The Heron By Sarovar Portico India

Kenya , Nairobi
NAIROBI, Milimani Road, 9
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100 reviews shown

8/10

Excellent

27 Feb 2026

Pedro

Great place

10/10

Exceptional

01 Feb 2026

Graeme

Lovely heated swimming pool. Good food and service.clean nice rooms

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

08 Nov 2025

Peter

This property is nice. Emily was very helpful at breakfast.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Oct 2025

Andre Mark

Overall I enjoyed my stay. All the staff were polite and welcoming. My room was ideal.That breakfast buffet was good every day, likewise the cafe, pool and gym. Next time I am in Nairobi, I will return to this hotel.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2025

Heather

The pool is heated, and property safe/clean/lovely. The staff is great, and there are good vegetarian options in the restaurant. We appreciated being able to get a late checkout, and storing luggage while we went on safari.

We would stay there again!

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 Sep 2025

Heather

There were good vegetarian options available at the hotel restaurant. It is a lovely hotel.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

09 Aug 2025

Tamara

The staff at Heron are second to none! Truly a home away from home!

Business

10/10

Exceptional

10 Jun 2025

James

Very good experience

10/10

Exceptional

18 Mar 2025

Michael

Pleasant stay at the Heron Hotel

Nice hotel, clean room. Good value for the price. The food was good. Great location, close to the city center. I stayed at the Heron for 11 days. I got to know some of the staff. Alex and Bob at reception were very kind, welcoming and helpful. The dinning/cafe staff, Daniel, Alex, Emily, Felix and Bashasha were courteous and friendly and great customers service. I would definitely stay at the Heron again.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

06 Dec 2024

as above

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Nov 2024

Yohannes

A very good place to stay, and great value for money.

10/10

Exceptional

24 Oct 2024

Daniel

Pool was warm in the morning, and Gym and Spa staff were terrific.

10/10

Exceptional

15 Oct 2024

Julius

Was a great experience

10/10

Exceptional

10 Oct 2024

Daniel

The property was clean and neat. The swimming pool was perfect, and the spa and gym staff very friendly. We will be back for sure.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

12 Sep 2024

Aynan

Customer service is 10/10, also is good location close to malls , classy restaurants. I would recommend to everyone that visiting to Nairobi .

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2024

Timothy

Great hotel - comfortable and modern but still feels like Africa.

Leisure Family_with_children

10/10

Exceptional

20 Jul 2024

Timothy

Very nice hotel, comfortable with a local appearance - the right balance of traditional Kenya and modern comforts - staff were extremely helpful.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jun 2024

Yohannes

The property is beautiful, and has a unique quality and ambiance. Very much liked it.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

21 Jun 2024

Patrick

Excellent rooms, customer service and location

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

26 Jun 2023

Barry

It was great, as usual

10/10

Exceptional

11 Mar 2023

Paula

Fabulous breakfast!

Leisure Self

2/10

Poor

10 Feb 2023

Kathryn

I wouldn’t recommend this hotel for solo female travellers.

On check out, the hotel demanded additional payment, and the men behind the front desk displayed aggressive behaviour. It was dark and very early morning with no one around. They called in extra men and wouldn’t let me leave until I paid them around $400USD. I had already paid the hotel for my stay.

It was a scary experience.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

09 Jul 2022

Merris

Friendly staff. Rooms are big and have refrigerators, microwave, tea kettle. We enjoyed our stay. There’s also a pool and gym which we didn’t get to use. Can walk to CBD and arboretum from location

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 May 2022

Valerie

Good

Business

8/10

Excellent

16 Nov 2021

Derrick

The staff was very attentive and helpful. Room was spacious

Leisure Self

4/10

Poor

15 Nov 2021

CONOR

OK but not ideal for a good night's sleep

Whilst architecturally some nice touches, hotel did not send transfer for airport pick-up. When called, they said had no record. Not the case though. Most frustrating. Service was slow, albeit staff most friendly. Biggest issue was noise. The rooms are not well soundproofed at all. Very lo
Iittle sleep.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Oct 2021

Francis

Friendly staff,clean,good food and conveniently located near Nairobi CBD.

Self

4/10

Poor

08 Sep 2021

Malgorzata

No hot water, poor internet.

Internet was terrible. No hot water. I didn't take a hot shower for 3 days.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

20 Feb 2021

david

Beautiful place

5 Star with 5 stars in reserved......period

Business

8/10

Excellent

07 Dec 2020

Abdi

Staff and service was amazing here. But the internet was really slow in my room and kept disconnecting. The food also takes forever to come to your room and the water completely turned off on my last day here. Other than that it was a very pleasing stay but not exceptional

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

21 Nov 2020

Ham

Worn out and old. It takes hours for reception to answer calls

Business Family

8/10

Excellent

11 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Not far from airport, Swahili style structure, staff very accommodating

Friends_and_family Family_with_children

8/10

Excellent

02 Jan 2020

JaneM

The hotel is quiet and quite well cared for. It has 2 restaurants with quite good food. It also has a good gym and nice pool. The beds are comfortable. It is a very good place to stay in Nairobi.

Business_and_leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

24 Nov 2019

Nino

nic hotel in Nairobi

Very nicely located hotel, very helpful staff and reception, good facilities such as gym, sauna, pool, excellent breakfast included. Rooms are clean and cleaned every dayI would go there again. The shower isn't very comfortable/modern but for the price it's a good deal

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

20 Nov 2019

Orisunmbola

Good Value for Money Right In the Middle Of Nairob

This hotel is good value for money in a good and accessible area of Nairobi. The food could be better - Breakfast is plain and even the ala carte menu wasn't fantastic.
The service is just ok but yet again on this stay, their hot water system needs a real overhaul - getting a hot shower is a tall order particularly at 4am.

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

15 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Management and staff were very accommodating. 8 would definitely stay at this property again.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

11 Nov 2019

john

The property is in a safe neighborhood, nothing around in terms of shops or other attractions. Room size is okay, One thing that I must mention is that the towels are really old and literally falling apart.

Business

10/10

Exceptional

07 Nov 2019

Laura E

Very friendly and helpful staff. Passed on my request to extend my check-out to cleaning crew and 2nd shift staff so that everyone was informed.

10/10

Exceptional

04 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Everything about the property was great. I was able meet a lot of new friends and i would definitely stay here again.

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

23 Oct 2019

Verified traveler

Stayed in junior suite.
Only challenge was my Bishop did not get his room on arrival until I reached from the airport.
Noise from pool 7 am gym class. Doors banging at night from other guests coming and going.
Otherwise ok. Good breakfast.

Business_and_leisure

8/10

Excellent

25 Sep 2019

Verified traveler

Loved the location, not right in the city and not far from city center.

Leisure Friends

2/10

Poor

23 Aug 2019

Verified traveler

Front Desk or receptionist BAD and rooms are bad as well capboard doors broken

Business Self

10/10

Exceptional

19 Aug 2019

Catherine

We stayed for 3 nights. We enjoyed many meals. The staff was professional and friendly. They always went above and beyond! Even before we arrived our questions were answered quickly and above our satisfaction! We were very happy and would love to visit again!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jul 2019

Verified traveler

Very clean and the staff was friendly. Very nice place

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

15 Jun 2019

Camilo

Normal stay, nothing special.

The stay was good!! The shower was quiet little, but for one night was ok.

10/10

Exceptional

30 May 2019

Verified traveler

Very professional and cordial staff. Great gym with up-to-date machines and a nice steam room. Extended the courtesy of storing some luggage while I was away for an extended period.

Leisure Self

6/10

Pleasant

25 May 2019

Verified traveler

The location for this property is great. I have stayed at the property over the last 15 years and the service has really declined; for example the white towels are torn , rugged and do not appear white any more; no wash clothes are provided in the rooms. The area rugs are pretty dusty, either remove them or have them washed.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

22 Feb 2019

Maria

Wonderful service

Very nice hotel, great service and food, clean highly recommended

Friends

8/10

Excellent

11 Feb 2019

Barbara

We stayed in Heron Portico for 3 nights. The check in process was quick and pleasant. The room was clean and had everything that we needed.
There is a restaurant and a cafe on a main floor and both serve decent food. I do have to mention that we had to wait for our main course order for an hour before it was served so make sure you have enough time to wait for food and enjoy your dinner.
There were a couple of times that I went to the front desk to ask a question and I was not sure if the front desk staff fully understood what I was asking for. I would expect that front desk staff would speak fluent English to ensure no mistakes. Also, credit card machine at the restaurant worked only every other time and often we found ourselves having to go to the front desk multiple times to exchange money to pay for food because the restaurant was not able to process our credit card payment.
Lastly, I found it interesting that our taxi ride from the airport (booked at the airport kiosk) cost us 2000 KES but when we booked the taxi ride to the airport through the hotel lobby, it cost us 3500 KES. You may be better off book your taxi ride somewhere else if you don’t want to be overcharged.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

2 mins by Uber (about US$1.80) to the city center. It is in a quiet area and we only managed to hear 2 sirens from ambulance during our stay here. Stayed 1 night

6/10

Pleasant

21 Jan 2019

Tahssen

Shower issue it took 5 tripe to fix a shower head

10/10

Exceptional

13 Nov 2018

Nancy

I really like this hotel. It is in good location, nice people and good service.

6/10

Pleasant

11 Nov 2018

Jann

Nice hotel with some personality. Staff is very friendly, all around. We like the bar, it's intimate with a tree growing through it. The downsides are the size of the room (smallish) and inability to adequately lower the room temperature for comfortable sleep - the thermostat did not go below 19. The bedding is a covered quilt but without a separate top sheet, so upshot is we were too warm and no way to have a light cover.

8/10

Excellent

28 Oct 2018

Debasish

It is very good for us like a family with child the twin bed size is more bigger like minimum 3 feet

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2018

Doug

Hotel had charm and wonderful staff. Definately value for the money. Great location as well.

10/10

Exceptional

23 Oct 2018

Soopayah

Happy to have been there

It was a respectable place. Only problem was a lift problem for some time

2/10

Poor

19 Oct 2018

Kenny

The Heron Portico experience

The wifi in the room didn't work, the technician spent hours trying to sort it out and installed a small router which stopped working after 10 minutes. The room was dusty, the gym equipment was old and requires gas to work. The equipment is like old outdoor gyms, I have never seen any such awful equipment in my life. The sink was blocked, the plumber had to drain it, the lights didn't work and the engineer spent an hour trying to fix it. We had to change the room. .

8/10

Excellent

22 Sep 2018

Suzanne

Nice and clean hotel; would like their cafe open a bit earlier than 8 am.

6/10

Pleasant

19 Sep 2018

Andy

Disappointing and overrated hotel in Nairobi.

Check in was dreadful. Took almost 30 mins to check in. Rooms were dated, dusty and tired. The hotel needs cleaned up and refurbished. Their expensive food needs to improve dramatically. Meridian Plus easily beats this hotel on all counts and it's cheaper. Only use the Heron Portico as a last resort.

10/10

Exceptional

08 Sep 2018

Selvam

Paradise in Nairobi

Wonderful. Licated ideally to move aroynd without getting into traffic. Food is excellent.

10/10

Exceptional

09 Aug 2018

Mike

Great Place To Stay

The place was great and the service was excellent. Definitely will do it again.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

02 Aug 2018

Phanice

Lovely staff members ..it was a great stay but just stayed short time..next time will do longer

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jun 2018

Mariam

had a lovely stay

10/10

Exceptional

27 Apr 2018

Marco

Excellent

6/10

Pleasant

26 Mar 2018

Verified traveler

Decent hotel for a short stay

The hotel is good for a short stay. Breakfast is very average and the hotel staff need to be a lot more responsive

10/10

Exceptional

21 Mar 2018

Muiruri

Great service

Reception crew was great, Manager Mr David Mwaniki is exceptional. Very helpful.

8/10

Excellent

06 Mar 2018

Scott

Very convenient and friendly

Festus makes excellent omelettes in the morning. Poolside is great for relaxing.

8/10

Excellent

17 Feb 2018

Kim

Only complaint is there’s terrible wifi which I’d expect better given it’s in major city and the price you’re paying to stay there

8/10

Excellent

03 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Great staff.

There on business. The staff was very nice. The hotel needs some maintenance and or updating.

10/10

Exceptional

03 Feb 2018

Lee

Lovely hotel in safe and secure location.

Lovely stay in Nairobi at the Heron Portico. Great location, felt extremely safe and easy to walk to down town Nairobi. Room was lovely and clean. The pool/bar area was excellent and a place to end a day. Coffee was excellent! Special mention to Cesar on the front desk. He helped us immensely, plan our activities for the day including our route and transportation. Thanks so much... we had a great time.

4/10

Poor

29 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

HAs potential but needs investment

The hotel has a decent lay-out and some good potential. But the rooms are dated, linen old, water and air-con unreliable.

8/10

Excellent

06 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

quiet

Quiet location, staff very pleasant, good size room, food all so quite good

10/10

Exceptional

14 Dec 2017

Fernando

Excellent hotel

Excellent hotel with huge rooms and great customer service. It's in a quiet area, not far from Nairobi downtown, and most of the clients are for business. To say something \"negative\" ....WiFi is not very good and hot water has a schedule. Also breakfast cost is too high so is better to include in the room price if you're going to use this service. Food and service are excellent in the restaurants.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

12 Dec 2017

Sharon

Friendly and Secure

felt very safe and because of the accommodating staff and friendliness
of the General Manager it was a pleasant stay.
As my son was in a tennis tournament we had an extended visit.
The room was very spacious and comfortable

2/10

Poor

07 Dec 2017

Steven

Never again

I booked the double room a month ago but wen I got there thay only had a room with 2 single beds an the Internet is completely useless

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

05 Dec 2017

Verified traveler

Friendly staff, warm welcome received and reception area was relaxing with seating to chill out in. Pool area was a calm place to have tea but pool closed at 6pm. The bathrooms need to be updated, the shower wasn't hot and the aircon didnt work sufficiently, also rooms street facing were quite noisy as well as being able to hear noise in the corridor. The rooms are a more traditional style but could be improved by having better matresses and having a duvet as well as working air con which isn't noisy. There are restuarants in the area but you need to take a cab as with most of Nairobi.

Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Nov 2017

Nancy

Great services - wonderful omelette station and gym. Calm for a central location

8/10

Excellent

26 Oct 2017

Verified traveler

Average

10/10

Exceptional

20 Oct 2017

Rita

Nice place to stay in Nairobi\n

Stayed in Nairobi before we went out to safari. The Heron was a great choice, close to the downtown area, easy to get there from airport. The hotel is quiet and comfortable with a nice breakfast buffet.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Sep 2017

Morgan

Comfortable very good value for money

Great facilities and comfortable stay, large rooms are huge and good if you need some space.

8/10

Excellent

15 Jul 2017

Kristina

Friendly Kenyan Hospitality at its Finest

My friend and I (we are from the US) stayed at the Heron Portico for the last few nights of a month long service trip throughout East Africa. The Heron Portico staff were incredibly friendly and accomodating. They care about their guests' experience, and although they might need an extra nudge or a walk up to the front desk to fulfill a request, we did not mind (we are accustomed to the slower pace of Kenya) - and for the most part, housekeeping related issues were resolved. We were disappointed by the pool being drained for maintenance, but Argwings from the gym offered to make a special arrangement for us to swim at a place nearby to make up for this, which was very kind and much appreciated. The spa services, including massages at the gym, as well as nails, facials and hair at the salon were affordable and outstanding. Nancy and Isaac from the salon were warm and welcoming, and very thorough in their services. We will be bringing our team back next year to enjoy a little luxury in between our legs of work and travel!

8/10

Excellent

07 Jul 2017

James

Very good hotel for the price. My only complaint is that I was not given the option upon booking to pay for an inclusive breakfast. I was told at the desk that I could not add it so paid $15 per day for their buffet. The rate was very good and the room was just fine ---- simply would have like to have the option to have the breakfast included up front if I chose to do so.

8/10

Excellent

05 Jul 2017

gene

Lovely, intimate old style hotel

Lovely old style hotel. Swahili decor. Furniture is real wood, not veneer, shower always hot and strong. Excellent coffee. Staff well trained and friendly.

8/10

Excellent

01 Jul 2017

Pierre

In transit in Nairobi

We stay one night in Nairobi before going to our safari. This Hôtel with a nice Indian touch is very well located near downtown and the highway airport. Nice Service and friendly staff.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

15 Apr 2017

JuJub45

Arrival overnight in Kenya

After arriving in to Nairobi after 24 hours of traveling, I was greeted by a friendly and helpful staff. My room was great size and the bathroom well equipped. There was a nice buffet breakfast to start the next day off right. The hotel is fairly close to downtown yet fairly close to the Nairobi wildlife park, Karen Blixen's House, the Animal Orphanage and Daphne Sheldrick's elephant orphanage. Best way to get there is by taxi at $20.00 one way. It is a hotel that I would return to.

4/10

Poor

06 Apr 2017

Verified traveler

Not worth the money

Bad experience. Internet was highly unreliable, very small washroom, tiny bed(s), and OLD rooms.

6/10

Pleasant

26 Feb 2017

Verified traveler

Ok, but service needs to be improved

The hotel itself is ok, but there are many issues that needed to be fixed. For example, the safe in my room did not work, and despite asking about it twice, it was not fixed during my five-day stay. My colleague did not have hot water. Cleanliness was so-so. There are so many other hotels in Nairobi that I do not think I will stay here again.

10/10

Exceptional

25 Feb 2017

karen

Quiet.

Very nice stay. Would have liked to have more time there rather than just a stop before an early morning flight

6/10

Pleasant

22 Feb 2017

Verified traveler

Fancy look, not so fancy service

Breakfast was cold. Staff were slow. Weak wifi. Nice rooms and nice grounds.

8/10

Excellent

10 Feb 2017

Verified traveler

I was here as my son was in the Nairobi hospital. Taxi was 500ksh each way and was essential. Clean and functional. Food was really good and room service at no extra cost.Mini fridge in the room was handy with two free bottles of water every day. My room was cleaned every day. Nothing was too much trouble and the staff were really friendly. They all spoke good English and made my stay easy through difficult times. Thank You

10/10

Exceptional

30 Oct 2016

Indrajeet

Nice comfortable stay

Enjoyed the stay. The staff was friendly and polite. Had no issues. Had some issues with wifi but query was handled professional by the hotel staff. Would recommend this hotel who is on a business trip as its close to all business districts.

2/10

Poor

21 Sep 2016

Vanessa

BEWARE

This hotel is not at all the way it appears. The photo posted is NOT the room received. The room was extremely outdated and dirty. It can use a fresh coat of paint and new bedding, PLEASE. The bathroom was dirty and could use an old fashion on your knees scrubbing, and to add, new fixtures. This hotel is barely deserving of a 1 rating. It is located near no restaurants or shops of any kind. If the wifi worked I was going to go to Hotel.com in search of another hotel. I went down to express my concerns and was immediately ask to wait for management. I told him about the photo online and he immediately cut me off and told me he would upgrade the room at no cost which he did. The upgraded room was larger and was not as dirty. Please take my advise and think twice about this hotel. Being from the U.S. this hotel would be considered a motel and would not hit the rating scale.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

18 Sep 2016

Verified traveler

I had a good one night stay. The staff was very kind. The rooms could use renovations to modernize it.

6/10

Pleasant

11 Sep 2016

glynn

it's a nice hotel

it was ok

6/10

Pleasant

13 Jun 2016

Orisunmbola

Nice Stay but could have been better

Nothing Fantastic. Room was spacious but Bed was not very comfortable. Hardly were bathroom supplies - Shower Gel, shampoo etc restocked for my second night. Shower system defective - water al over the floor after shower. Breakfast was just basic. Not too crazy about this hotel....

10/10

Exceptional

06 May 2016

Marco

Over nighter in Nairobi

A good stay

10/10

Exceptional

10 Apr 2016

dan

I needed a hotel in Nairobi for two nights and one day in transit to our safari at Masai Mara Reserve. We loved the hotel for the ambiance, location and a two thumbs up for the included buffet breakfast which was delicious. The dinner at the hotel restaurant was great. I had a Nile fish which was superb. We also had a late lunch at the outside bar/restaurant and was treated to two for one beers and drinks and great food there as well.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

01 Mar 2016

Michelle

Refurbished,every room is equipped like a suite.

Staff is friendly and helpful I would recommend this hotel to friends.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Mar 2016

Verified traveler

Decent enough stayed there for conference, breakfast was very nice. Strong wifi throughout hotel. Only irritation was the power outlets where not well installed, had to move power cords around to find working outlets. If you wanted it was walking distance to the Convention Centre and there was a local BBQ place just up the road to get out of the hotel for dinner.

6/10

Pleasant

17 Jan 2016

Nitin

Affordable 4 star in Nairobi

The Heron Portico is close to the hotel, and in a secure neighborhood (right next to the Police Headquarters). The room is what you expect, with a decent size bed and Free (but slow) Wifi.
The hotel is a well worth what you'll pay, and I'd recommend it for a quick night.

Partner