Stanley hotel nairobi

The Stanley Hotel Nairobi

The Stanley Hotel (now known as the Sarova Stanley), is an historic five star hotel with 217 rooms located in downtown Nairobi, Kenya. It’s Nairobi’s oldest luxury hotel, being established in 1902 by Mayence Bent, an English businesswoman, when the city was little more than a railway outpost. The Stanley is named for the intrepid journalist Henry Morton Stanley, the man who located the missing Scottish missionary and uttered the immortal line, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”

The hotel quickly became a prominent Nairobi landmark and has hosted numerous world leaders, renowned authors and international celebrities. Among The Stanley’s prominent guest list are Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Clark Gable, Ava Gardner, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, Sean Connery and Frank Sinatra. In 1952 it hosted the soon-to-be Queen Elizabeth during a world tour.

In1922 The Stanley saw Kenya’s first pour of locally brewed beer. In this same year the hotel's Exchange Bar became East Africa’s first stock exchange, which eventually grew into what is today the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

The legendary Thorn Tree Café next to the hotel foyer is named after the tree that sits in its centre. The tree, which is actually an acacia, has been used by travellers and explorers to communicate messages for over 100 years. It served as Nairobi’s first makeshift post office and is still used today by visitors to the region who leave travel tips and advice, love notes, and sell their used gear.

The Stanley has been the place of inspiration for many authors. American author Ernest Hemingway stayed at the hotel on several occasions. In 1934 Hemingway stayed for several weeks recovering from amoebic dysentery. During this time he made notes for the 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.

Col. J H Patterson who wrote the true story 'The Man-eaters of Tsavo’ later the basis of the movie 'The Ghost and The Darkness’, also found his inspiration while staying at the Stanley.

The Stanley has been a charter member of Historic Hotels Worldwide since 2011.