“Welcome to my house, play the music too loud, show me what you do now, we don’t have to go out.” True to their theme song by Flo Rida, once you enter The Social House, you will not want to go out – in other words, to leave. Located along 154 James Gichuru Road, Lavington, The Social House is an ultra-modern restaurant with a unique view and setting. From the hanging Harley Davidson (with zero miles on it btw!) at the entrance, to the lack of an actual reception desk, to the unique decor such as pairs of denim pants that have been transformed into a flower pots; it is as if a millennial was given a bunch of money and told to come up with whatever they could, and it turned surprisingly genius! Don’t get us wrong, the absence of a reception desk does not negate the presence of service.
Once you enter the premises, there is a coffee restaurant where someone will meet you to offer any service needed as you enjoy refreshments.
On the particular day that Stylenerds was invited for their exclusive media launch, we arrived 10 minutes late for the event that was supposedly to kick off at 11:30am and to our surprise and ironic pleasure, it had already kicked off. In our minds, we were trying to buy ourselves a little time because of our experience with Kenyan timing. Their punctuality puzzled us, but as we came to find out later, everything The Social House does is done with a touch of excellence and perfection.
When we arrived, we were met by a lovely lady named Maureen, who is the Head of Marketing, and later, Rowland, the correspondent from SHK Consulting, the people responsible for setting up the event. Thank you for the invite btw! First stop, the coffee machine.
The Social House grinds and brews their coffee in-house. They have a fascinating machine that grinds and churns out coffee in a span of 12 minutes 30 seconds only. To prove this, they put in a fresh set of pistachio in the machine and true to word, twelve and a half minutes later, we had coffee. If you desire extra black coffee, just add an extra thirty seconds on the clock. At this point, we began to realize that this was not just a restaurant but an experience. We mean, who goes to a restaurant to watch coffee brewing?
As the coffee brewed, we learnt a bit of the history of The Social House. A first of its kind, this is currently the only one around the world. Their aim is to provide a friendly, comfortable, luxurious and futuristic environment for individuals, travellers and businesspeople to experience and enjoy. They focus on human experiences to provide a quiet asylum away from the busy nature of the city.
Officially launched on February 2, 2020 (02/02/2020), “perfection is key” is their mantra. Looking like a vintage movie set from the 90s, the décor is exquisite and the ambience inviting. One key thing that stood out to us at the lobby was the wall of stamps mirroring an actual passport. But one stamp was the most unique: it was the stamp that read, “You are here at The Social House, here is your stamp.” For some us who have not had the chance to travel much (coughs in corona), this gesture warmed our hearts.
After the short introduction, we were led to one of spacious and of course well decorated boardroom on the ground floor. If you are planning an event, conference, cocktail party, or even a wedding, the rooms can comfortably hold 100 people. They even have an onsite wedding planner and free flower service. Crazy, right? Next stop, the bathrooms. Now, this is where we lost it. If you feel like your chances of making it to heaven are slim based on your life choices, visit The Social House bathrooms. You will never want to leave. We mean, they had to call in security to drag us out. Just kidding, but if offered the chance to permanently move into these bathrooms, we would without a doubt. The details, the ambience and the aesthetics are nothing short of spectacular.
After unwillingly leaving the bathrooms, we were led upstairs to the rooms. For security, one needs a key card to access the area. Once the doors were opened…heaven part two! The rooms are spacious and well decorated. The ambience is personal and glorious. There is a smart TV with the name of the guest portrayed on the screen. Are you feeling like listening to your favorite R&B playlist on YouTube? Or maybe catch up on Love Is Blind on Netflix? The TV got you! In fact, the rooms have makeup stands and mirrors on mirrors on mirrors for you makeup lovers out there. Beat your face to your favorite YouTube makeup tutorial as you enjoy the magnificent Lavington view. If this is not what every girl dreams of, we don’t know. We even forgot that we were in Nairobi. For residents, there is also a gym area for all your fitness needs. And for the business people, there was a section dedicated to meeting rooms and mini-boardrooms. After what felt like an eternity of bliss, we were led to an exclusive tour of the kitchen area.
For residents, there is also a gym area for all your fitness needs. And for the business people, there was a section dedicated to meeting rooms and mini-boardrooms. The meetings rooms can be hired out whenever and for however long you need them. The price ranges from Ksh 7000 upwards depending on the type and size of the boardroom. We definitely know where we are gonna be holding all our meetings now.
A fun fact about The Social House apart from no reception area is that the General Manager, who is referred to as the Head of House, has no actual office area. They have an office area (referred to as team area) in the basement, but they practice Management By Walking Around. Therefore, you may accidentally bump into him without even recognizing him. He is the man behind this new way of business, having worked in and collected vast knowledge in a whopping 149 countries! We are not jealous at all. Moreover, the members of staff at The Social House are referred to as team members. As we got an exclusive tour of the kitchen/staff area, we were shown a wall written “The Social House” with all the handprints in different colours, of each person who contributed to the opening of the hotel. The Social House team is not just a group of people who work together but a family. This was evident with their ‘shoutout board’ where they could all leave each other positive and strengthening messages. So cool! Our fondest memory of the tour was having the chance to leave sweet messages for our tour guide “Mourine” who by the way was such a pleasure to meet and interact with.
Finally, we were led to the restaurant at the INCA Rooftop whose décor is with no doubt close to perfect. An intriguing part of the restaurant is the artwork. Each piece of art is customized according to the type of guests they have. So when you have an event, they have pieces of art specifically designed for you, which are then taken down once you leave. Detail! We were then served with a tantalizing three-course meal, coupled with a choice of rosé or white wine. A perfect ending to a perfect story. We are looking forward to visiting The Social House for the exciting experience and of course, the bathrooms!
By Tony Ngige, Stylenerds Journal.
