UPDATE: some redecorating & modernization occurred in 2013, phase 1 of a refurbishment project was in 2021, more phases are scheduled in 2026 and 2027

Favorable location, nice colonial atmosphere, tired rooms:

We (two families with a teen each) spent one night at this splendid colonial hotel palace. And this was during our excellent Botswana, Namibia and Victoria Falls fly-in safari guided expertly by Ultimate Safaris (now ultimate.earth, sightings included the Big 5, cheetah, wild dog and sitatunga).

The Victoria Falls Hotel is located in walking distance to the Victoria Falls. It offers wonderful buildings, beautifully landscaped gardens with a very nice pool and superbly decorated interiors.

We two families had three small double rooms that can best be described as unremarkable. The hotel is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, which did not show in the rooms’ appearance. The bed was small, the bathroom too and in addition rather tired. The air condition was antique (very loud). A renovation of the rooms was in my view more than due.

As far as the cuisine was concerned, breakfast was fantastic with an unbelievably wide selection. For dinner, you could either choose the historic dining room, the terrace or the buffet by the pool. We decided to have dinner at the beautiful terrace. Here we had only a small choice of dishes. The food was decent enough but not memorable. Service was okay but somewhat inefficient.

The Victoria Falls Hotel is ideal for an excursion to the Victoria Falls with a nice colonial atmosphere. But on our stay, the guest rooms were in an urgent need of an overhaul.



Date of stay: October 2010