[Kenya] The Social House in Nairobi

On our last night in Kenya, we stayed at The Social House in Nairobi. My family and I absolutely loved this place!

The Social House in Nairobi

I decided to book this place because of a couple of reasons. First, a friend of mine who went to Nairobi earlier this year stayed at this hotel and he highly recommended it. Second, it was ranked #1 among Nairobi hotels on tripadvisor when I was searching for hotels (as of this writing, it's ranked #2). Third, the room rate was pretty good; in fact, it was less expensive than a lot of other good hotels in the city.

The Social House lobby area

As if all that wasn't enough, I found it tremendously easy to communicate with them. Their website provides an option to talk to them via whatsapp, which I did. In fact, it was through whatsapp that I made my booking.

Wall art at the hotel #BeSocial

A really good customer service moment: there was some miscommunication regarding my reservation and I only found out about it the night before we were supposed to check. I was really worried about it but they helped me resolve the problem over whatsapp very quickly and with no fuss. Whew!

Our twin-bedded bedroom

When my family arrived, we were welcomed with big bright friendly smiles. They took us to a comfortable seating area and served us coffee as our welcome drinks while we waited to be checked in. This was the first hotel I've been to where the welcome drink was coffee and I absolutely loved that about it.

We enjoyed our welcome coffee in this beautiful area at the lobby

The women who helped me with my reservation the night before and with our check-in were Angel and Beautie, and even when assigning our rooms, they were really helpful. They knew we were really tired from a week-long safari so they gave us rooms at the side of the hotel that was furthest from the bar, to give us as much peace and quiet as possible. Cool!

A cozy little seating area outside our room

Our room had a decent and comfortable size. I also really like its modern design.

Modern wall art in our room

That said, it does come with some really cool retro highlights, such as a red SMEG mini-fridge...

SMEG mini-fridge

...and a phone that is designed to like rotary phones of the past. Awesome!

Our room phone looks like the rotary phones of old

I also loved the wood treatment in the bathroom. It's very charming! I will say that it is a bit on the small side but it's adequate.

Bathroom

Everything in the room is free, including the water (both still and sparkling), coffee (there's also a kettle and a french press), and tea. We also got a plate of cookies and welcome treats. Pretty cool!

Welcome treats in our room

Visually, The Social House is really beautiful. There is a motorcycle draped with a traditional African cloth hanging as a centerpiece in the lobby. It's really cool!

Motorcycle centerpiece in the lobby

Lots of browns and greens all over the hotel give it a very welcoming and calming ambiance.

I've mentioned the topnotch customer service I experienced when we made our reservation and upon check-in, but really, it went way beyond that. Their staff is very friendly, professional, and helpful. In fact, even before we arrived, they answered so many of my questions that I asked on whatsapp. For instance, I asked them where we could get souvenirs, how long it would take to travel to the airport, and how far certain sights in Nairobi were from the hotel. When we were there, they told us where we could get taxis to the airport since the hotel car was really expensive. They also gave us a late check-out of 1pm, which was perfect because our flight was in the late afternoon.

There are a few restaurants here, including a steak place and a Peruvian restaurant. While we were there, we had all our meals at The Other Room. We had dinner here after we checked in and we all enjoyed the food.

The pool is right next to the outdoor area of The Other Room

We also had breakfast buffet here the next morning. One of the breakfast pastries - I can't recall what it was called but I believe it had raspberry in it - was really good and I wish I had more of it haha.

We enjoyed a breakfast buffet at The Other Room

The hotel is one block away from Lavington Mall. After breakfast, we went there to buy souvenirs at the weekend Maasai Market.

Lavington Mall

We then made our way to Lavington Curve Mall, which was another more block away from Lavington Mall, for a bit more shopping. There is a Naivas here, which is a local supermarket chain, and we ended up getting lots of Dorman coffee here, both to give as souvenirs and for ourselves.

Naivas at Lavington Curve Mall

I really love The Social House. It's a beautiful hotel with a good location, great restaurants, comfortable and cozy rooms, and fantastic service. If I have a chance to revisit Nairobi, I will definitely stay here again.

The Social House
www.thesocialhouse.ke
Address:154, James Gichuru Road, Lavington, Nairobi, Kenya, 200
Phone: 254-0-709216000 

Next: Travel Tips for a Kenyan Safari