Bahrain’s Gulf Hotels Group has signed a memorandum of understanding to manage and operate the Silva Gigiri Hotel & Residences development in Nairobi, marking its second hotel management contract in East Africa.
The agreement, struck with developer Silva Gigiri Limited, follows the group’s operation of the Ocean Paradise Resort in Zanzibar and forms part of a wider strategy to build out its third-party operator platform across Africa and the Indian Ocean region.
“This strategic partnership represents a key step towards realising our long-term vision for the Silva Gigiri Hotel & Residences project in one of Nairobi’s most important diplomatic areas,” chief executive Ahmed Janahi said in a company statement.
The development sits on United Nations Crescent Street in Gigiri, a primary diplomatic district that houses the UN’s Nairobi office alongside numerous embassies and international organisations. It will comprise about 250 units, combining hotel rooms and luxury branded apartments under a shared rental programme, with restaurants, health and fitness facilities, co-working spaces and a conference centre geared towards the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions market.
Construction is scheduled to begin this month, with an opening targeted for 2028. The hotel and residential components will carry a globally recognised luxury brand, with details to be disclosed once the management agreements are finalised.
The project falls within the group’s 2026 to 2030 growth strategy, centred on expanding partnerships with international hotel brands across Africa and the Indian Ocean region. Silva Gigiri Limited, which manages the GLV Collection of luxury residences in Nairobi’s diplomatic quarter, is targeting LEED certification for the site, aligning with Kenya’s Vision 2030 sustainable urban development goals.
Why it matters for the trade
Nairobi’s Gigiri district is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s densest concentrations of diplomatic and international-organisation demand, and a branded, MICE-oriented property there speaks directly to a corporate and institutional booking base that runs year-round and is relatively insulated from leisure seasonality. For agents and corporate buyers, a new luxury inventory of this scale in the diplomatic quarter widens options in a market where quality supply has lagged demand.