While we brought you an intrepid traveller’s guide to Zimbabwe earlier this week, with the country’s independence day coming tomorrow we can’t just yet tear ourselves away from Zimbabwe, and today we visit one of the country’s most prestigious hotel, The Victoria Falls Hotel, popularly known as “the grand old lady of the Falls.”
Situated in the Victoria Falls National Park, a world heritage site, The Victoria Falls Hotel, one of only three 1S0-accredited hotels in Zimbabwe, is a member of the exclusive Leading Hotels of the World group.
Built in 1904 but recently redecorated and refurbished, this Edwardian-style five-star hotel combines the charm of the old with the convenience of the new. Only a ten-minute walk away from the famous Victoria Falls using the hotel’s private pathway, and set in lush tropical gardens with lily ponds, palm trees and semi-tropical shrubs, the hotel provides the ultimate tranquillity and seclusion.
Of course seclusion is not all you get at this prestigious hotel. There is the opulent Livingstone Room for fine dining and dancing, the Jungle Junction with its famous breakfast and dinner buffets, cocktails and afternoon tea at The Stanley’s Terrace, overlooking the Victoria Falls Bridge, connecting Zimbabwe and Zambia and ethnic entertainment in the evenings, making this an ideal stay for both international guests and locals alike.
All 161 rooms comprising 37 standard rooms, 58 traditional rooms, 48 deluxe rooms, 7 junior suites, 4 honeymoon suites, 6 executive suites and the Royal Suite at The Victoria Falls Hotel are decorated in the gracious Edwardian style of Zimbabwe’s colonial era. The Royal Suite, as the name suggests, has hosted numerous reigning monarchs over the decades as well as Hollywood royalty.
The hotel is also home to a large swimming pool, two tennis courts, a library, reading rooms and chapel are part of the complex. Golfers can enjoy 18 holes on the championship course of the nearby sister hotel, Elephant Hills Resort.
