What does the former UN Secretary General Koffi Annan have in common with the emperor of Japan, the British Royal Family, former U.S.A president Teddy Roosevelt, Mick Jagger, Denzel Washington, Harry Belafonte and Ernest Hemingway? Well the answer is simple. They all at one point in the last 100 years stayed at the famous Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi. Also on that list is Hollywood Star Ralph Fiennes and his crew who recently shot the movie constant Garderner.
Since Christmas Day in 1904, in the new vast and arid lands of Kenya, the Norfolk Hotel, with its cool resting rooms and hot and cold running water, had been civilization in the bush. With nothing in front of it except the Papyrus Swamp full of frogs and barren open land behind it, the white railings of hotel’s perimeter spelt civilization and comfort for those early arrivals. One of the most memorable Patrons, former U.S President Teddy Roosevelt launched his first great safari at the Norfolk in 1909. Legend has it he stepped off the front steps of the hotel and into marshy swamp, where he and his passé stuck for hours.
The Norfolk has come of age and is opposite the famous Kenya National Theatre, University of Nairobi and Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. It is a few minutes walk to the city centre, the museum and the famous Maasai Market. With the metropolitan setting the menu is sprinkled with international foods. The Norfolk is one of the few places in the world that has cheated time and remained for over a century to host another generation of Hollywood stars, presidents, music legends, royalty and authors.
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| NORFORK AFTER RENOVATIONS |
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