Sovereign Suites, Fit for Royalty and certainly fit for your’s truly

SOVEREIGN SUITES, FIT FOR ROYALTY

(A view of the main entrance of Sovereign Suites, a mansion extraordinaire in Limuru, outside Nairobi)

A recent trip to Kenya permitted me to make use of an extended weekend and gave me the opportunity to visit the now in soft opening stage Sovereign Suites, owned and operated by Sun Africa Hotels. Set in a property of about 6 hectares, right off the Limuru Road at Red Hill, once through the double gate a mansion of impressive size and appearance awaits. When entering the building, polished wood panels give a warm impression and the massive chandelier from the ceiling provides a soft glow of light supporting the impression one has entered into a typical Gentlemens Club in the city of London, rather than a 14 suites property in the hills of Limuru high above the city of Nairobi. Cold scented towels and a delicious chilled juice await the visitor who comes to stay, and as long as the booking particulars reflect all the required registration details, a signature suffices and one if officially a guest.
When walking beyond the entrance hall a sizeable lounge opens up, including a fire place where in days now sadly gone one could have sat down after dinner, or after lunch, to indulge in a Cuban cigar and some fine brandy or a well aged single malt in the splendid silence of a great hall. Smoking indoors is now prohibited in Kenya in public places and even Gentlemens Clubs are not exempted from this rule but the premium liqueurs and spirits at least are still available, the smell of the wood fire trying to make up for the mellow smell of good cigars.
The ambience is increased by the display, and use in the evenings, of an antique grand piano and a number of collectors items on display in the cabinets as well as in the lounges.
Though drinks are served in the lounges and around the fire place, adjoining is a contemporary bar with a large fountain while outside a terrace spreads across the length of the building, for a casual lunch, some tea or drinks outdoors where smoking is still permitted.
The dining room, next to the bar, is used for breakfast, lunch and dinner, more formal of course in the evening when jackets are expected to be worn by the gentlemen, befitting the setting, the service and the menus on offer. There is a separate dining room available for small groups of guests numbering up to 12, which can be booked in advance and the chef and his team are more than happy to discuss menu choices, tailored to the taste as well as the wallets of guests. They may still, considering it is soft opening stage now, have a bit to go to make that perfect Egg Benedict or Egg Florentine but then I grant them that I am a demanding customer. They have taken note though and upon my next return I am convinced that my critique will match those given in the past for these culinary delights and creations of other top rated kitchens in Nairobi and around the world.

(Lobster tail for lunch on arrival day to set the mood for the stay)

As much as I tried to eat my way through the menu, two and a half days is not nearly enough for that, yet, what I did taste was good enough to require the tailor to come calling if I had stayed another week. I fancied a lot more of the Lamb Broth I had on the first day at lunch, thought the world of the cold Lobster Tails as well as of the Lobster Thermidor for dinner one evening and the next night failed to eat my vegetables served with the Trio of Lake Fish, Fillet of Beef and Supreme of Chicken as the choice I had to make, leave some of the perfectly tasting meat / fish or the veggies, was not difficult.
The true diet killers though were the desserts, so try to suspend any diet you might be on when visiting there, and resume it afterwards, with a few weeks extra to go no doubt to make up for the sinful indulgences.

(Culinary sins no absolution asked for though)

Enough of the food, the thought about which alone is sufficient to put on a pound or two, and on to the rooms.

This was my third visit to the property, having popped in twice during the remodeling and refurbishment stages, and I was given a suite extending over much of the second floor of the building, comprising an ante room, a sitting room actually jointly owned with the opposing suite, a mega sized bedroom cum sitting room, a walk in wardrobe, a tea kitchen, a separate study and a bathroom with a personal Jacuzzi, and all for this sworn solo traveler who nevertheless thought here, as at a few places previously, that such luxury should really be enjoyed in pairs and not alone. Fit for royalty came to mind when I set out to explore me weekend home and I still found new nooks and crannies by the time I left, so large this particular suite is and so full of features.

(A proper four poster bed, soft pillows and warm duvets now remind me, something was missing here )

Add to this an outdoor balcony which runs across the length of the building, with sun umbrellas, sun chairs and even tables for a quick al fresco lunch, if one does not want to dress up but stay wrapped in the soft bathrobes and wearing the slippers provided, with a view across the hills of Limuru, what more can one ask for.

I never touched any of the state of the art flat screen TVs but instead enjoyed some fine classical music from my collection on a memory stick inserted into my netbook, and I truly felt like royalty all of a sudden, as if set up in an Italian opera and all just for me.
Yes, an I-Pod dock would come in handy but I understand that additional equipment, including a personal DVD player in each suite, is already on the way and due to be installed, with another few added features, before the formal opening will take place, tape cutting and all, some time towards the middle of the year.

(Early morning impression from the balcony of the Presidential Suite at Sovereign)

Limuru, set high above the city of Nairobi, is a rural community with many English country side mansions and homes and has a fine safari golf club, which guests from Sovereign can access under a guest membership arrangements. Not far from the property is the escarpment from where sweeping views across Mt. Longonot and the Rift Valley, as far as Lake Naivasha, are possible. Hence, a day trip to the Rift Valley lakes of Elementaita, Naivasha or even Nakuru is easy to arrange, for game drives or just a change of scenery. So is incidentally a days hike up Mt. Longonot, an extinct volcano which is now part of a national park, to walk off some of the pounds one almost inevitably adds while being fed and pampered around the clock. In particular the Lake Naivasha Country Club, also in the stable of Sun Africa Hotels, will be delighted to arrange for a lunch, a boat trip or a spot of fishing for guests coming down from the Sovereign for the day. Alternatively, perhaps a trip further into the Rift Valley to the Lake Baringo Club for a relaxed few days, where the background music of nature is provided by hundreds of birds or else a safari to the Keekorok Safari Lodge in the heart of the world famous Masai Mara Game Reserve Sovereign is an ideal base to discover Kenya from and yet stay near the city, though not in the city.

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(A view into the hills of Limuru while nearer downstairs the pool, gym and Spa await resident guests)

When my time was up, far too soon it turned out in the end, I left the skies to cry on my behalf, leaving rain behind which in Africa is a blessing bestowed by visitors to their hosts and a sure way to come back in time for the next harvest and another feast, made at Sovereign

Sovereign Suites has all the ingredients to make a fine 5 star boutique luxury hotel, and when the inevitable teething problems encountered behind the scenes during soft opening are ironed out, it has the potential to become a choice place for visitors demanding exclusivity, luxury and attention to detail and all but 20 minutes to Gigiri where the UNs UNEP Headquarters and their other offices are located. And for further reference, unless I have business in the city outright, Sovereign is one place where I am likely to be found when next on my trails across Kenya. Visit their website via info or mgr.ss to make enquiries.

Kenya Airways resumes Rome flights, share issue take up encouraging after the first week of sale

KENYA AIRWAYS RESTORES ROME FLIGHTS

Information from Nairobi confirmed during the week that Kenya Airways has now resumed flights to the Italian capital Rome after a brief suspension of services in March. While it could not be conclusively confirmed, the cause of the suspension was subject to some speculation amongst aviation observers, with opinions ranging from low load factors to the more credible suggestion that owing to maintenance of B767-300 aircraft the airline simply did not have the required number of birds to fly a full schedule and opted out of Rome for the duration.
Kenya Airways, like many other carriers, was initially expecting to have at least 2 if not more B787 Dreamliners operating by now but due to a number of production delays the first delivery is now only expected at the end of Q1 of 2014, leaving the airline thinly spread on long haul routes when unscheduled maintenance occurs.
Earlier in the week the airline also reaffirmed that they would, once new long haul aircraft have joined the growing fleet in 2014, expand their reach into China to cover as many as 6 destinations, the same incidentally also envisaged for India, to tap into the fastest growing markets for travel and trade in coming years.
In a related development it was also learned from financial market sources that the uptake of Kenya Airways share rights issue after the first week has neared 80 percent, with 3 more weeks to go. Watch this space.

AWF brings conservationist organisations to Nairobi to discuss rhino protection

RHINO SUMMIT IN NAIROBI DEVELOPS ACTION PLAN
The Nairobi based conservation centre of the African Wildlife Foundation, in short AWF hosted a continental meeting during the week, aimed to discuss strategies on protecting the rhinos, now under assault like never before. Prices for a kilogram of rhino horn have risen to an all time level of as much as 50.000 US Dollars, pricier than even gold, and with nearly 450 rhinos killed last year in South Africa alone, now a hotbed for organizied commercial scale poaching, NGOs and conservationists from around the world came to Nairobi to seek solutions.
Helen Gichohi, President of AWF, said in her statement: Wildlife authorities, private land rhino reserve owners, conservation organizations, and others have made valiant efforts to halt the rhino poaching crisis, but these disparate actions have sadly been no match for this epidemic that is plaguing Africa. KWS Chief Executive Dr. Julius Kipngetich also appealed to the meeting participants to urgently find ways and means to stop the menace, disclosing that in 2011 Kenya lost 24 of the endangered species, while reaffirming Kenyas position to continue opposing any form of trade, which according to some participants has led to the increase in poaching in the first place, a thinly concealed reference to what many now see as a failed policy by the CITES Secretariat, caving in to powerful economic pressures from some Southern African states.
Kipngetich also voiced his doubts over the effectiveness of dehorning as a sole measure to protect the species, as he mentioned rhinos killed even when dehorned, probably out of frustration by the poachers over being defied.
It was also revealed that arrests led to the discovery of ever more sophisticated equipment being used by poachers, like night vision goggles, infrared sensors, state of the art communications equipment using encoded frequencies similar to military issues and the use of high powered rifles including silencers, pointing to a well organized network of buyers ready to facilitate such methods.
The meeting, according to one source from Nairobi, agreed to tackle the problem along several areas, namely extending and expanding support for surveillance and anti poaching activities by the national wildlife management bodies, demands for the strengthening of law enforcement including lobbying national parliaments to pass amendments to existing laws increasing financial penalties and prison terms and to engage with governments in the main consumer markets of rhino horn and ivory for that matter to play their part in stemming the tide.
Kenya has stood out by a sharp increase in seizures of ivory and rhino horn and in the recent past killed several poaches in shootouts but sadly also lost at least 6 rangers in the line of duty. Visit www.awf.org and www.kws.or.ke for more details but also look in at www.ugandawildlife.org to see what is happening in Uganda where of late several consignments of blood ivory have been confiscated by officials and suspects been taken to court for prosecution. Watch this space.