The Stanley Hotel was originally opened in 1902 as the Victoria Hotel, four sparsely appointed rooms above Tommy Wood's general store, where Mayence Bent (née Woodbury) ran the store and its post office, and also worked as a dressmaker and milliner.
Mayence had taken the job at the store in 1898 after moving to Nairobi with her husband (and step-brother) William Stanley Bent, and their daughter Gladys.
Mayence would bring fresh butter and vegetables from her husband's 40-acre (16 ha) farm in Kikuyu for the hotel's guests.
In 1904, after a disagreement with Wood, Mayence entered into a business arrangement with a farmer from Sotik, Daniel Ernest Cooper, and opened the first Stanley Hotel.

That first Stanley Hotel was a two-story wooden building with 15 beds.
In 1905, a liquor license was granted to D. E. Cooper for the hotel.
Later that year, a fire destroyed much of Victoria Street (now Tom Mboya Street), where both hotels were located.
Mayence quickly moved her tenants to an unused rail-road building on Government Road.

W. S. Bent declared insolvency in 1908 (and again in 1913).
Soon after, Mayence married Frederick Francis Tate, brother of James William Tate and Dame Maggie Teyte.
D. E. Cooper moved back to Sotik in 1909, dissolving his partnership with Mayence.
In 1912, Fred Tate purchased two plots of land and had a new hotel designed by architects Robertson, Gow & Davidson, and built on Delamere Avenue.
This building had 60 rooms in three stories.
In 1913, with the new hotel's completion, the original site was sold to ex-postmaster Daniel William Noble.
The Tates had originally planned to transfer the "Stanley Hotel" name to the new location, but Noble sued and won the use of "Old Stanley Hotel".
Thus the "New Stanley Hotel" was born.

During the first World War, Fred Tate served as a lieutenant with the local forces.
Soon after he returned, he was struck with blindness and general paralysis.
In 1926, he and Mayence moved to London, leaving the hotel to be run by Albert Ernest Waterman, his wife Florence Annie, and their daughter Ruby.
In 1932, after six years in London, the Tates returned to Nairobi for the opening of the New Stanley Long Bar.
Fred Tate kept busy with the constant appraisal of the hotel's guests, and the minutiae of things such as the daily menu.
After Fred's death in 1937, Mayence's interest in managing the hotel's affairs waned.
She eventually sold the hotel to Abraham Lazarus Block, a Jewish Lithuanian entrepreneur, in 1947, although she still maintained a financial interest.
Mayence later moved to Hove, Sussex, where she died in 1968 at the age of 99.


Abraham Block's involvement with the Stanley Hotel had started not in 1947, but in 1903.
One of Block's earliest business transactions in Nairobi was a deal with Mayence Bent involving having new mattresses sewn for the Victoria Hotel.
Block had originally fled from his homeland of Lithuania to England to escape religious persecution.
Seeing that living in London "was taking him nowhere", he soon followed his father, who had fled to South Africa, and later fought in the Second Boer War.
Block, convinced that Kenya was a "New Zion" for Jews, travelled to Nairobi via the Post steamer Feldmarschall and overland by train.
Soon after arriving, Block met Mayence, who informed him of her need for mattresses.
He hired R. A. de Souza to sew covers, hired labourers who were loitering around Tommy Wood's general store to stuff them with residual grass which had been previously cut for railroad clearing, and, when stronger needles were needed to sew the heavy cloth, constructed them from bicycle spokes.

 In 1958, most of the hotel structure was torn down and rebuilt per Abraham Block's two sons' plans for expansion.

In 1978, the hotel was purchased by the Sarova Group from Abraham Block and family.

In 1998, a US$20 million renovation took place, and the Sarova Group restored the hotel's original name, "The Stanley Hotel".

The hotel was the first place to sell Kenya's Tusker Beer in 1922.
The first ten bottles were hand-produced and personally delivered to the
The Stanley Hotel was originally opened in 1902 as the Victoria Hotel, four sparsely appointed rooms above Tommy Wood's general store, where Mayence Bent (née Woodbury) ran the store and its post office, and also worked as a dressmaker and milliner. Mayence had taken the job at the store in 1898 after moving to Nairobi with her husband (and step-brother) William Stanley Bent, and their daughter Gladys. Mayence would bring fresh butter and vegetables from her husband's 40-acre (16 ha) farm in Kikuyu for the hotel's guests. In 1904, after a disagreement with Wood, Mayence entered into a business arrangement with a farmer from Sotik, Daniel Ernest Cooper, and opened the first Stanley Hotel.
That first Stanley Hotel was a two-story wooden building with 15 beds. In 1905, a liquor license was granted to D. E. Cooper for the hotel. Later that year, a fire destroyed much of Victoria Street (now Tom Mboya Street), where both hotels were located. Mayence quickly moved her tenants to an unused rail-road building on Government Road.
W. S. Bent declared insolvency in 1908 (and again in 1913). Soon after, Mayence married Frederick Francis Tate, brother of James William Tate and Dame Maggie Teyte. D. E. Cooper moved back to Sotik in 1909, dissolving his partnership with Mayence. In 1912, Fred Tate purchased two plots of land and had a new hotel designed by architects Robertson, Gow & Davidson, and built on Delamere Avenue. This building had 60 rooms in three stories. In 1913, with the new hotel's completion, the original site was sold to ex-postmaster Daniel William Noble. The Tates had originally planned to transfer the "Stanley Hotel" name to the new location, but Noble sued and won the use of "Old Stanley Hotel". Thus the "New Stanley Hotel" was born.
During the first World War, Fred Tate served as a lieutenant with the local forces. Soon after he returned, he was struck with blindness and general paralysis. In 1926, he and Mayence moved to London, leaving the hotel to be run by Albert Ernest Waterman, his wife Florence Annie, and their daughter Ruby. In 1932, after six years in London, the Tates returned to Nairobi for the opening of the New Stanley Long Bar. Fred Tate kept busy with the constant appraisal of the hotel's guests, and the minutiae of things such as the daily menu. After Fred's death in 1937, Mayence's interest in managing the hotel's affairs waned. She eventually sold the hotel to Abraham Lazarus Block, a Jewish Lithuanian entrepreneur, in 1947, although she still maintained a financial interest. Mayence later moved to Hove, Sussex, where she died in 1968 at the age of 99.

Abraham Block's involvement with the Stanley Hotel had started not in 1947, but in 1903. One of Block's earliest business transactions in Nairobi was a deal with Mayence Bent involving having new mattresses sewn for the Victoria Hotel. Block had originally fled from his homeland of Lithuania to England to escape religious persecution. Seeing that living in London "was taking him nowhere", he soon followed his father, who had fled to South Africa, and later fought in the Second Boer War. Block, convinced that Kenya was a "New Zion" for Jews, travelled to Nairobi via the Post steamer Feldmarschall and overland by train. Soon after arriving, Block met Mayence, who informed him of her need for mattresses. He hired R. A. de Souza to sew covers, hired labourers who were loitering around Tommy Wood's general store to stuff them with residual grass which had been previously cut for railroad clearing, and, when stronger needles were needed to sew the heavy cloth, constructed them from bicycle spokes.
 In 1958, most of the hotel structure was torn down and rebuilt per Abraham Block's two sons' plans for expansion.
In 1978, the hotel was purchased by the Sarova Group from Abraham Block and family.
In 1998, a US$20 million renovation took place, and the Sarova Group restored the hotel's original name, "The Stanley Hotel".
The hotel was the first place to sell Kenya's Tusker Beer in 1922. The first ten bottles were hand-produced and personally delivered to the
Stanley Hotel, Nairobi