Awesome Staycation in Nairobi? Think Holiday Inn Hotel!

Howdy! 😀 Did you know that there’s a new Holiday inn Hotel in Nairobi? Well, buckle up because we’ve got a fresh staycation idea for you, on our hands… 

About 2 weeks ago, we got an invite from African Elite PR, to stay at the new Holiday Inn Hotel… After spending most of August at home, the idea of a staycation was more than welcome! 😀

So, I called up my friend Eric Kabuthia (of Treasured Moments Photography) to come along and help me document the visit in pictures and short videos… Thankfully, he was available to join! 

Enter Holiday Inn at The Two Rivers Mall…

A staycation works best when you don’t have to travel far out of home. Located at the Two Rivers Mall in Ruaka, Holiday Inn hotel is the ideal place to escape for a quick staycation with your friends, with your partner or even by your lonesome… Either way, it just works! 😀

Formerly known as City Lodge Hotel, the hotel has now been rebranded as Holiday Inn with some major renovations, giving it a fresh look & feel!

My ride to Ruaka was easy and manageable on a Friday afternoon. When I arrived, I was received by a warm and smiling Brenda, at the reception.

After checking me in, she led me to my room on the second floor. They’d put each of us in our own Standard Rooms, and I was eager to see mine…

Their rooms are spacious and fitted with a queen-size bed, 1 lounge chair, working area, TV, plus plenty of closet space… I liked the partially open bathroom with an artistic, sliding door.

I made a date with it, because I bet we can all agree that a hotel room with a good shower is everything! Honestly, I think that for a Standard room, they’ve outdone themselves! 

Sampling The Holiday Inn Menu…

Eric arrived a short while later. After he settled into his room, we went down for a late lunch. The restaurant has such fresh & vibrant vibe, thanks to their creative play on colour and design.

We ran into fellow Creator Muthoni Gitau and her friend Wavua, and so we sat down to dine as a group. The more the merrier, right? 😀

For lunch, we each ordered a different dish to better sample their menu: Fish fillet, Beef Cutlets, Lamb Chops and chicken. The accompaniments were a choice of either rice, french fries or roasted potatoes.

By the end, our decision was unanimous; the lamb chops had won both the day and our palates! I would most certainly recommend! 🙂

For dessert, I went for the mint cake coupled with vanilla ice-cream on the side. Cake lovers will love this combination! 

Quick Facts:

• They take walk-in clients, so you can stop by for a meal after a round of shopping at the mall. 
• There are 171 rooms at Holiday Inn, and it costs: USD 120 for single occupancy on Bed & Breakfast (B&B) and USD 140 for double occupancy on B&B.
• Meals cost in the range of Kshs. 2,000/- to Kshs. 3,000/-.
• Their kids menu ranges from Kshs. 450/- to Kshs. 950/-

The Home of Thoughtfulness & Accessibility… 

The rest of our day was quite chilled. And I must say, I had a good night’s sleep after a wonderful shower that evening… That waterfall shower totally sealed the deal for me! You’ll never want to leave! 😀

Our day 2 at Holiday Inn started out great with a sumptuously delicious breakfast! They serve breakfast buffet style. And you can order your eggs done to your liking…

I thoroughly enjoyed my pancakes, together with sautéed potatoes and meatballs. 

Later on, their Communications Manager, Doreen took us round to see more of the amenities at Holiday Inn… 

During that tour, one thing really stood out for me: the Accessible Rooms. For the first time in all my travels, I encountered a hotel that caters to the needs of clients with special needs… How so thoughtful!

They’ve put in specific measures to ensure the hotel is accessible, with features like a wheelchair-accessible parking, a ramp at the entrance and the elevator… However, it’s their accessible rooms that blew my mind! 

The room doors are wider to allow for a wheel chair roll-in, with a second peep hole located at a lower height. They’ve positioned the bed similarly to hospitals, with enough space for a wheel chair or gurney to roll in. And the closet includes a lower height hanging rod, plus there’s an alarm to call for help if needed.

Moreover, the bathroom features a low-height sink, a raised toilet with a grab bar and a roll-in shower.

 I hope more hotels borrow this example from Holiday Inn and make all their clients feel included/ cared for.

P.S. Check out a quick tour of Holiday Inn and the accessible room on my Instagram reels.

More Hotel Amenities:

• WIFI is available throughout the hotel
• They have a swimming pool, though it’s currently under renovation, to open up soon.
• Meeting rooms are available for booking
• Comfy lounge areas and an outdoors seating area with a garden feel

Fun Things to Do on Your Staycation

The best part about staying at Holiday Inn Two Rivers Mall, is that you have easy access to a plethora of activities! By easy, I mean- within walking distance! Doesn’t get more convenient, now does it? 

The Games Arcade

The Games Arcade is like a fun little haven for both adults and kids… There’s a great assortment of games available, so your kids will especially love you for this! 

Cost: Kshs. 2,000/- per person; while adults with children pay Kshs. 500/- and Kshs. 2,000/- for the kids ( for the whole day with unlimited access to all the games.)

GP Karting 

To crown our Holiday Inn staycation, the hotel treated us to our choice of fun activities at the mall… And being the adventure-lovers that we are, we all chose to go GP Karting! 😀

We were taken through a safety briefing on how to operate the karts safely. Although I’ve done it before, I was still a little anxious… But once you get in the kart, adrenaline kicks in and the anxiety exits!

GP Karting is way more fun with a group of people! And with Muthoni, Wavua, Eric, as well as Foi Wambui and her +1 joining in, we had a grand ol’ time racing on the track!

As for my performance…. Suffice to say, I will not be changing my day job to take up a racing career. 😀

GP Karting was the perfect way to bring our Holiday Inn staycation to a beautiful end!

As you plan your Holiday Inn visit, make sure you allocate sufficient time for the fun activities. You will be glad that you did!  

>>> GP Karting costs: Kshs. 2,000/- pp on weekdays, and Kshs. 3,000/- pp on weekends/holidays for a 10 minutes’ round. 

Photography Credits: Eric Kabuthia

More Fun Things To Do:

• Paint Balling and Target Shooting: Cost: Kshs. 1,500/- pp for a Squad of 1-9 people. And Kshs. 1,300/- pp for 10 people and more (150 balls each pp)
• Others: Flume Water Ride, Shopping at the Mall (Maasai Market open daily), Ferris Wheel Ride and many more. 
• Check out Muthoni Gitau’s Vlog on her Holiday Inn experience HERE.

***

Many thanks to Holiday Inn Hotel and African Elite PR for making this possible and for the amazing hospitality. 🙂

---

Thank you for reading my friends! 😀 I hope you’ve enjoyed this post… I would love to hear from you.

Leave a comment down below with your inputs and/or questions.

<< Stay. Inspired. Always. >>

P.S. All the pictures on this website belong to Scrapbook Journeys and/or the photographers who are credited here. Our Express Permission is required before use.