Stayed here twice, when coming into Nairobi and on the way out after a photo safari. We had no expectations. We were quite pleased. There service was excellent, from the minute we entered the security gate, a nice thing. The management, wait staff and the security were sharp and professional. The buffet was a nice surprise with a wide variety of both Kenyan an international fare. The architecture and interior design while seemingly old, but spotless. although we were tourists, The hotel appeared to be sought after by business and business conferences and society.parties. At night. the pool was dream like. On arrival to Nairobi, our room was located toward the front of the hotel and was spartan, but clean and fresh. When leaving, our room was in the back of the hotel and was storybook mix of African and European decor, replete with a beautiful marble bath. The location appeared to be relatively close to the airport, as opposed to downtown. Traffic is gridlock. We will recommend the Silver Springs Hotel and will sty there again upon return.

In Nairobi (as in Dar or Kampala), smart travelers choose hotels on the basis of location as much as anything else because of constant traffic gridlock. If you want to be on the western side of the city (Upper Hill area, on the way to Karen) and are looking for good value, try the Silver Springs Hotel. It was new when I lived in Nairobi more than 30 years ago. Now it seems a bit faded and seems to cater primarily to groups. But for the business traveler, it offers good value for money – particularly the “superior rooms,” which are a bit larger and nicer than the standard rooms but still priced well given Nairobi’s expensive hotel rates.

Staff are friendly, but sometimes need reminding to follow through on resolving problems. Nice, large pool if that’s important, plus a gym on the property to which guests have free access at certain hours. Wireless very spotty in the rooms, but OK in the public areas, and there’s a business center. The restaurant serves a large and varied buffet for lunch and dinner. It’s actually not bad for a hotel buffet, but it does get old after a while – and unless you want to walk down the block to a mediocre Chinese restaurant or a decent coffee house (the Java House chain) you’ll have to take a taxi to try something different. In that case I recommend going to the Junction shopping center, 15-30 minutes further out of town with several restaurant choices (my favorite being the Mediterraneo).

The Silver Springs is where I usually stay in Nairobi.

Silver Springs is quite a beautiful place. It's clean, neat and the staff (security, waiters and management) are very friendly and welcoming. The waiters especially make sure I am shown where to sit and regularly check to see that I have a drink or need anything. The food is very hot and very sumptuous, they serve an array of cuisines ranging from traditional Kenyan to international. The salads are fresh and the dessert is worth talking about! I must say I enjoy the live music as I have my lunch, I love it; though I think the band needs to get a drum kit and drummer because using preset beats from the keyboard can be tricky to pull of sometimes. That aside, I recommend Silver Springs if you have a business meeting or even just need to have lunch for two or one.

Food that the waitress said would take 20min took 45min to prepare. The french fries were burnt. The meats were OK. The waitress was even shocked that they had chicken tikka sandwich on their otherwise limited menu. We asked to speak to the manager and had to leave half an hour later not having spoken to him/her and without any information on his/her whereabouts. The best was the 15min it took for our drinks to get to our table. It could have been longer just that we opted to go collect them from the bar and even after complaining to the bartender all he had to say was 'let me open the sodas.' Nothing like 'Just sit I will have them brought to you' OR 'I will personally bring them.'

The Executive Spa on the other hand were absolutely professional, excellent customer service and definately value for our money!