Although not the foremost holiday destination in Africa, Nairobi does pretty well on the hotel front, with many distinct districts and suburbs in which to base yourself. While the town centre is the best area to be based for convenience sake, it doesn't have a great number of high-end hotels. Karen, Langata, Highridge, and Lavington are all nice suburbs with the most character.

Nairobi comes with many four- and five-star hotels in all the best city locations, including right in the city centre, near Nairobi National Park, and near to the Karen Blixen House. Big plush chain hotels in the city include the Hilton, Panari Hotel, the Norfolk Hotel and the Grand Regency. The posh Norfolk Hotel is Nairobi's longest operating hotel.

In addition, just a few miles out of town is the popular Giraffe Manor. This is a converted home sitting on more than 100 acres of land where giraffes come up to the hotel to be fed. They even pop their heads up to second floor room windows for a bite to eat. The Nairobi Serena on Kenyatta Avenue is another fine top-end hotel with great status, service and views.

There are several places to stay in Nairobi, some safe and secure and others not so safe. All the popular tourist areas have a decent supply of higher end hotels, while the more posh suburbs to take note of are in West Nairobi. This area was home to the early European immigrants and is pockmarked with colonial buildings. Langata, Karen, Lavington, and Highridge are all nice areas to stay in Nairobi.

Lying southwest of town, Langata (Lang'ata) is perhaps the best place to be based outside of the city centre. It has some fine hotels and many popular attractions, including the Uhuru Gardens, the Giraffe Centre, and the popular Carnivore Restaurant. In addition, Langata is also one of the entry points for Nairobi National Park.

The suburb of Karen is close to Langata and is another good place to stay. It was named after Danish author, Karen Blixen, and has a significant European population. Ngong Road Forest also lies in this area, along with Ngong Racecourse and Karen Blixen's home and museum.

The residential area of Highridge is located within the Parklands estate outside town, a high-end area of Nairobi. City Park and the Sigiria forest are both nearby. The suburb of Lavington in northwest Nairobi also has some big hotels.

If you don't have the means to stay in this class of hotel, the area around the main bus station in town has many budget hotels. Although not the nicest of areas to be based in the capital, staying here negates the need to take public transport everywhere.