, and after dark it is safe and dull, with hotel bars and a ride anywhere else. This suits people with business in the area or their own transport. It does not suit anyone who wants the centre, the markets and the evening streets of the CBD at the door.
02The supplier's photographs
0310 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 this one if you are driving and your day is already settled out on the ridge, because the free parking and the 24 hour desk are the parts that carry the stay. 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 Royale Karen Hotel?+
It is on Kuro Road in Nairobi, in the Greater Nairobi area rather than the central business district. It sits 12.34 km from Kenyatta Avenue at Moi Avenue, which is 155 minutes on foot in a direct line, and 10.44 km from Upper Hill and Community, which is the nearest of the ten quarters this site covers.
Does Royale Karen Hotel have parking and a pool?+
Yes. Free car parking and further parking are both listed, along with an outdoor pool, a spa, a restaurant, bars, a smoking area, housekeeping and a 24 hour front desk. Wheelchair access is listed as well. Airport transfer, a gym and meeting rooms are not among the facilities on file for the property.
Can I stay at Royale Karen Hotel without a car?+
You can, but the hotel sits in a part of Greater Nairobi built for the car and the conference room, and after dark the immediate area offers hotel bars and a ride anywhere else. If you plan to spend your time in the centre, expect to arrange transport rather than walk, and treat the hotel as a base.
How do I check availability at Royale Karen Hotel?+
Availability is checked through app.impt.io, where the property is listed and bookings are made. No prices are shown on this site. The hotel has nine photos on file, so look at those for the rooms and grounds, and note that the property is a 3 star hotel on Kuro Road.
