A homely boutique hotel in the Karen neighbourhood, a leafy and affluent suburb of Nairobi
A choice of restaurant and bar options, a heated swimming pool, gardens, a small gym and spa, and a conference room
13 guest cottages, including a honeymoon suite and three two-bedroom family units
Giraffe Center, Karen Blixen Museum, Nairobi National Park, and the Kazuri Beads workshop
While Nairobi is a transit city for most visitors, there’s plenty here to occupy your time before or after a Kenya wildlife safari.
Set up in the home that once belonged to Danish writer Karen Blixen, of Out of Africa acclaim, the Karen Blixen Museum is a journey back in time, featuring antique furniture, artwork, and memorabilia offering guests a glimpse into a bygone era. The museum gardens are beautiful, and there’s also a nature trail and gift shop on site.
Located on the city’s southern outskirts, Nairobi National Park is an extraordinary wild space, home to an impressive wildlife population, including lion, leopard, hyena, and more than fifty black rhino. Stretched out against a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, the park is unique to Nairobi and definitely worth visiting if you’re on an extended stay.
Just a 10-minute walk from Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages, Kazuri was originally a project founded to support single mothers. The workshop has employed more than 300 women since its inception and is a treasure trove of handmade ceramic beads, pottery, and leather bags.
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages is located in Nairobi’s attractive, leafy suburb of Karen, south-west of the central business district and bordering the beautiful Ngong Forest. It takes roughly one hour by car from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, depending on the traffic, and it’s approximately 30 minutes from Wilson Airport.
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages offers a selection of interior and al fresco dining spaces.
Atrium is a glass conservatory-style space ideal for private dining functions, evening-only Babette’s has a brasserie-style fine dining menu in a country house setting, Hattons Lounge is a poolside space with indoor and outdoor seating under shady parasols, and the aptly named Garden Restaurant occupies a beautiful setting amidst the trees and gardens with an eclectic menu for lunch, tea, and dinner. There’s a large heated swimming pool, perfect for the cool Nairobi mornings, and a small gym and spa for those wanting to keep up with their fitness routine. The conference room seats a maximum of twenty people and has all the necessary business amenities, including Wi-Fi, an LCD projector, and a dropdown screen.
Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages has a collection of plantation-style cottages spread throughout the property’s charming, well-kept gardens.
Three of these are classic double/twin units, each with a king-sized bed that can be converted into a twin configuration, as well as spacious and well-equipped washrooms with twin basins and walk-in showers. Six are junior suites with a living area, fireplace, and private veranda kitted out with wicker garden furniture. The three deluxe suites are larger, with separate lounges and fireplaces, and there is the option for two extra beds if traveling with children. There’s also a honeymoon suite with two double fireplaces and three family-style cottages, each with two en-suite bedrooms and a shared living room. All cottages have a private front porch and a leafy back garden space, so you feel like you’re in a tranquil countryside hotel within a stone’s throw of Nairobi’s airports and key activities.
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