For its variety and ambience, Sarova Panafric takes our prize as the DEA Hotel of the month

Set on a hill, encircled by beautifully landscaped gardens on a silhouette of luxurious tranquillity sits a haven, a spit away from Nairobi’s Central Business District. Christened in honour of the pan African movement, Sarova Panafric is as old as independent Kenya. Inaugurated in 1965 by the first president of Kenya, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the hotel enjoys the best of both worlds, a rich historical legacy complimented by an embrace of modernity.

Widely reputed as the 4 star Hotel that gives 5 Star counterparts a challenge and part of the Sarova Group of Hotels, Panafric is positioning itself as the ultimate conferencing centre with a world class appeal. This is in tandem with the aggressive diversification of services and products targeting, in equal measure, both from within and without the country, leisure and business. The Hotel boasts a unique blend of African architecture and art with 154 airy, aptly decorated and balconied rooms. Variety is key at the Panafric, what with seventy two of the rooms being standard, sixty five superior, thirteen club and 42 apartments, providing a wide array for clients to choose from. The four executive suites with a rich African feel and design complete the picture of facilities done with the tastes and pockets of various clients in mind.

Panafric’s attractive ensemble encompasses state-of-the-art banqueting and conferencing facilities with a wide range of meetings and function rooms equipped with the latest audio visual and WIFI equipment. The rooms offer an assortment of standard, superior and deluxe suites refurbished and decorated in contemporary vibrant African style.

The Hotel offers two types of conferencing packages tailor made to suit client needs. The premier and executive package looks to satisfy specific client demands. This package has conference rooms that can sit up to 800 people with the biggest room accommodating 450 people and the smallest 25, making these prime choices for a wide range of conferencing solutions. The conference facilities come ready with state-of-the-art conference equipment and devices such that a client does not have to worry about delivery and comfort when holding an event. The equipment and devices include electronic smart boards, LCD screens with high resolution, overhead projectors, high-speed wireless internet connectivity and public address systems.

Among the hotel’s trail of firsts includes being the initial hotel in the city to introduce teleconferencing facilities that enables conference guests to hold conferences remotely with their associates anywhere in the world, at anytime.

“This is the ideal place for conferencing and we always ensure we keep setting new trends,” says Anthony Ngunga, the General Manager, adding that the conferencing facilities ideal for organizations that hold meetings as a matter of course including, corporate organizations, Non Governmental Organizations and international agencies. Indeed, the client list of national, regional and global organisations that annually hold their meetings at the Panafric features who-is-who in virtually all sectors across government, business and philanthropy.

From hosting the International Labour Organization to the rugby Safari sevens, Sarova Panafric has and continues to play host to a wide variety of local and international cast. “We recently hosted a conference for the Kenya Blind Union that comprised of 200 visually challenged people, a challenging and daunting task that we pulled off very well,” Mr. Ngunga exemplifies some of the specialised services his team has become an expert in delivering.

To cap the superlative offering for conference and large meeting attendants, Panafric runs the exuberant Flame Tree restaurant which offers a lively and leisurely ambience with a rich history dating back to pre-independence Kenya.

Conveniently located on the ground floor, The Flame Tree once served as the watering hole for freedom fighters, spies and foreign correspondents in the run up to the struggle for independence. Today, it serves as the meeting point for clients looking to relax and unwind.  The Flame Tree is complemented by the Pool Garden Restaurant that creates a suitable atmosphere for company cocktails and buffets owing to its exquisite and neatly kept gardens. Clients with aquatic interests can always dive into the swimming pool in between the sampling of the eclectic chef’s menu or the bar man’s wide variety of drinks.

“We are in the process of a massive upgrading campaign that aims at turning Sarova Panafric into a purely business hotel for a business or leisure oriented client. The renovation is at a cost of Ksh 230 million,” reveals Mr Ngunga. We have already incorporated a modern air conditioning system and completed 15 brand new rooms. The upgrading will include 71 standard rooms and renovation of the lobby for which a cool Ksh 130 million has been set aside for the latter. The lobby is being refurbished to adopt the Africa-themed elegant look.

The timeless elegance and perfect ambience positions the 4 star hotels at a level playing field with 5 star hotels in the country. Ngunga cites the Hotel’s reputation as the master of outside catering to places as far as Kakamega in Western Kenya to Meru in the Mt. Kenya region. The Hotel also has an impressive loyalty program dubbed, ‘Sarova Zawadi’ that enables clients to earn points and burn in selected retail and shopping outlets in Kenya.

“It’s out of our experience and capacity to deliver the best that sets us apart from the rest”, Mr Ngunga intones. Add to this the fact that the Hotel provides ample and secure parking space that can hold up to 400 cars and one would understand why it continues to attract droves of Nairobians and the city’s visitors away from the city centre, well, but not too far from it.

And while at it, the length and breadth of Panafric teems with most helpful staff of highly trained personnel, giving service from the depth of their hearts in consonance with its slogan;  Refreshing African Hospitality