REVIVAL GOING UNDERWAY AT ONE OF MOMBASA’S MOST ICONIC RESORTS
(Posted 07th September 2017)
Sun Africa Hotels, a rising star among Kenya’s hotel owning and management companies, has late yesterday confirmed that the group has taken over what used to be known as the Nyali Beach Hotel on the northern mainland of Mombasa.
The resort, initially built in the mid 1940’s, rose to global fame during the heydays of Block Hotels, before the company’s owner over-leveraged the resort and dragged it down alongside the United Touring Company, in short known as UTC.
The immediate past management, full mouthed on several occasions of interaction with this correspondent but ever short of delivering the goods, began to run down the resort until it was in the end only a shadow of its former self.
(Mr. Mohammed Hersi, Group CEO of Sun Africa Hotels)
It is therefore good news that a company with proven capacity like Sun Africa Hotels has taken the resort under its wings and given the experience, especially in coast resort management, by recently appointed Group CEO Mohammed Hersi, it can be expected that a thorough overhaul and refurbishment will start very soon to bring the Nyali Sun Africa Beach Hotel & Spa back into the top ranks of Kenya’s coastal hospitality scene.
(An aerial view of the resort including the famous white sand beach of the Indian Ocean)
This correspondent spent his first night ever in Kenya at the Nyali Beach Hotel way back in the 1970’s and continues to harbour some very fond memories also of subsequent stays, one lasting several months in fact while first staying in the suite above the reception area and then in the cottage on the way down to the beach.
The resort in the late 1970’s until the mid 1980’s underwent a major expansion with new wings being added but retained its colonial charm until the demise of Block Hotels. From then on it was downhill given the failed management practices of the company looking after the property until a few days ago.
With 170 rooms and suites will the resort add much needed top ranking capacity to the market as the recovery of tourism at the Kenya coast gathers momentum, seemingly unperturbed by the political developments in the country.
Sun Africa Hotels, which is a Kenyan hospitality group has in recent times evolved into three key brands, The Luxury Collection, The Elite Collection and Sun 101, the latter a management arm which is a relatively new venture for management of hotels, lodges and resorts.
Under SAH’s luxury brand does the group operate the Sovereign Suites in Limuru, the Sun Africa Beach Resort in Mombasa and the Kiboko Luxury Camp on the shores of Lake Naivasha while a 112 rooms and suites, 5 star rated city hotel is also in its final stages of completion in the Hurlingham area of Nairobi.
Under the Elite brand, comprising four star properties, does SAH manage the 50 room Lake Naivasha Country Club and also the iconic Keekorok Lodge, a 100 room game lodge in the Masai Mara, the first ever to be built in the reserve. SAH also operates Adventure Balloon Safaris with two balloons based at Keekorok Lodge.
It was learned that SAH is now at an advanced stage to rebuild the Lake Baringo Country Club while plans have been finalized to also construct another luxury Kiboko Tented Camp in Masai Mara near the Sand River area of the reserve.
Sun Africa Hotels is now also targeting the entire region for management contracts and perhaps even to build or take over properties, be it in Rwanda, Tanzania & Zanzibar, Ethiopia, Uganda and even Somalia, a country that is progressively rebuilding itself.
On the Kenyan home front is the company keen to look at the devolved counties where huge opportunities exist to grow the SAH portfolio under their management arm of Sun 101.
See a related report filed some time about about Sun 101 via https://atcnews.org/2015/05/28/sun-africa-hotels-launches-new-hotel-management-company-in-kenya/
Taking over Nyali Beach Hotel is a step forward in the company’s quest to position Sun Africa as a leading chain of fine hotels, lodges and camps across Kenya, the region and even beyond.
It was confirmed that SAH have retained all the staff from the old Nyali Beach Hotel. An announcement for plans to refresh and revamp this very special resort that is synonymous with the history of Mombasa and Kenya’s tourism industry is expected in due course.
As always the very best for this new venture to SAH and to Mohammed Hersi whose experience and acumen in hotel and resort management will come in very handy to accomplish the company’s objectives.
3 Responses
Good luck to you guys. Bring it back to its former glory under the Block’s management.
We need a nostalgic revival.