Nairobi’s Marble Arch Hotel has hit the headlines a number of time over its pending demolition and its owner, Mike Maina’s tiff with former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko.
Marble Arch is a 3-star hotel located a few steps from Jeevanjee Gardens and offers a gym, tastefully designed rooms and a private balcony among many other social amenities.
Notably, all rooms in the top-rated facility have satellite TV, direct-dial phones and access to high-speed internet.
Interconnecting rooms are also available for those traveling as a family with all front-facing rooms have a balcony giving a perfect view of Nairobi City.
Additionally, rooms include complimentary bottled water and coffee or tea makers.
The conference rooms which can accommodate up to 100 people are suitable for business meetings, seminars, product launch and workshops.
The hotel also features a secure parking that holds up to 50 cars.
On the other hand, the main restaurant is located on the ground floor has a high sky roof providing an uninterrupted natural lighting and an outdoor feel.
The bar and lounge are located on the first floor.
Bathrooms include bathtubs or showers with rainfall showerheads, slippers, and complimentary toiletries.
In 2019, Maina dragged Sonko to court over remarks the former city boss made in an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive show.
In the defamation suit where journalist Jeff Koinange and Royal Media Services (RMS) were listed as defendants, Maina accused the media house of granting Sonko a platform to slander him.
He argued that despite Koinange acknowledging that Sonko’s utterances were in bad taste, still gave him the airtime to carry on.
Maina added that he was portrayed as a thief, a land-grabber and possessing questionable integrity especially when the governor claimed his hotel stood on the county’s land.
“As a consequence of this, the plaintiffs have been brought to public hatred, pillory, ridicule, contempt, odium and will be disgraced, humiliated, subjected to untold embarrassment and ostracised,” he said.
In 2018, Maina headed to court after Sonko threatened to demolish the hotel on grounds that it stands on a public land.
Sonko further claims that the hotel was built without approvals from the county government.
However, in a court ruling by Judge Lucy Mbugua of the Environment and Land Court on May 22, Maina was dealt a setback after the judge dismissed a petition trying to prevent the Nairobi County Government from demolishing the hotel.
The judge concluded that a case filed by Muthithi Investments and Marble Arch Hotel Limited had no validity since Muthithi did not follow the established dispute resolution channels.
“The upshot of the findings of this court are that the suit is not merited. The same is hereby dismissed,” justice Mbugua ruled.
The court also found that Muthithi Investments should have gone to the liaison committee before submitting the complaint at the Environment and Land court.
