Sample the serene Sportsman's Arms in Nanyuki

More Kenyans have embraced local tourism and instead of rushing to their rural homes, many are now heading in droves to upcountry tourist circuits that continue to open up. However this has put a strain on upcountry hospitality establishments with some being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of holiday makers.

Some of these hiccups were apparent when we holidayed for a few days at the Sportsman’s Arms Hotel in Nanyuki towards the end of the year. The front office desk had a rough time checking in the large number of visitors and no one was at hand to receive and welcome guests. There appeared to be no porters around and guests had to struggle to get their luggage upstairs and into the rooms.

There were utensil hitches at dinner time, which unfortunately the workers did not seem to notice and one had to keep alerting them to the omissions. Understandably during the holiday season, such establishments would hire casuals to deal with the extraordinary number of visitors, but surely even these casuals would be expected to know the name of the soup of the day, even where such a dish was not labelled. Also at certain instances, there were no toilet rolls in the common gents’ wash rooms.

All however was not gloom at the pre-independence establishment and I believe even the hiccups it experienced occurred because of the unusual large number of visitors and hopefully the management did learn a few lessons that they could apply in future.

In fact, when the New Year traffic eased, things improved remarkably with the staff being friendlier and supply of amenities in and out of the rooms becoming constant. Unfortunately when we checked out on January 4, there was no one to assist us carry our luggage and we had to make several trips up and down the stairs as the receptionist nonchalantly glanced at us each time we passed his desk.

On the brighter side, it was especially refreshing to have a clear view of Mt Kenya from our room and one can take the short drive to the foot of the mountain and from there maybe take a trek up. Arrangements can also be made for guests to visit the Ol Pejeta game conservancy which is only 20km away.

The hotel stands on expansive grounds where all kinds of indigenous trees and flowers abound, which is a source of exquisite beauty and cool shade especially during hot weather. There are various activities for children and adults including junior and adults swimming pools. Unfortunately on the afternoon of January 3, the children noisily splashed water at each other to the chagrin of an old mzungu ‘gentleman’ who uncivilly shouted at them to stop “that screaming”, as if in the sprawling grounds, he could only find serenity next to the kids pool. Talk of colonial mentality hangover!

The man later railed at a young woman for taking her small child to the toddler pool, using words to the effect that, “if you did this in the US or England, the social services would be on your case”. When we asked a worker at the hotel why the man was behaving so badly, we were told that he always acted that way and people just had to tolerate him. Methinks the hotel should make sure he is not around during holidays or better still, ban the old man from its precincts altogether.

That notwithstanding, the kids enjoyed themselves tremendously in and out of the pool where they went boat, bicycle and horse riding, while the adults either swam or kept fit at the gym. At the Sportie Health Club, one can also enjoy sauna, Jacuzzi and steam bath facilities. The Sportsman Arms is a serene holiday spot where the old meets and cozily blends with the new and the accommodation is of high standard. The owner has expanded the old colonial type hotel by adding cottages and new ultra modern wings.

The hotel has a selection of four bars among them the serene and warm Afro Breeze and the Buccaneer dance club, an exciting night spot mostly frequently by the young and hip and the young at heart. There is also the Pirates bar where one can also play pool and a variety of other indoor games or watch soccer on the big screen. At the Chini kwa Chini detached bar, a live band takes to the floor every night. It takes about two and a half hours relaxed drive from Nairobi to Nanyuki. For those coming in by air, it is only five minutes drive from the airstrip.