For the second consecutive year, Four Points by Sheraton Nairobi has been named the Best Airport Hotel, Kenya by the 2023 CEO Destinations Travel Awards. This accolade is a testament to its commitment to delivering a consistent level of service excellence and true hospitality for all its guests.
The 172-room hotel first opened its door in October 2017 and is the only hotel nestled within the buzzing precincts of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) complex. It is also a short drive to the domestic Wilson Airport, Central Business District and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ), centrally connected via the free flowing Nairobi Expressway Road, making it the first choice for business and leisure travellers who are looking for a place to unwind conveniently and comfortably.
Food and culture
The hotel operates on a 24-hour basis and has distinguished itself as a facility for world-class amenities including; The Marketplace Restaurant which offers wholesome and nourishing meals from around the world all day and night while the Tazama Rooftop Grill & Bar provides visitors with unique panoramic views of the airport runway on one side and the Nairobi National Park on the other with a locally inspired grill-menu. Guests particularly enjoy the hotel’s custom craft beer, Aeropils, on tap, made specifically for the property by a local craft brewery.
A great conversation starter at Tazama is graffiti art by Kenyan artist, Bankslave, which creatively showcases the bustle that the city is known for. In a snapshot, a visitor is able to get a glimpse of the region and the people who make this city a unique set-up. The understanding that many of our guests are always in transit, means that we are always striving to give them an insight into the city so that they feel connected with Kenyan culture.
The lobby bar makes for another wonderful meeting point, whether social or business with freshly roasted and brewed Kenyan coffee, in an ambient space.
Not just an airport hotel
The hotel has been mindfully designed to take the stresses of travel away. A floor to ceiling living wall planted with greenery acts as a focal point at our entrance, bringing the feeling of the lush outdoors in. High atrium ceilings keep the space feeling fresh and light and large windows show off the infinite landscape of the Nairobi National Park.
World class facilities
Every need of a business traveller is well thought out. Diverse spaces such as a 24-hour business lounge, outdoor venues, 3,500 square feet of flexible indoor meeting spaces, all with the latest AV technology make for conducive and versatile meeting and conferencing environments.
Those travelling for leisure can respite at the heated rooftop pool, a 24-hour gym and a spa or arrange for a local excursion with our wonderful concierge team.
Additionally, mindful comforts to make every guest’s stay a little more seamless have been thought through in depth. These include complimentary transfer services between the hotel and airport terminals, in-room services like daily housekeeping, laundry and dry-cleaning, 24hr in-room dining, luxurious bathroom amenities, high-speed internet access, and universal plug-and-play panel channels with ergonomic workspaces within the room.
Beyond Customer Service and Training
We are focused on delivering professionalism, patience, and ensure our guests are always the first point of consideration in the delivery of service. Specifically, we pay extra attention to the needs of our guests whether they are in transit, staying alone, or with family. We have made it a norm to provide our guests with a safe, comfortable space to feel at home with a little touch of personality to charm them with warm service around the clock.
Our international affiliation has seen us invest heavily in training and re-tooling our staff, a move that has seen us adopt global best practices through the Marriott Global Source (MGS). This is a Global Intranet and Business Application (e-Tool) platform that gives all our associates access to training modules on emerging hospitality technological trends that are key to ensuring consistency of service delivery.
Our approach to customer satisfaction is hinged on the need to curate an experience that is vibrant, dynamic, and rich in the culture of our city whilst providing all the amenities that all our visitors expect of us. This is achieved through regular reviews and benchmarking exercises that provide our staff with the necessary knowledge on how to handle our guests.
The onboarding process for our guests involves various stages that go towards ensuring their safety and comfort. This includes the pre-arrival preparation that involves anticipating the guests’ expectations by taking note of their flight details, planning for special occasions, room upgrades, and personalised welcome letters on arrival.
During their period of stay, we make regular courtesy calls to check on how the guests are faring and attend to any emerging issues. Once a guest has checked out, we also take time to ask them how their stay at our hotel was and use the information to improve our level of service delivery.
To cap it all, we have a loyalty reward scheme by Marriott Bonvoy,® which seeks to appreciate our frequent visitors and thank them for their continued support.
Building an Eco-Friendly Enterprise
We are firmly committed to supporting environmental awareness and conservation efforts as part of the Marriott International Inc. franchise. To this end, we have made a commitment to reducing our carbon footprint and are actively involved in engaging environmental practices that have a benefit to the surrounding community – particularly the Nairobi National Park.
Some of the sustainability initiatives that we undertake include the installation of Solar water heaters, Solar lighting, Ban on single-usage plastic, Use of Eco-friendly and certified chemicals for cleaning from Eco-lab, staff training on the importance of environmental conservation, annual certification from NEMA, Monitoring and updating the MESH online system for Marriott (Management of Environmental Safety and Health) which tracks our impact on the environment based on consumption of electricity, water, and other non-renewable energy sources.
To reduce the impact of plastic use within our premises, the biodiesel emanating from recycled plastic bottles is used for the steam boilers. This goes a long way in reducing our carbon emissions footprint. Additionally, paper straws have replaced plastic straws, the utilisation of water dispensers back-of-house to reduce the wastage of plastic bottles while soap dispensers are placed in recycled plastic bottles.
The packaging used for detergent concentrate is biodegradable. By doing this, the transport costs and waste are reduced since the concentrate which comes in 4L is equivalent to 40 L of normal diluted detergents. Finally, the food packaging is also bio-degradable with zero use of plastic bags onsite.
Always a great stay
As we grow from strength to strength, we will continue to invest in providing exceptional guest experiences. The award gives us the much-needed impetus to reinvent ourselves and redefine hospitality to meet the ever-evolving needs of the modern traveller.
