Virgin Upper Class, Nairobi to London

At Nairobi airport, your Upper Class ticket entitles you to use the 'premium' lounge, which Virgin shares with other airlines. It is pretty basic. There is one slow Internet terminal, lots of sofas, some meagre snacks, a narrow selection of drinks, the odd newspaper, a couple of TVs showing CNN and some very ugly chandeliers. The cafe near gate 14 has better food, better decor and you get a view of the military helicopters parked on the runway. At the gate, you have to go through security a further two times, but Upper Class passengers can jump the queue and the Kenyan airport staff are very helpful and friendly.

Hotel Serena, Kenyatta Avenue, Nairobi, Kenya

The kind of smart, upmarket hotel that makes it far too easy to forget that there are people living in squalid slums across much of this city. The fittings and furniture, mostly made out of a dark wood, are plush, while the rooms are large and comfortable. The upper floors even have a nice view of a tree-lined avenue leading up to Nairobi's shiny business district. Although some of the kit, such as the showers and the TVs, is a bit dated and temperamental, there is WiFi and complementary fruit, wine and a welcome drink. The Serena also has extensive, well-tended gardens and an abundance of friendly, laid-back staff. Service is leisurely, forcing you to unwind and slow down, so order food and drinks well before you get hungry and thirsty. For 'fast' food, such as burgers, pasta and sandwiches, head for the tables around the pool, but the very large cheese and bacon burger can be tepid and dry, while the accompanying chips are too salty. Still, this is a chilled-out spot to have one of the excellent and filling mango, banana or other tropical fruit smoothies. And the evening buffet in the restaurant has a wide selection of decent food. Particularly flavoursome are the Indian dishes, such as the prawn tikka masala. All in all, a good hotel, but, at $350 a night, the Serena is also expensive and highly indulgent by Kenyan standards. Like most international hotels in the developing world, guests, of course, occupy a bubble, heavily-insulated from real life in the surrounding city. 6/10

British Airways, World Traveller Plus, London Heathrow to Nairobi

Closer to economy than business class, World Traveller Plus essentially means more food and drinks, wider seats and greater legroom than economy. The main meal is served on one tray and includes a starter, such as a mackerel salad, a choice of two main courses, such as a spicy and tasty chicken tagine, and a fairly-appetising pudding in a supermarket-style plastic pot. With your meal, you get a miniature bottle of wine, which is just about drinkable. There are also free soft drinks and beer, newspapers, night bags, blankets and miniature pillows.

But getting any sleep on this eight-hour flight is tough as the seats don't recline very far and you end up lying on your back. In any case, the breakfast service wakes you up about an hour before you land, which is too early given it only takes 10 minutes to eat. You might get five grapes in a plastic bag, a cheese and cucumber croissant, a cranberry yoghurt drink and some coffee. At Nairobi, you leave the plane ahead of the economy passengers, enabling you to get near the front of the fairly fluid visa and passport queues. But baggage reclaim is slow and will probably take the best part of an hour. There are plenty of cabs and it only costs about $20 to take the 45 minute ride into town. 5/10