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★★★ Karen · Nairobi
Maison Mitwaba
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Maison Mitwaba

Hillcrest Drive Karen Plains, Nairobi, Kenya

Maison Mitwaba is a 3-star hotel in Karen, Nairobi, a sensible choice for sightseeing around Giraffe Centre without overspending.

Guests typically choose Karen for its balance of location and price; Maison Mitwaba is a good fit if you want to be near the action in Nairobi.

Key facts

Class
3-star
Area
Karen
Address
Hillcrest Drive Karen Plains, Nairobi, Kenya

What’s included

Garden Laundry Service Library Luggage Room Multilingual staff

Where to stay in Nairobi: the areas compared

Stay in Westlands or Kilimani if this is your first visit to Nairobi and you want restaurants, malls and short taxi rides; stay in Karen if you are here for Nairobi National Park, the Sheldrick elephant orphanage and early flights out of Wilson Airport. Westlands sits about 5 km northwest of the CBD around Waiyaki Way and Woodvale Grove, with the widest spread of four-star rooms, usually KSh 9,000–25,000. Kilimani and neighbouring Kileleshwa and Lavington are quieter residential grids off Ngong Road and Argwings Kodhek Road, strong on serviced apartments at roughly KSh 6,000–15,000 a night. The CBD and Parklands are the cheapest beds in the city, commonly KSh 3,500–8,000, and the CBD puts you within walking distance of the Nairobi National Museum on Museum Hill, the Railway Museum and the matatu ranks.

Gigiri is the diplomatic quarter around the UN complex on Limuru Road and Village Market, about 11 km from the CBD; it is calm, green and priced for expense accounts at KSh 20,000–45,000. Muthaiga and Runda next door are almost entirely residential, so what you book there is a guesthouse or a serviced villa rather than a hotel. Karen, 17 km southwest of the centre, trades city convenience for space, gardens and 15 minutes to Wilson Airport, with rates from about KSh 12,000 up to well past KSh 60,000 at the top end. If you are heading out of the city, Naivasha and Nakuru serve the Rift Valley parks, Nyeri and Nanyuki serve the Aberdares, Mount Kenya and Ol Pejeta, and Machakos and Kajiado are day-trip country for Ol Donyo Sabuk, the Ngong Hills and the long road to Amboseli.

Best time to visit Nairobi, month by month

The best months for Nairobi are January, February, September and October: dry, clear, daytime highs around 26–28°C, and good game viewing in Nairobi National Park while the grass is short. April and May are the long rains, the wettest stretch of the year, and hotel rates across Westlands, Kilimani and Upper Hill typically fall 25–40% below their January level. June marks the switch: the rain stops and the cold arrives. July and August are the surprise — Nairobi sits at 1,795 m and those two months are grey and cold, with nights near 10–13°C, even though they are peak safari season nationally and rates climb with Maasai Mara and Amboseli traffic.

Late October to early December brings the short rains, which usually mean an afternoon downpour rather than a washed-out day, and it is one of the better value windows of the year. Prices spike three times: mid-December to 2 January around Jamhuri Day on 12 December and New Year, Easter week, and any week the UN Environment Programme runs a major assembly at its Gigiri headquarters, which empties Gigiri, Muthaiga and Westlands of rooms at short notice. The Nairobi International Trade Fair at Jamhuri Park in late September and rugby's Safari Sevens also tighten mid-range supply for a few days. Book six to eight weeks out for December and July; two weeks is usually plenty for April or May.

Getting around Nairobi and coming in from the airport

From JKIA, a Bolt or Uber to the CBD runs about KSh 1,500–2,500 and to Westlands about KSh 2,000–3,500, plus the Nairobi Expressway toll of roughly KSh 300–360 for a saloon car; a hotel-arranged transfer is usually KSh 3,500–6,000. The Expressway runs above Mombasa Road from Mlolongo to James Gichuru Road in Lavington and turns a 90-minute crawl into 25–30 minutes, which is the single most useful thing to know about arriving here. Matatu route 34 links JKIA to the city centre for around KSh 100, but it is slow and awkward with luggage. Wilson Airport, on Langata Road, is the one you want for Safarilink and AirKenya departures to Nanyuki, Amboseli and the Mara, and it is only 8 km from Karen but a punishing 12 km from Westlands at 06:30.

Inside the city, app taxis do almost everything: CBD to Westlands is about KSh 400–700, Kilimani to Gigiri KSh 700–1,200. You do not need a hire car for Nairobi itself, and driving in the Waiyaki Way and Ngong Road rush hours (roughly 06:30–09:30 and 16:30–19:30) is a poor use of a holiday. You do want a vehicle, ideally a 4x4 with a driver, for Nairobi National Park, where the black-cotton tracks turn greasy in April and May. For longer trips, the SGR Madaraka Express leaves Nairobi Terminus at Syokimau for Mombasa in economy at about KSh 1,000, and the A104 covers the 90 km to Naivasha in around two hours and the 160 km to Nakuru in about three.

Questions, answered

Where is Maison Mitwaba located?
Maison Mitwaba is in Karen, Nairobi (Hillcrest Drive Karen Plains, Nairobi, Kenya), close to Giraffe Centre.
How much does Maison Mitwaba cost per night?
Prices are set live by the hotel — check the booking page for a real rate for your dates.
How many stars is Maison Mitwaba?
Maison Mitwaba is a 3-star hotel in Nairobi.
Which is the best area to stay in Nairobi?
Westlands is the best all-round base for a first visit to Nairobi, with the widest choice of four-star rooms at KSh 9,000–25,000 and short taxi hops to Gigiri, Kilimani and the CBD. Choose Karen instead if your trip is built around Nairobi National Park, the Sheldrick orphanage and a dawn flight from Wilson Airport, which is 8 km away. Kilimani, Kileleshwa and Lavington suit longer stays and serviced apartments at KSh 6,000–15,000. Gigiri is calm and expensive at KSh 20,000–45,000, and Parklands or the CBD are where you go to spend KSh 3,500–8,000 and still be central.
What is the cheapest month to visit Nairobi?
May is the cheapest month, at the tail of the long rains, when Westlands and Kilimani hotels commonly sit 25–40% below their January rates. April is close behind, and early November during the short rains is the third option. The rain in Nairobi usually falls in heavy bursts rather than all day, so a 06:00 game drive in Nairobi National Park often still happens — just insist on a 4x4, because the black-cotton tracks get slippery. The trade-off is long grass, which makes cats harder to spot than in September or February.
How many nights do I need in Nairobi?
Three nights covers Nairobi properly: one morning in Nairobi National Park with the Karen circuit of Sheldrick, the Giraffe Centre and the Karen Blixen Museum, one day for the National Museum, Railway Museum and Bomas of Kenya, and one for markets and eating. Add two more nights and you can run out to Naivasha, 90 km up the A104, for Hell's Gate and Crescent Island. Nanyuki and Ol Pejeta, 200 km north, deserve two nights of their own rather than a day trip. Fewer than two nights and you will spend most of your time in Waiyaki Way traffic.
How do I get from JKIA to my hotel in Nairobi?
Take a Bolt or Uber from the JKIA arrivals rank, or pre-book a hotel transfer. App fares run about KSh 1,500–2,500 to the CBD and KSh 2,000–3,500 to Westlands or Kilimani, plus a Nairobi Expressway toll of roughly KSh 300–360 for a saloon car; hotel cars are typically KSh 3,500–6,000. The Expressway cuts the run to Westlands to about 25–30 minutes against well over an hour on the old Mombasa Road at rush hour, so it is worth the toll every time. If you are connecting to a safari flight, note that Wilson Airport is a separate airport on Langata Road, about 45 minutes from JKIA.
Do I need to hire a car in Nairobi?
No — app taxis cover the city cheaply, with CBD to Westlands at about KSh 400–700 and Kilimani to Gigiri at KSh 700–1,200. Self-driving in Nairobi means left-hand traffic, aggressive matatus and the 06:30–09:30 and 16:30–19:30 jams on Ngong Road and Waiyaki Way. What you do want is a 4x4 with a driver for Nairobi National Park and for any run to Naivasha, Nakuru or Nanyuki, generally KSh 12,000–20,000 a day including fuel. For Mombasa, skip the road entirely and take the Madaraka Express from Nairobi Terminus at Syokimau.
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