Wasini Luxury Homes is an apartment complex consisting of 1 bedroom and 2 bedroom fully serviced apartments. The complex is run like a hotel, though most of the guests seem to be relatively long term. I'm sure Wasini was great when it was new, but it seems to have been poorly maintained and is quite unclean. Literally one of those places that just seems they haven't sunk a dime into it since it was built. The staff is very nice, though not thoroughly trained, and try to be as helpful as they know how. This complex is much better suited to long term stays than it is for the average tourist staying a night or two. If you fall into the latter category, a stay at Tribe will leave you much more satisfied.
However, if you are in Nairobi for business for a month or more, then you may want to give Wasini a look - the spacious apartments with full kitchens will appeal to you.

LOCATION - Wasini is on a quiet sidestreet consisting mostly of apartments, near the upscale area of Westlands, though not as near as the website makes you think. It's only a 250 Ksh cab ride there though. Nothing really within walking distance, and ask the gate guards for a taxi rather than the front desk if you want one within a half hour. Traffic from the airport is terrible, so if you're arriving at rush hour, you will want to stay at an airport area hotel instead.

ROOMS - The rooms are full apartments, with a full kitchen, living room, dining room table etc. This makes them suitable for longer term stays or families. The lighting in the rooms is awful - very dim and seems like it's from the 60s. I don't know why they don't change this. The first room we were put in was a disaster - paint was peeling from the walls (looked almost like it had been jackhammered), it stank of mold, the counter was entirely covered by burn marks, floor molding was badly damaged, marks all over the walls, and mildew was visible around the windows. We asked if this was the right room because , it looked like it was either under construction, or should be. They apologized and said they'd put us in another room - we waited for over four hours for another guest to check out and the room to be ready. It was 9:00 PM before we got to our new room.

The second room was much better than the first, though the bathroom window was covered by bird poop which was never cleaned up during our 4 day stay, the jacuzzi tub/shower had mildew all around the seals, had no shower curtain, and the hand
shower sitting in a rusty metal holder was so clogged up almost no water came out of it, the trim along the floor in the bedroom was badly damaged, the iron had no steam and was burnt on the bottom, the speakers placed all around the apartment didn't work, the towels were threadbare and heavily stained, and the toilet barely flushed and after you flushed it the whole apartment reeked of backed up sewage, while an exposed dirty toilet brush completed the decor. At least it didn't look like it had been recently jackhammered like the first one, and didn't smell of mold.

The bed was super short but relatively comfortable, the furniture in the second room was simple but fairly fresh, there was a large flatscreen tv, free wireless internet, a full kitchen, a large dining room table,and free room service from the restaurant. The lighting was just awful, I don't know what they were thinking. It felt like we were in a psychiatric ward. The rooms were quite large, so good for families or long term stays, if you are not too picky about cleanliness, lighting or maintenance.

SERVICE - The service was warm and friendly, and eager to please, though not thoroughly trained. We asked for maintenance to fix the shower head so we could take a shower, and they were prompt at doing so. The water pressure was still terrible, but at least it was possible now. The restaurant staff were friendly - you just had to go to the restaurant to find them each time, as we were mostly the only ones at the restaurant. One great touch was that when we were dining in the evening, they put a little portable stove with hot coals near us for warmth, very nice.

AMENITIES - There is a swimming pool, free wireless internet in the rooms that worked well, laundry service (by the piece - they say they let you use the laundry facilities, but they don't offer detergent or softener and the day we wanted to do laundry, the hotel was using them for staff laundry so we had to do ours at night), a DVD player, an iron (non-steam and poor) and ironing board, a jacuzzi tub (one person, doubles as the shower), and exercise room, a full service restaurant (food was mediocre, but staff was very nice). There is also a spa onsite, but we didn't use it.

BUSINESS - The free wi-fi works great, and probably the fastest we've had in Nairobi. There is a big dining room table for working at, but no desk. I don't believe there's a formal business centre. City Centre is about 15 minutes away if there is no traffic, about 45 minutes if there is. Cell phone and Blackberry coverage is excellent. Taxis are available, just make sure you call first - ask the security rather than the front desk.

Overall, I wouldn't stay here again - just too unclean and poorly maintained for us - but if I was here alone on business, and had an extended stay, I might stay here. Or, if I had a family and a hotel room just wasn't sufficient. The kitchen is definitely nice to have for those circumstances. I just wish they'd clean the place up a bit, fix the lighting and give some attention to maintenance and refurbishment and it would be a very nice place to stay.