The Stanley Hotel (currently called the Sarova Stanley) is a
five-star hotel in
Nairobi
Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...
, Kenya. It is the oldest hotel in the city, having been established in 1902 by English businesswoman Mayence Bent, when the city was a railway halt. It is named after Sir
Henry Morton Stanley
Sir Henry Morton Stanley (born John Rowlands; 28 January 1841 – 10 May 1904) was a Welsh-American explorer, journalist, soldier, colonial administrator, author and politician who was famous for his exploration of Central Africa
Cen ...
, a Welsh explorer who is best known for his explorations of central Africa and his successful search for missionary and explorer
David Livingstone
David Livingstone (; 19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) was a Scottish physician, Congregationalist, and pioneer Christian missionary with the London Missionary Society, an explorer in Africa, and one of the most popular British heroes of t ...
.
Since the early 1900s, the Stanley Hotel has been known as the traditional meeting place for those going on
safari
A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an importa ...
in Kenya. It has played host to royalty, politicians, movie stars, and authors. It is still used for national business conferences and tourism concerns.
The Sarova Stanley has a total of 217 rooms as of 2015. Several of the
suites and other rooms are named for dignitaries and other notable persons who have stayed in the hotel such as The Windsor penthouse suite, named for
Prince Edward, Duke of Windsor; The Karen Blixen suite, named for
Karen Blixen
Baroness Karen Christenze von Blixen-Finecke (born Dinesen; 17 April 1885 – 7 September 1962) was a Danish author who wrote works in Danish and English. She is also known under her pen names Isak Dinesen, used in English-speaking countrie ...
, author of ''
Out of Africa
''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Afr ...
''; The Hemingway conference suite, named for author
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
, and The Churchill Ballroom, named for
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The Stanley Presidential Suite, named for famed explorer Henry Morton Stanley, has been used by
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
n President
Sam Nujoma
Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, (; born 12 May 1929) is a Namibian revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served three terms as the first President of Namibia, from 1990 to 2005. Nujoma was a founding member and the first ...
.
The hotel has three restaurants: the Thorn Tree Café, named for the original
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
tree used for years as a message depot; the Thai Chi Restaurant; and the Pool Deck Restaurant. The Exchange Bar, named for the
Nairobi Securities Exchange
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...
, is the successor to the Long Bar, where local stocks were first traded in Nairobi.
History
![Stanley Hotel Nairobi Kenya 1903](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Stanley_Hotel_Nairobi_Kenya_1903.jpg)
The Stanley Hotel was originally opened in 1902 as the Victoria Hotel,
four sparsely appointed rooms above Tommy Wood's
general store, where Mayence Bent (née Woodbury) ran the store and its post office, and also worked as a dressmaker and
milliner
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...
. Mayence had taken the job at the store in 1898 after moving to Nairobi with her husband (and step-brother)
William Stanley Bent, and their daughter Gladys. Mayence would bring fresh butter and vegetables from her husband's farm in
Kikuyu Kikuyu or Gikuyu (Gĩkũyũ) mostly refers to an ethnic group in Kenya or its associated language.
It may also refer to:
* Kikuyu people, a majority ethnic group in Kenya
*Kikuyu language, the language of Kikuyu people
*Kikuyu, Kenya, a town in Cent ...
for the hotel's guests. In 1904, after a disagreement with Wood,
Mayence entered into a business arrangement with a farmer from
Sotik
Sotik town is an urban centre situated in Sotik Constituency, Sotik Sub-county within Bomet County in the Western region of Kenya and managed by Sotik Town Council. Initially, it was the home of Kipsigis people#Mugenik Barngetuny Araap Sitonik, ...
, Daniel Ernest Cooper, and opened the first Stanley Hotel.
![New stanley 1913](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/New_stanley_1913.jpg)
That first Stanley Hotel was a two-story wooden building with 15 beds. In 1905, a
liquor license
A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Canada
In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the legal authority ...
was granted to D. E. Cooper for the hotel. Later that year, a fire destroyed much of Victoria Street (now
Tom Mboya
Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya (15August 19305July 1969) was a Kenyan trade unionist, educator, Pan-Africanist, author, independence activist, and statesman. He was one of the founding fathers of the Republic of Kenya.Kenya Human Rights Commissio ...
Street), where both hotels were located. Mayence quickly moved her tenants to an unused rail-road building on Government Road.
W. S. Bent declared
insolvency
In accounting, insolvency is the state of being unable to pay the debts, by a person or company ( debtor), at maturity; those in a state of insolvency are said to be ''insolvent''. There are two forms: cash-flow insolvency and balance-sheet i ...
in 1908 (and again in 1913). Soon after, Mayence married Frederick Francis Tate, brother of
James William Tate and Dame
Maggie Teyte
Dame Maggie Teyte (born Margaret Tate; 17 April 188826 May 1976) was an English operatic soprano and interpreter of French art song.
Early years
Margaret Tate was born in Wolverhampton, England, one of ten children of Jacob James Tate, a succ ...
.
D. E. Cooper moved back to Sotik in 1909, dissolving his partnership with Mayence. In 1912, Fred Tate purchased two plots of land and had a new hotel designed by architects Robertson, Gow & Davidson, and built on Delamere Avenue.
This building had 60 rooms in three stories. In 1913, with the new hotel's completion, the original site was sold to ex-
postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...
Daniel William Noble. The Tates had originally planned to transfer the "Stanley Hotel" name to the new location, but Noble sued and won the use of "Old Stanley Hotel".
Thus the "New Stanley Hotel" was born.
![New stanley pc1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/New_stanley_pc1.jpg)
During the first
World War
A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
, Fred Tate served as a lieutenant with the
local forces.
Soon after he returned, he was struck with blindness and general paralysis. In 1926, he and Mayence moved to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
leaving the hotel to be run by Albert Ernest Waterman, his wife Florence Annie, and their daughter Ruby. In 1932, after six years in London, the Tates returned to Nairobi for the opening of the New Stanley Long Bar. Fred Tate kept busy with the constant appraisal of the hotel's guests, and the minutiae of things such as the daily menu. After Fred's death in 1937, Mayence's interest in managing the hotel's affairs waned.
She eventually sold the hotel to Abraham Lazarus Block, a
Jewish Lithuanian entrepreneur,
in 1947, although she still maintained a financial interest. Mayence later moved to
Hove
Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...
, Sussex, where she died in 1968 at the age of 99.
![New stanley pc2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/New_stanley_pc2.jpg)
Abraham Block's involvement with the Stanley Hotel had started not in 1947, but in 1903. One of Block's earliest business transactions in Nairobi was a deal with Mayence Bent involving having new mattresses sewn for the Victoria Hotel. Block had originally fled from his homeland of Lithuania to England to escape
religious persecution
Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within soc ...
. Seeing that living in London "was taking him nowhere",
he soon followed his father, who had fled to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, and later fought in the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
. Block, convinced that Kenya was a "New
Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
" for Jews, travelled to Nairobi via the Post steamer ''Feldmarschall'' and overland by train. Soon after arriving, Block met Mayence, who informed him of her need for mattresses. He hired R. A. de Souza to sew covers, hired labourers who were loitering around Tommy Wood's general store to stuff them with residual grass which had been previously cut for railroad clearing, and, when stronger needles were needed to sew the heavy cloth, constructed them from
bicycle spokes.
![New stanley pc3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/New_stanley_pc3.jpg)
In 1958, most of the hotel structure was torn down and rebuilt per Abraham Block's two sons' plans for expansion.
In 1978, the hotel was purchased by the Sarova Group from Abraham Block and family.
In 1998, a US$20 million renovation took place, and the Sarova Group restored the hotel's original name, "The Stanley Hotel".
The hotel was the first place to sell Kenya's
Tusker Beer Tusker or Tuskers may refer to:
__NOTOC__ Animals
* an elephant with genetic properties granting him large tusks
* an adult male wild boar, particularly the American razorback population
Military unit nicknames
* 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment ...
in 1922. The first ten bottles were hand-produced and personally delivered to the hotel's manager.
The same year, a
stock exchange
A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for th ...
was floated in the Exchange Bar; that exchange ultimately developed into the
Nairobi Securities Exchange
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...
in 1954.
Amenities
The Stanley Hotel has 217 rooms, including 160 deluxe rooms, 32 club rooms, two courier singles, 21 themed suites, a presidential suite, and a
penthouse
Penthouse most often refers to:
*Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building
*Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine
*Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...
. The deluxe rooms are classically appointed with
chintz
Chintz () is a woodblock printed, painted, stained or glazed calico textile that originated in Golconda (present day Hyderabad, India) in the 16th century. The cloth is printed with designs featuring flowers and other patterns in different colour ...
-style decorations and plush carpeting. Suites have a living room and guest
water closet
A flush toilet (also known as a flushing toilet, water closet (WC) – see also Toilet#Names, toilet names) is a toilet that disposes of human waste (principally urine and feces) by using the force of water to ''flush'' it through a drainpipe to ...
, as well as the bedroom (two bedrooms in some suites). The presidential suite also has a
bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
room.
There are nine meeting and conference rooms with audio-visual equipment, including a
ballroom
A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
, and a business center with computers, fax, photocopier, and secretarial services.
The Sarova Stanley has a heated rooftop swimming pool, as well as a health club with a
sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
and
steambath
A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times.
History
The origins of the steam bath come from the Roman bath, which began during the height of the R ...
.
There is a
shopping arcade
A shopping center (American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof.
The first known collec ...
located on the first floor with gift shops, a
boutique
A boutique () is a small shop that deals in fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek ἀποθήκη (''apothēkē'') "storehouse".
The term ''boutique'' and also ''d ...
, a
chemist
A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...
, and an
optician.
Restaurants and bars
The Sarova Stanley's food offerings have come a long way since May Bent served vegetables and butter from her husband's farm.
Thai Chi, opened in 2007, serves authentic 13th-century
Thai cuisine
Thai cuisine ( th, อาหารไทย, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand.
Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong Odor, aromatic components and a spicy edge. Australian chef David Thompson (chef), David ...
. Chef Phansandha Phommee, known as "Chef Pu", is the winner of multiple awards, including the "Best Hotel Restaurant and Chef Nairobi" from the Chefs Delight Awards in 2013.
The restaurant is known as one of Nairobi's "most elegant dining establishments", and has been called the "most authentic Thai restaurant in East Africa".
The restaurant is decorated with fine
Thai art
Traditional Thai art is primarily composed of Buddhist art and scenes from the Indian epics. Traditional Thai sculpture almost exclusively depicts images of the Buddha, being very similar with the other styles from Southeast Asia, such as Khmer ...
and sculptures.
The restaurant has a
smart casual
Smart casual is an ambiguously defined Western dress code that is generally considered casual wear but with smart (in the sense of "well dressed") components of a proper lounge suit from traditional informal wear. For men, this interpretati ...
dress code and does not allow children under 12.
![Thorn tree message board](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Thorn_tree_message_board.jpg)
The legendary Thorn Tree Café is an open air
café
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
in the hotel. The café serves
continental
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' ( ...
and
nouvelle dishes, including pizza from a wood-fired oven.
The café is headed by Chef Don Githua.
The café is named after a
Naivasha thorn tree (Acacia xanthophloea)
in its centre. Travellers used to pin notes to others onto the thorns of the tree. The current tree is the third of the same variety. The first was planted in 1961, and when it was ailing a new one was planted in its place. This new tree began to droop, and in 1997 was replaced with the current tree. During the planting ceremony, a
time capsule
A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ba ...
was buried beneath it, to be opened in 2038.
The first post office in Nairobi was based here, and tourists still leave messages and advertisements. The
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
of the largest travel guide book publisher,
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...
, is named the "Thorn Tree travel forum" after this tree.
The Pool Deck Restaurant is located adjacent to the hotel's rooftop pool on the fifth floor. It is
al fresco
Alfresco may refer to:
* ''Al fresco'', or fresco, a technique of mural painting
* Al fresco dining
* Alfresco Software
Alfresco Software is a collection of information management software products for Microsoft Windows and Unix-like opera ...
style with buffet options.
The Exchange Bar is named for the
Nairobi Securities Exchange
The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...
. It is the successor to the renowned Long Bar, opened in 1932.
Notable residents and tenants
The hotel is known for having hosted conferences between world leaders,
[ authors, and film actors, including ]Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...
, Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
, Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...
, Ava Gardner
Ava Lavinia Gardner (December 24, 1922 – January 25, 1990) was an American actress. She first signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941 and appeared mainly in small roles until she drew critics' attention in 1946 with her perform ...
, Grace Kelly
Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an American actress who, after starring in several significant films in the early to mid-1950s, became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III in April 1956.
Kelly ...
, Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
, Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
, Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery (born Thomas Connery; 25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond on film, starring in seven Bond films between 1962 and 1983. Origina ...
, and Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
. In 1952, the then Princess Elizabeth visited the hotel as part of a world tour, shortly before the death of her father, King George VI
George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Ind ...
, and her subsequent succession as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
The Stanley has influenced several authors. Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel on several occasions. In 1934, Hemingway stayed for several weeks while recovering from amoebic dysentery. During this time, he made notes for his novels ''The Green Hills of Africa'' and ''The Snows of Kilimanjaro''. Hemingway mentions the Stanley in these works, and is also credited with introducing the word "safari" to the English language. Hemingway returned to the hotel in 1954.
Colonel John Henry Patterson, who wrote the true story ''The Man-eaters of Tsavo
''The Man-Eaters of Tsavo'' is a semi-autobiographical book written by British soldier and author John Henry Patterson. Published in 1907, it recounts his experiences in East Africa while supervising the construction of a railroad bridge over the ...
'' that inspired the film ''The Ghost and the Darkness
''The Ghost and the Darkness'' is a 1996 American historical adventure film directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas. The screenplay, written by William Goldman, is a fictionalized account of the Tsavo man-eaters, ...
'', also found his inspiration while staying at the Stanley.
Elspeth Huxley
Elspeth Joscelin Huxley CBE (née Grant; 23 July 1907 – 10 January 1997) was an English writer, journalist, broadcaster, magistrate, environmentalist, farmer, and government adviser. She wrote over 40 books, including her best-known lyric ...
, author of ''The Flame Trees of Thika'', ''The Mottled Lizard'', '' Red Strangers'', and other books, frequented the Stanley Hotel and used it as a setting for several of her works.
In popular culture
"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber
"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. Set in Africa, it was published in the September 1936 issue of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine concurrently with " The Snows of Kilimanjaro". The story was eventually adap ...
", a 1936 short story by Ernest Hemingway, takes place at the New Stanley Hotel. In 1947, it was adapted into ''The Macomber Affair
''The Macomber Affair'' is a 1947 film directed by Zoltan Korda and distributed by United Artists. Set in British East Africa, its plot concerns a fatal love triangle involving a frustrated wife, a weak husband, and the professional hunter who co ...
'', a film starring Gregory Peck
Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...
and Joan Bennett
Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...
, which was shot at the hotel.
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
*
{{commons category
Hotels in Kenya
Buildings and structures in Nairobi
Economy of Nairobi
Hotels established in 1902
1902 establishments in Kenya