User:Wamaina/Draft Village market

Wamaina/Draft Village market
	We Make You Look Good
Location	Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya
Address	Limuru Road, Gigiri, Nairobi, P.O. Box 00621, Nairobi, Kenya
Opening date	1995
No. of stores and services	150
Total retail floor area	225,713 sq.ft
No. of floors	3
Parking	700 Onsite and other parking facilities around the complex.
Website	www.villagemarket-kenya.com

The Village Market Shopping And Recreation Center in Nairobi is one of the largest entertainment and retail complex in East Africa^[1]. The complex covers almost a quarter of a million square feet and offer way more than mere shopping, including a Water Park with water slides over 20 feet high altogether there are 9 of these slides.

The Village Market resemble a self-contained resort you never have to leave! It is also contemporary, modern and uniquely African.

Inside The Village Market

Besides 150-plus stores, The Village Market contains:^[2] ^[3]

A 4-screen Nu Metro Cinema
2 mini-golf courses
The Wellness Club - a fitness center with top-qualified instructors
A children's playground and play areas, with supervised activities and equipment
A “Baby Room” (with professional Nanny)
A 10-pin Olympic-level bowling alley with 12 lanes
A “Bouncing Castle”
An international food court
A New Exhibition Hall
“Tin Man” pool hall, with 10 tables
Foosball
The aforementioned Monster Water Slides

Every Friday, The Village Market hosts the largest covered Maasai market in the country. It's visually colorful and lively, featuring local artefacts and crafts from traditional artists and vendors.^[4] ^[5]. Catering to every taste, The Village Market also offers “Carboot” rooftop bargain sales and numerous discount promotions.

At the opposite end of the scale, it also promotes and puts on Africa-themed art exhibitions complete with cocktails featuring everything from traditional Kenyan weaving to internationally known abstract painters and photographers to Nomadic art.^[6]

On holidays and weekends The Village Market hosts top class professional bands to perform every type of music from traditional African to jazz to classical. And there are weekly Ladies Events, held in the New Exhibition Hall.

It is a world class business center, market, resource center and entertainment complex all rolled efficiently into one and yet it feels as redolent of Africa and Kenya's history as any National Park safari experience.

World within a World

The way to The Village Market is full of greenery of Gigiri's pleasant upscale neighbourhood, and gives relaxation with sunnier skies and cooler temperatures expected of Africa, from the downtown chaos. The Village Market, is pleasingly laid out, a charming marriage of village culture and contemporary style, with relaxing water features, airy terraces and gardens full of exotic native plants to refresh weary shoppers.

The super-complex manages for all its sophisticated architectural perfection to still give visitors the feeling of being in an African village, thanks to the many circular but state-of-the-art “hut”-shaped booths and its sprawling, deceptively scattered-looking style. But it's an African village with all the discreetly modern comforts and touches we take for granted, including ATMs, 5 banks, a post office, DHL courier and multiple travel and tour companies.

The Village Market's stunning design won the International Shopping Centers' Design Award^[7] and has been made the subject of documentaries.

In fact, you could almost spend a holiday right in the Market itself - and still come home feeling like you've seen the Real Africa. And why not? Right across the road is the Village Market Hotel ( known as “Tribe”),^[8] a luxurious and restful facility decorated in a soft, earth-toned, modern, African theme that is nevertheless light and airy, and excitingly Kenyan with its touches of rich ochre reds and lush green plants^[9]. Staying in one of their 142 suites and rooms is like having the best of both worlds - the traditional Africa of dreams and stories, and upscale modern functionality.^[10] Tribe is managed by the prestigious African pride group ^[11] of luxury hotels and lodges.

Both The Village Market and its hotel twin are less than 2km away from the U.S and Canadian embassies^[12]. Both are also twenty minutes away from the city center in the Gigiri residential area, about half an hour's drive from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. And 5 minutes from a “world class” golf course.

Security And Assistance

Tourists are prized and protected. Security is discreetly high in the mall, with over 70 well-trained security staff members. Uniformed policemen from nearby Gigiri Police Station routinely guard the Market. Although one should still be vigilant about things like wallets, travelers' cheques and cameras, you can shop without a guide.

Should you need assistance of any sort, there is also an efficient and well-staffed Information Center on the second floor, ready to aid visitors in quickly finding what they need to find. Another good thing, are the directories strategically placed at The Village Market's 5 entrances.

The Shops!

The Village Market has all sorts of shops like:

Multiple designer and traditional clothing stores, boutiques and stalls
Footwear outlets and stalls
Accessories stores and stalls
A Supermarket that is part of the huge Nakumatt chain (containing everything you need from food to furniture)
A “diplomat-exclusive” supermarket whose goods are exempt from tax and duties
Hair salons
Aromatherapy
Spas
Spa Siam, a luxury establishment offering high-end “all natural” products^[13]
International eateries (Chinese, American, Indian, French, German and Italian)
Local cuisine
Drivers Education Center
Yoga classes
Dance classes
African traditional artefact stores
Tire store
Car dealership
Dental clinic
Veterinary clinic
Post office
DHL courier services
Opticians
Pharmacies
A Solar Power store
A dry cleaners
Jewellery and gift stores
Traditional clothing stores
8 electronic stores
Music store
Galleries
Boutique
Perfumery
Butchers
2 florists
A water shop (providing state-of-the-art Canadian water purifying equipment)
2 newsagents, stocking international and local papers and magazines

Among the stores, a few are particularly worth mentioning. The Blue Rhino, in connection with National Museums, offers beautifully-illustrated maps and a collection of Joy Adamson watercolor gift cards (one of these alone will make a wonderful souvenir of your Africa holiday).

You can get real imported Belgian chocolate at The Cocoa Bean, and drink Kenya coffee and eat Italian ice cream, café style, at Arlecchinos.

Books First is run by a veterinarian, and deals with pet medical care.

And Kitengela is a really unique store, since all its colorful crockery and wall plaques are made entirely from recycled glass.[1]

Semi-precious gem stones are for sale in several of the gift and jewellery boutiques.

Accessibility

It has handicapped-accessible restrooms, which are available on every level.The Village Market has also got 5 well-placed and spaced gates (never closed). As a result, the complex rarely ever experiences traffic problems. There's a huge parking lot with over 700 spaces, as well as overflow parking nearby. And it hasn't forgotten the handicapped in its parking spaces, either.

Taxi fares are reasonable, and a select group of cabs are always available and willing to ferry tired shoppers during Mall hours.

For The Children

New mothers will particularly be glad of the “Baby Room” where they can nurse their babies, or take a little rest on one of the couches. It even comes equipped with a cheerful Nanny, to help out when needed.

The play areas contain numerous attractions designed to ensnare the younger members of the family. These include, besides cheerfully colorful monkey bars and a generous sprinkling of slides:

A 9-carriage train

A “pit stop”, containing 4 electric cars

Dollhouse You will be relieved to know, watched diligently over by more professionally-trained Nannies! The Village Market is open 7 days a week, as well as holidays, from 7 a.m. to 11 pm. If you want to catch the quietest time of day, it's advisable to go there before suppertime, as it gets busier most evenings. Friday, of course, finds it especially busy, thanks to the Maasai Market - but whatever you do, don't give the Maasai Market a miss, if you can help it! Even if you're too bedazzled to buy, it's a fascinating and lively event to photograph and stroll through, with a diverse collection of truly beautiful hand-made wares from all over Africa. ^[14]

How It Came About

The Village Market is such a staggeringly wonderful place. It was born in 1992 from the dreams of two entrepreneurial and savvy brothers, Mehraz and Hamed Ehsani. These two shrewd and creative Kenyan businessmen were not daunted by almost the non-existent investor confidence caused by the political upheavals of the time. They had a vision of creating a safe, upscale yet culturally reflective super shopping, recreation and entertainment complex that would not only serve the expectations of international diplomats living nearby, but also tourists and locals alike.

They started with 10 stores, but far-sightedly planned from the beginning for expansion and growth at regular phases. By the time they opened the gates 3 years later, they managed to impress their first visitors with their stunning, state-of-the-art Water Park. And as the success of the complex snowballed, other phases smoothly unfolded.

The Ehsani brothers have never stopped thinking creatively, and encourage their staff and tenants to do likewise. As a result, The Village Market offers some unusual attractions not usually promoted in such complexes:

They encourage large corporations to use the complex for team building activities

They run special promotions, with Village “Bonus Cards”, to reward both regular shoppers and tourists, that far outstrip the average Mall promotions in their scale and scope. In particular, their legally and rigorously run Christmas and Valentine's Day promotions[14] allow lucky visitors to win complete holiday packages, expensive household wares and enviable electronic goods. It even has a “prayer area” where visitors from all countries and cultures can slip away for some quiet time. (Though the tasteful and glorious gardens full of lush, native plants also offer plenty of chances for spiritual refreshment too!) If you're going to be visiting Nairobi, this is one place you really won't want to miss! Especially when it's neighbor, The Village Market Hotel offers - like the shopping and recreation complex - such excellent value for quality.

References

External links

www.villagemarket-kenya.com - The official website of The Village Market
www.villagechat.com - Latest happenings and events at The Village Market

[1] ttp://www.wn.com/s/nairobicity/index19.html

[2] ttp://www.enterprisesgroup.com/nairobi/nairobi_cinema.htm

[3] ttp://www.lonelyplanet.com/kenya/nairobi/sights/415788

[4] ttp://www.eastandard.net/mag/InsidePage.php?id=1144001987&cid=470

[5] January 29, 2009, Fox news story said “be prepared to haggle”

[6] ttp://www.ictvillage.com/_ADM.LTContacts.asp?m=1225

[7] ttp://www.unon.org/karibukenya/chap4.php?page=8

[8] ttp://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9557&Itemid=5843

[9] ttp://www.africanpridehotels.com/tribe-the-village-market-hotel.html

[10] ttp://www.kiwicollection.com/property/tribe-the-village-market-hotel/

[11] ttp://www.africanpridehotels.com/tribe

[12] ttp://www.africanpridehotels.com/african-pride-sets-foot-in-kenya.html

[13] ttp://www.spasiam.co.th/home.html

[14] ttp://www.professionaltravelguide.com/Destinations/Nairobi/See-and-Do/Shopping/Stores/Markets/Village-Market-Masai-Market-p1687288/

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