sevendown

I am trying to decide whether I should get a day room before my flight home from Nairobi to the US.

After two weeks on safari, we will have about 11 hours in Nairobi before an 11:15 pm flight to Paris and then on to the US. Our final day is rather full. We begin in Kigali Rwanda at the Kigali Serena Hotel, so we will start the day in a nice hotel with a real shower and be refreshed at that point. We arrive in Nairobi on a Kenya Airways flight about noon and have a few activities planned -- lunch, Giraffe Center, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage (to see our fostered elephants), then probably dinner at Carnivore (touristy, yes, but my niece will love it). Since our flight is at 11:15 we probably need to be back to the airport by 9:00.

We are flying Kenya Airways business class to Paris, so we will get lie flat bed seats on the plane. Also, we will hopefully have checked our luggage (except for carryons) in Kigali straight through and already have boarding passes for the Paris flight.

I guess I want to know whether a day room at a hotel near the airport to shower, etc., is necessary/advisable after dinner. Are there any showers at the airport (such as in the Kenya Airways business class lounge)? We will have been playing with animals (giraffes and elephants), so freshining up before a long series of flights home might be nice.

Anyone have any thoughts?

ShayTay

You can get a day room at the Panari Hotel near the airport, but it's a rather expensive just to take a shower. I don't think there are showers in the Business Class lounge, but perhaps someone else could confirm or correct that. Do you have a guide in Nairobi? We used Kennedy and he has a few places he uses that have reasonably priced day rooms.

You might find that a quick "spit bath" would work just as well to freshen up.

sevendown

My thoughts as well. It is the Panari I am considering, but you are right it may be a tad expensive for a shower.

We don't have a guide yet, and I am considering Kennedy after hearing good things about him on here. If we use Kennedy I know he can arrange the Cheetah Hug as well. That would put us in close "touch" with three different species (giraffes, elephants and cheetahs) and we might want more than a spit bath to clean up after our other "spit baths." Maybe not.

ShayTay

DEFINITELY contact Kennedy! The "cheetah hug" is just amazing and Kennedy is such a great person with which to tour Nairobi. It's like seeing the city with an old friend. He'll have better suggestions for you for a day room, as well.

Patty

I don't recall seeing a shower in the Simba Lounge (the one for KQ business class passengers) but I wasn't specifically looking for one either.

How long is your layover at CDG? If you wanted to wait until then, there are showers in the arrival lounge at 2C (landside) and the departure lounge at 2E main terminal (airside). I don't know if there are showers at the departure lounges at 2E Satellite H or S3 and I'm not sure which part of 2E your US bound flight will depart from. The one time I've used a departure lounge shower, I had to wait for about 45 minutes for one to become available. My understanding is that there are many more showers in the arrivals lounge but have never bothered to go landside to check it out.

sandi

Last I was at JKIA, I noticed a sign pointing to showers. It was at the far end of the terminal, but can't say what's down there and what is provided. I'm sure your ground operator in Nairobi should know... ask.

But must say, the Panari would be an expensive shower.

The airport though doesn't have the best air cooling system, in the terminal itself and less even inside the actual gate areas. If you took a shower earlier, I'd say you might need one before even boarding your flight to Paris.

You might do better with baby wipes in the ladies room.

Duane

I didn't see a shower, but I wasn't looking either since we left at 11:15 AM to AMS.

Kenya Airways Business Class was great. Much better than KLM and as good as Northwest. You'll enjoy.
Duane

sevendown

Patty -- We have a 5 hour layover in Paris, so maybe if we feel really bad we will try to get a shower at CDG. But similar to your experience there, I once remember waiting an hour in Heathrow for a shower. With 5 hours though if our plane is on time we would have plenty of time, so it might work and I appreciate the suggestion.

KLM's website says that showers are available in "all" their lounges, but if anyone has specific knowledge of Nairobi, let me know.

roadwarriorafrica

There are shower facilities available at the Simba Lounge at JKIA. There is one shower in the male bathroom, and one in the female.

sevendown

Good. That makes up my mind. Our time will be short anyway, and a day room at a hotel would tighten things up even more.

Since we have to be at the airport several hours in advance anyway, I think we will just plan to head to the lounge and try to squeeze in a shower during our wait if we feel like we need one then. Otherwise see how we feel in Paris.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Silen

Hi,

You will find day rooms in many cities of the world on www.between9and5.com