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Serena Williams Stays at the Serena Hotel

Where: Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya, 00100

Tennis superstar Serena Williams is in Kenya for a three-day charity tour and she's decided to shack up at a very fitting hotel for her, The Serena Hotel in Nairobi.

The one half of the William’s tennis sister-act and nine grand slam singles title winner, was befittingly whisked to Nairobi’s Serena Hotel where she will be based during her stay in the country.

Aside from having the same name as an athletic idol, The Serena Hotel is not a bad place to stay. The hotel has views of downtown Nairobi and the city's Central Park and has some of the modern comforts we need, like a pool, satellite TV and wireless internet hotspots. There's even an in-house salon for beauty treatments in case you spend a few days on safari.

While several reviews would probably not classify this hotel as luxurious in the vein of a Mandarin Oriental or Four Seasons, we're sure Serena is getting the star treatment in the hotel's presidential suite.

Related Stories:
· Serena Williams comes to Kenya [The Standard Online]

Tags: Africa Hotels / Hotel Business Centers / Hotel Internet / Serena Hotels / Hilton Hotels / → All Tags

In Africa, Depend on Hotel Business Centers for Internet

Where: P.O. Box 46302, Nairobi, Kenya

HotelChatter's newest contributing editor Scarlett Lion is filing her stories from Uganda. Every now and then, she'll be sending us dispatches about the hotel scene here and around Africa. Got questions? Send 'em to us and we'll get them answered. Enjoy.

This is actually a hotel business center in San Francisco.

The average internet café, dotted throughout any big city in Africa, will cost less than a dollar an hour. But, it might take about an hour to open your webmail. The average luxury hotel business center, however, will cost about $10 an hour. It will provide the user a connection speed that reminds him or her of the days of AOL and that grinding modem sound, now oh-so-obsolete.

This will be the fastest internet you can find in Africa. And no, it's not fast enough to watch YouTube.

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Tags: YouTube / Nairobi Hotels / Kenya Hotel Reviews / → All Tags

Nairobi Hotel View? Great. Swimming Pool? Not So Great.

Where: Muranga Road, Nairobi, Kenya

If you want to step away from your desk for 30 seconds and get a hotel window view of Nairobi, Kenya, then here's your chance.

This was shot from a room at Nairobi's Meridian Court Hotel during the Tuesday market, with lots of vehicles and walkers going in every direction.

The clip doesn't exactly come with high praise for the hotel itself though. Here's the description:

A vid I shot from the Meridian hotel in Nairobi, on my first morning. The hotel was somewhat over priced and the swiming pool was full of green pond scum!! Later found a cheaper hotel just 5 mins from the national archive. But still I have lots of fond memories of my time in Kenya.

There's only one review of it on TripAdvisor, but judging by this review on Yahoo Travel, the place has a bit of a Twilight Zone feel about it.

Tags: Hotel Technology / → All Tags

Hotel Technology We Want More Of

Where: 202, 2-Ga Jangchung-Dong Chung-Ku, Jung-gu,, Seoul, South Korea, Kenya, 100-392

About 10 years ago the Hotel Shilla in Seoul put some cool tech features in all its guest rooms. We're still waiting for them to show up elsewhere.

At the hotel, a bathroom break in the middle of the night is almost a pleasure. You turn on the bathroom light and it doesn't come on all the way. It starts off dim and gradually gets brighter. When you turn it off it gradually gets dimmer again. No blinding light when you turn it on, no stumbling back to bed in complete darkness, with spots swimming in front of your eyes.

The second feature is probably more of a pain to initiate, but it's brilliant. Whenever the phone in your room rings, the volume on your TV set immediately gets lower automatically. No fumbling around for the remote control, no "Hold on a minute while I turn down the TV."

Considering that a hotel in Korea has had these features in place for a decade now, why are we still waiting for the simple things like this to spread?

Related Stories:
· Shilla Seoul reviews [TripAdvisor]

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Africa On Ice

Panari Hotel opened its doors 12 years ago as a "top class hotel" including: impressive lobby, several shower options: including normal, multi-jet, and steam, satellite TV and internet access.

However, what makes this hotel different is inside the property is the first ice skating rink in Kenya. Up to 200 skaters can double axle and triple salchow on this 15,000 sq. ft., solar powered rink.

The only issue? At $12 per skate, most Kenyan's will never get a sniff, as the price is just too high for most.

The only other Africa countries with ice rinks are South Africa and Egypt.

Related Stories:
·   Paradise at Panari[The Standard]
·   East Africa's Ice Skating First [BBC]
·   Panari Hotel Info [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags

Jessica's African Safari Stay

Where: Harry Thuku Road, Nairobi, Kenya

While Jessica Simpson didn't want to talk with Billy Bush about anything but shoes--and can you blame her?

We know where Jessica and her creepy Dad shacked up while in Nairobi Kenya for Operation Smile.

The $525 a night Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi housed the Simpsons in Africa.

The hotel is a popular package property--usually bundled at the start and finish of a safari package from A&K and others.

So what is it like to stay here? A guest who visited the Norfolk earlier this year had this to say:

Location is across from a local college. Lots of street activity. I was informed NOT to travel outside the hotel at night on foot. Very unsafe. During the day is fine but don't flash anything of value.

Because we were on a safari - the hotel stored our excess luggage while we were gone for no charge. On the bags that were not locked, they secured wire on them so they couldn't be opened by anyone else.

I would stay here again. The staff was very friendly.

Ah, don't flash anything of value--so now we know why Jess kept her ring off.

Related Stories:
·   Jessica Simpson Won't Talk About Nick [MSNBC]
·   Norfolk Hotel Nairobi Reviews [TripAdvisor]

Tags: Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags

Jolie: Hotel Sex Loud Enough To Rouse A Sleepin' Kenyan

Where: Ukunda, Kenya

Angelina Jolie loves hotel sex part four of a ?? part series.

Admit it, you have always wanted to have hotel sex powerful enough to wake a sleepin' Kenyan.

Think about it, those Kenyans can sleep through herds of trampling elephants, roaring lion prides-- hell on Seinfeld a promising Kenyan marathon runner slept right through the starting gun, but when the worlds' best looking couple rents a $2,000-a-night villa at the posh Alfajiri Villa resort, no Kenyan's beauty rest is safe.

According to the NY Post "worried guards grabbed their weapons, and rushed in to Pitt and Jolie's suite to make sure someone wasn't being killed inside."

More Post Break

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Tags: Celebrity Scoop / → All Tags

Angelina And Brad: The African Paradise Edition

Where: Ukunda, Kenya

Alfajiri Villa Resort  is a beautiful Kenyan resort built on a coral wall.  Your 4 room private villa may even come with floor to ceiling windows that allow you to stare out at the Indian ocean.  Furthermore, your villa will allow you access to Diani Beach, with its five miles of coral sands on either side.

So who gets to spend time at an ideal spot like Alfajiri? Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie of course.  Apparently, a resort employee was looking to pocket a little extra cash, as the Jolie/Pitt-in-Kenya photos are gracing the covers of most of the major celeb pubs this week.

Oh, and the Alfajiri Villa Resort is child friendly, of course.

Related Stories:
·    Pitt And Jolie Together In Kenya [SFGate]
·    Alfajiri Coastal Kenya [Travel Intelligence]