The Heron Hotel

Beware of the Heron Hotel! They say that they have cleaned up their act, but you still have the prostitute filled bar and the rude staff and the not-so-great accommodations. In fact, the worst part was the rude staff. You are lucky if you can get someone at the first desk to look up from their console and acknowledge you (unless they want you to pay a bill or something, in which case they will yell "Hey you!" across the lobby). I was honestly shocked at how bad the customer service was at this hotel (considering it's good location on Milimani).

Furthermore, the food in the restaurant was atrocious! Really! I was there for 20 days, alone, and couldn't very well go out in the evenings, considering safety concerns, so I was forced to eat at their bar regularly. I became pretty well acquainted with the menu. I am a pescetarian and the fish was always overcooked...verging on petrified. I finally gave up on the fish there and just ate mashed potatoes. The staff at the restaurant didn't really have together (with a few exceptions...shout out to Cesar, the bartender!) considering the volume of customers the restaurant got every evening.

Now to the rooms: I was placed in the older, unrenovated part of the hotel. Right next to where the renovations were taking place. Each morning at 6 AM!!! So that was decidedly NOT awesome. The hotel also claims TV and safe amenities - neither which are true. My TV hardly worked, despite assurances from staff that it would be fixed. I also needed a safe, because I was carrying a large sum of money, but due to renovations (according to the lobby staff), they were fresh out of safes.

Regarding the prostitutes...due to the paper thin walls, I had to listen to the revolving occupants in the room next to mine commit in flagrante delicto EVERY NIGHT. I don't know why they had to always place a man in the room next to me. It actually became funny after awhile watching male hotel guest pick up the girls at the bar and take them upstairs (which the hotel charged you 1250 shillings to do, by the way...so in essence the hotel condoned and profited off the prostitution taking place at the bar).

This place made me so mad, I can not even begin to express how I felt. I would have checked out had it not been for my foolish decision to fully pay in advance. If you have a long stay in Nairobi and don't want to spend a fortune, go to the Kivi Milimani next door to the Heron Hotel. Vastly superior menu, service and amenities (FREE INTERNET!). I hung out over there quite a bit and it was just better overall.