Nairobi, March 27 -- The exit of the Hilton Hotel in 2022 from the central business district of Nairobi came just a year after Hotel Intercontinental Nairobi had closed shop, the two going down with a rich history of a combined 107 years.

Established in 1967, only four years after Kenya had attained independence, the growth of the five-star InterCon along City Hall Way would in many ways coincide with the young republic's milestones.

A kilometre away from the InterCon along the same street, Hilton Nairobi came up two years later. Founding President, Jomo Kenyatta was on hand to officially open the hotel.

For more than five decades, the ''siblings'' would dominate the hospitality industry through different socio-political seasons, survi...