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By Staff
When an Ismaili family bought the then Kimani Court Hotel on Nairobi’s 6th Murang’a Road, off Moi Avenue in 1987, it was a nondescript, run down, walk in, walk out affair in a neighbourhood close to the Globe Cinema roundabout before the construction of the over pass connecting the city centre with Ngara estate, Parklands and Thika, “The Thika Super Highway” was being upgraded.
The family business leaders did not sit on their laurels when they took over this establishment. They started burning the midnight oil on how to transform this run down hotel into a leading tourist resort in the city centre.
By 2015, the team of managers led by the Director of Operations of the hotel, which was renamed Meridian Hotel, who is also a daughter-in-law to the family head, Ms Safiyah Kurji and the Managing Director Mr Abdulali Kurji, her husband and son to the owner, courted the Best Western, a leading US hotel chain and managed to clinch a partnership.
After clinching this partnership with the US chain, this hitherto nondescript low key establishment is offering very stiff competition to big names in the hospitality industry in the city like the Hilton, Sarova Stanley, etc
According to Ms Safiyah Kurji, the Director of Operations, the new look Meridian has “upped the ante in the hospitality industry by renovating all its 128 rooms to international standards”.
Ms Kurji told reporters during an interview in one of the renovated en-suite rooms of the hotel in Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) that the Kurji family entered into the partnership with Best Western to help the Meridian to tap into the lucrative US and European tourist source market besides providing Kenyans with a service that meets international standards.
“After entering into partnership with Best Western, we embarked on transforming the hotel which was in bad shape into a four star facility by installing “Alucobond cladding”, a form of aluminium material on the outer walls which helps buildings to minimize damage from the vagaries of the weather”, says Ms Kurji.
During the interview, Ms Kurji asked her husband Mr Abdulali Kurji who is the hotel’s Managing Director to explain this “Alucobond cladding” concept.
Mr Abdulali says applying the aluminium material on the outer walls of the new look Meridian which has lately become popular in the construction industry introduced into the country by the Chinese, was informed by the need to minimize maintenance costs through frequent painting besides enhancing the beauty of the hotel from outside.
Taking over the interview from the Managing Director, Ms Kurji further says that the Meridian entered into the partnership with the American leading hotel chain to give the hotel “international standards” and position the hotel strategically in Nairobi’s competitive hospitality industry which she feels, Kenyans deserve.
She adds, in order to satisfy the Best Western requirements, the management overhauled all the bedding facilities by buying very high quality bedding for the rooms, enhanced maintenance and cleaning of the rooms, upgraded the guest directories in the rooms and “internationalized” the buffet breakfast by introducing variety in the menu to cater for international guests.
Ms Kurji says some of the other facilities improved to international standards are the installation of high speed wi fi throughout the hotel, installation of LED flat screen satellite TV sets in all the rooms, 24 hour room service, travel desk services, foreign exchange facilities, fully air conditioned rooms, installation of a digital safe in all the rooms, laundry and dry cleaning services.
“We went out of our way to ensure that what was in our 128 rooms met the specifications set out by the Best Western group”, says Ms Kurji.
Ms Kurji adds that the new look hotel also re-trained its 200 plus work force and hired more highly trained workers to satisfy its international clientele.
“I am confident that after the renovations and improvements, the Meridian will be promoted into a four star hotel by the Ministry of Tourism which is yet to embark on its annual ranking exercise”, says the Director of Operations.
She adds that the management also upgraded the reception area, the kitchen and the ablution area where an automatic lighting system was installed to make guests as comfortable as possible and make the hotel a ‘green environment” by saving power.
Asked to comment on the dividends derived from the Meridian Best Western partnership, Ms Kurji says ‘After entering into this deal, we have really seen an upsurge in bed occupancy. For instance during the Christmas and New Year holidays in December, we had a 77 per cent bed occupancy, which is very good”.
Interjecting to fill in some details during the interview, Mr Abdulali quips that the new look Meridian gets visitors from around the world including South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States and a host of some African countries.
The new look hotel, the Director of Operations says has been able to host many Kenyan VIPs who patronize it for conferences, seminars and private business.
The Kurjis are upbeat that the new look Meridian vision is to capitalize on the Best Western brand name to tap into both the local and international tourism market and give quality services to its visitors in order to beat “old names in the hospitality industry”.
Ms Kurji further asserts that the local and domestic tourism industry has been very supportive to the re-branded Meridian by supplying it with hundreds of visitors for seminars, conferences and walk in guests.
She adds that the hotel which is situated in the city centre has managed to mitigate against sound pollution by installing sound proof windows in all its rooms.
Other facilities that the Hotel offers are a Business Centre, a 24-hour multi-cuisine restaurant and bar. Ms Kurji further projects that the hotel will soon be opening its roof top heated swimming pool, gym and spa, roof top restaurant and executive boardroom.