The Sentrim Hotels are up for sale. The hotels are owned by a Kenyan Asian billionaire businessman and are being sold at Sh. 5.2 billion. This is axcording to a report by Knight Frank, which is leading the transaction.
The Sentrim Hotels are made up of eight hotels spread across the country including 680 Hotel in the Nairobi city centre. Others are the Boulevard Hotel located on the fringes of the CBD along Harry Thuku Road with 70 rooms, Castle Royal Hotel situated in Mombasa city along Moi Avenue (68 rooms) and newly built Elementaita Lodge on the shores of Lake Elementaita with 84 guest rooms and 58 cottages.
The group also owns Samburu Lodge situated in Samburu National Reserve with 21 cottages, Sentrim Tsavo located in Tsavo East National Park with 21 luxury tents, Sentrim Mara located in the Maasai Mara game reserve with 31 twin tents and Sentrim Amboseli located in the Amboseli National Park with 60 tents.
The hotels are likely to attract several potential buyers, including high-net-worth investors, as well as hospitality groups who are active investors in the country’s hospitality market.
There has been a string of heavy investments by leading luxury hotels in Kenya recently. The list includes global brands such as Accor Hotels, Hilton, Carlson Rezidor, and Acacia Premier.
Nineteen hotels are also expected to come to Kenya shortly, with a total of 3,453 new rooms in the pipeline, according to a report by Lagos-based consultancy W-Hospitality Group.
Hotel chains in Kenya are increasingly facing pressure from ultra-affluent clients who demand special service. Kenya and South Africa are tipped as the next continental hotspots in luxury hotel investment.