The Social House Nairobi

You stay at The Social House in Lavington, a Nairobi suburb twenty minutes from the airport. The hotel has eighty-three rooms — some with balconies, some connecting for families — and four restaurants. The rooftop Inca serves Peruvian dishes like ceviche and Pollo a la Brasa, with city views from the terrace. Copper is the open-fire grill downstairs, cooking Wagyu steaks and fish over charcoal. The Living Room roasts Kenyan coffee, and The Other Room does all-day meals with garden seating.

The outdoor lap pool faces the garden, where you can walk barefoot on the lawn. The gym has treadmills and weights. Rooms have rainforest showers, Kenyan bathroom products, and coffee makers with locally roasted beans. Some rooms interconnect; the largest have king beds and bathtubs.

Lavington Mall is five minutes’ walk for shops and cafes. The hotel can arrange drives to Nairobi National Park or the Giraffe Centre, both within half an hour. Wilson Airport is twenty minutes away by car in moderate traffic.

The Social House calls itself a house rather than a hotel — the name comes from the seven event spaces that mix business and social gatherings under one roof.