Name: CJ Party House
Address: Convent Road Lavington, Nairobi, Nairobi, Nairobi, 13625, Kenya
Rating: 9

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Wilson Airport

Jomo Kenyatta International Airport

CJ Party House

Lavington Hill House was a highlight of our Kenyan memories and experiences.  This is a home away from home and managed by the kindest of souls. The meals we ate there were among the best on our trip (truly excellent food and wonderful variety). The hotel was clean and comfortable with beautiful surroundings and close to tourist attractions in Nairobi.  The staff are exemplary; always helpful and kind.  We travelled there with our children (ages ranging from 3-13) and found this to be a perfect location for our family.  We all felt safe, comfortable and welcome and while still having a unique Kenyan experience that left us feeling we’d always have a place in Kenya to call home.  I’d recommend this wholeheartedly!

My family recently stayed at the Lavington Hill House in Nairobi, along with a dozen or so other Canadians in Kenya for a wedding.  Everyone working there was extraordinarily friendly and thoughtful, including the chef and the gateman/gardener.  It was like being home (if home had 16 foot ceilings in the bedroom and maid service).  The food was well prepared, varied and abundant.  Public areas are spacious with many comfortable nooks for reading, conversation or quiet contemplation.
The staff had a great network of connections throughout the city, and arranged reliable transportation for our many outings.  Everyone there had stories to tell and seemed genuinely happy to share their knowledge, city and country with us.  Such was the "vibe" of the place that we routinely left our room door wide open.  I can't imagine staying anywhere else in Nairobi, if we are lucky enough to return some day.

Lavington Hill House is a lovely boutique hotel centrally located in Nairobi and within close proximity to a lot of amenities and attractions. We were in Kenya for about three weeks and stayed here for two of those weeks. 
Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Maryanne who proceeded to swiftly check us in and show us to our room. Bright, spacious, clean and comfortable- it was more than enough for the two of us.
The next morning we were pleasantly surprised by the seemingly limitless breakfast options: from fresh fruit, a medley of fresh fruit juices, yogurts, eggs any style you wish, crepes, home fries, the choices really were endless.
The charm of this place is definitely in its lack of a traditional hotel-like feel. The staff are so genuinely warm and accommodating it felt like we were home. I remember making a passing comment about my upcoming birthday and to our surprise when we came from our days adventure, we found a beautiful bouquet of flowers and thoughtful birthday card waiting for me in our room.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this place to anyone staying in Nairobi that's looking for an experience thats different from your typical hotel, and away from the chaos of the Nairobi CBD. 
Special mention goes out to Maryanne and Judy for making our stay even more exceptional. Already looking forward to next time.

We travelled as a group of 6, and stayed at Lavington Hill House for two nights (one either side of a 3-day safari in the Masai Mara).

As some other commenters have said, it is much more a homely place, rather than a traditional hotel. The staff are very friendly and the eccentric Henderson is knowledgeable and fun to talk to. The staff were accommodating to us and were able to store some of our luggage for three days, while we were elsewhere. The rooms we stayed in (3 different rooms across our group) were all enormous and featured all the amenities you would expect.

We only ate breakfast here, which was tasty and plentiful.

If we have reason to visit Nairobi in future, we would no hesitate to stay at Lavington Hill House again.

It’s a wonderful place to be . Nice am quiet neighbourhood. Staff and owner himself takes personal care of every guest. Clean and homely. Value for money. They serve descent breakfast. 5 mins from lavington mall. Would love come back. 

Long read, but hear me out...

First Impressions:

I was taken aback that the outside did not appear as it did on Tripadvisor or Expedia's listing. When I went up the stairs to the check-in counter I again was surprised at the somewhat untidy nature of the desk and the scattered books under a couch in the main lobby area adjacent to the dining room.  

Check-In:
The receptionist greeted me warmly, but thought my name was Daniel.  Seems they were expecting someone else.  A quick call to the boss by the receptionist and I was told to "feel welcomed" and have a seat in the veranda adjacent to the dining area and I would be brought something to drink.  That was some damn good and fresh orange juice.  After an 20 hours journey it was refreshing.  The interior was certainly much nicer than the outside.  Later that evening I had a pleasant conversation with the LHH owner.  What a nice gentleman.  He explained the history of his home and the re-purposing to a hotel and updated me on the construction work taking place on the outside, so that explained the state of the outside.  I will say that Nairobi in general is under development everywhere, so keep your expectations in check when going there.  It is not New York or Toronto or any developed status city.  

The Room:
The room was nice, clean and a had a shared outdoor balcony area.  
Note there is a switch for hot water.  I showered in cold water twice that evening.  It was freezing and Nairobi being a cooler environment due to the altitude did not help the situation.  It was only the next morning where I discovered a switch to turn on the hot water and it was perfect for the cool morning weather.  I know I should have asked, but I just wanted to shower and sleep.  The bed was extremely comfortable.  I slept well and had a really good night sleep.

Breakfast:
Breakfast was included and was certainly delicious and filling.  Great value.  

Check-out:
After breakfast I was approached by the front desk manager who was not there the day before.  She was very pleasant but had some strange news.  They never found my reservation.  So here I was satisfied with the service, but the hotel was never expecting me. They accommodated me. They needed to be paid for my stay.  

What went wrong?
I booked and paid through Expedia.  It turns out that an unauthorized 3rd party company listed the hotel on Expedia.  This agency, sent the booking to the hotel and, being Nairobi and routinely scammed, the Hotel threw the reservation details in a junk email folder as it was never their hotel rate.  From a traveler's perspective, I blame Expedia for this embarrassment.  How can they allow a 3rd party agency to act on behalf of the hotel, list, collect payment and the Hotel does not even know about it?  
I get that 3rd party agencies may be needed for smaller hotels, but does Expedia not do any vetting or get any official agreement between the hotel and the agency as proof of their relationship?  I asked Expedia as much but got this response... "Rest assured that we would take the necessary steps to ensure that incidents such as these will not happen to any of our customers again."  As of today August 29, 2018 it's still listed on Expedia. I can still book a room for much less than the Hotel's actual rate.  How do I know it's now a legit listing?  Due to this incident, I have lost confidence in booking hotels through Expedia or their other sites.  Add the fact that they never told me what went wrong from their end.

Was any of this the Hotels' fault? 
NO.  
At the least, they should have been more upfront at check-in, but the manager was out of office.  They did what any good host should do, they helped me in that moment.  

Overall:
The staff was very pleasant through my entire stay including the payment issue with Expedia.  This is a small and I would call it a boutique hotel.  It's almost like staying at a relatives very large home.  It feels like a hotel at times, but has the charm of a quiet home.

Would I stay there again?  
YES.  This is a great place for the business traveler or someone trying to avoid the chaos of the Nairobi CBD.  If you need to stay in Nairobi and need a long term place to call home base, this would be a great fit.  It's away from most of the noise (construction excluded, but that's all of Nairobi).  

My recommendation is book directly with the hotel or use booking.com which is authorized to book this hotel.

CJ Party House

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