Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi
A rooftop pool with an indoor backup for rainy afternoons
About this hotel
Dusit Princess Hotel Residences Nairobi hedges against Nairobi's unpredictable rains in a way few of its rooftop-pool neighbors do: guests get the open-air rooftop deck for clear evenings and a separate indoor pool for the afternoons when the long or short rains close in. Family rooms come with private bathrooms and walk-in showers, and the family-friendly restaurant serves African, Chinese and British menus alongside a wider international spread at breakfast. The hotel sits nine kilometres from Wilson Airport and lists the National Museum and Nairobi National Park among its nearby landmarks, which makes it a workable base for pairing a rooftop evening with a daytime park visit. At four stars it is priced more accessibly than the five-star Westlands towers nearby, without giving up the rooftop feature that anchors this list. The indoor pool is the detail that separates it from a purely fair-weather rooftop stay, and it is the one most likely to actually get used given how often Nairobi's rain arrives without much warning.
- Rooftop swimming pool
- Separate indoor pool
- Near Nairobi National Park
- 9 km from Wilson Airport
Our take
Dusit Princess suits travelers who want the rooftop-pool experience without betting the whole stay on clear skies, and it works well as a base for combining a Nairobi night with a Nairobi National Park day trip. Its four-star pricing makes it the more accessible option among these four hotels. It is a weaker fit for guests chasing the fuller restaurant and bar scene of the five-star Westlands properties nearby.
- ✓Switch to the indoor pool without rearranging your day if the rooftop closes during a sudden afternoon shower.
- ✓Book a room facing the park side if a Nairobi National Park visit is on your itinerary, for the shortest transfer.
- ✓Confirm breakfast options in advance if traveling with dietary restrictions, since the international spread varies by day.
Why we love it
- Rooftop pool backed up by a separate indoor pool
- Near the National Museum and Nairobi National Park
- Family rooms with private bathrooms
- More accessible four-star pricing
Why guests love itThe indoor pool turned out to be the reason we'd book this again: an afternoon downpour closed the rooftop for two hours on our second day, and the kids barely noticed the switch. Breakfast covered our vegetarian requests without a fuss, and the short run out to Nairobi National Park the next morning made the nine kilometres from Wilson Airport feel like the right trade-off. It is not the flashiest rooftop of the trip, but it was the one that never fell through.