Seminars and company events
Emara Ole-Sereni hosts conferences, board meetings, banquets and weddings for up to 600 people in theatre style, in a hotel on the edge of Nairobi National Park, about 10 kilometers from the center of Nairobi, Kenya.
The convention and banquet floors cover about 2,900 square meters, and many rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows looking over the park. The layout suits a regional conference with a plenary in the ballroom and breakouts in a row of boardrooms, as well as an executive meeting of a dozen people. Rooms have audio-visual equipment, Wi-Fi and soundproof walls, and a business center offers secretarial help, printing and copying. Because the hotel is 12 kilometers from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, it also works for international delegations on a short stay.
Weddings and receptions
The Mara Ballroom takes up to 350 guests for a seated dinner. Smaller receptions can use one of its three sections or the Almasi Banquet room for up to 60. The gardens and the poolside are offered for cocktails, canapés and the outdoor parts of the day, and the catering team can also serve events at private residences or outdoor sites. Villas with private infinity pools are marketed for honeymoon stays.
Rooms and capacities
The Mara Ballroom covers 639 square meters on the first floor, with 600 in theatre style and 350 seated for dinner. It divides into Siana for 130, Talek for 110 and Loita for 110. The Almasi Banquet room, on the third floor, covers 148 square meters for up to 60. A pre-function area of 258 square meters faces the park, and a 121 square meter area facing the city serves coffee breaks. The boardrooms are named after Kenyan parks and reserves: Samburu, Turkana and Amboseli at 37 square meters, then Kyulu, Kora, Tsavo and the smaller Lewa. They seat from four to about a dozen, and the first-floor rooms can be combined. A 148 square meter lounge serves the boardroom level.
Accommodation
Bedrooms come as Superior City View rooms, Deluxe Park Facing rooms and one-bedroom suites facing the park, alongside villas with private pools. Delegates can stay on site for the length of a conference.
Catering
Catering is in-house. The hotel runs an all-day à la carte restaurant, the Karibu Café for coffee and pastries, and the Maskaan Lounge and Sky Lounge for evening drinks, plus 24-hour room service.
History and setting
The hotel stands between the city and Nairobi National Park, a protected area that borders the capital, so wildlife can be seen from the terraces with the city skyline behind. This view is the main reason event planners choose the venue over a downtown hotel.
Getting there
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is about 12 kilometers away, and Wilson Airport, used for domestic and safari flights, about 6 kilometers. The Central Business District is about 15 minutes by car.
