A warthog family lives on the grounds.
And wild elephants drink at the water hole in front of the lodge’s Buffalo Bar.
But we were focused on what was inside our room at the Victoria Falls Safari Club in Zimbabwe, Africa.
Spoiler alert! Contents of this Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, hotel review
Hotels in Victoria Falls – The KAZA Univisa makes it easy to visit the falls from both Zambia and Zimbabwe
Victoria Falls Safari Club review – An exclusive hotel within the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge
Things to do in Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls Safari Club review: Checking in
We discovered an in-room Nespresso machine, basket of complimentary sunscreen and mosquito lotion, and pillow menu.
The room also featured free WiFi, air conditioning and blackout drapes.
And there was a minibar with complimentary wine and beer.
And best of all – a hair dryer!
What, the hair dryer doesn’t excite you?
It would if you’re coming from a walking safari in the Zambian bush.
No matter how fabulous and luxurious our Zambia safari was, the bush camps we stayed in were totally off-the-grid (solar-powered with only radio contact to the base camp).
And so we relished the luxury of checking in afterward at the Victoria Falls Safari Club.
“Beware of the crocodiles!” read the sign just beyond our balcony.
But inside this lovely Victoria Falls 5-star hotel, all was civilized – and we soaked it all up for three welcome nights.
Hotels in Victoria Falls
Many visitors on safari in Zambia, Botswana and/or South Africa plan an overnight stop at the world-famous Victoria Falls – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World.”
The falls lie on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Hotels on the Zambia side of the falls
Traditionally, visitors have stayed on the Zambia side in Livingstone.
On a previous visit to the African continent, we bedded down at The Royal Livingstone – a delightful colonial-style resort where you can walk to the falls.
Hotels on the Zimbabwe side of the falls
But now that Zimbabwe has opened up to tourism again, safari-goers also have the option of staying in lodges in Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe side.
KAZA Univisa
A single 30-day visa – the KAZA visa (or KAZA Univisa) – allows visitors to travel to both Zambia and Zimbabwe (and back and forth between the two countries) for $50 USD.
So this visit, with our passports stamped with this visa, we stayed on the Zimbabwe side of the falls at the Victoria Falls Safari Club.
Victoria Falls Safari Club
The 20-room Victoria Falls Safari Club is found on the same grounds as the older and larger Victoria Falls Safari Lodge.
That lodge has been voted the best resort hotel in Zimbabwe for the last 20 consecutive years by the Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents.
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You can use all the facilities of the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, like its candlelit Makuwa Kuwa restaurant for dinner. (Perhaps kudu stew with date salsa or bacon-wrapped crocodile tail?)
But the Club is more exclusive and you get a more personalized stay.
For example, you can enjoy complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea and sunset cocktails and canapés on the Club’s viewing deck, where elephants and giraffes can be spied drinking from a nearby water hole.
Victoria Falls Safari Club suites
And the rooms?
Well, they’re not really rooms, they’re so much bigger – referred to as suites (which they are).
Spacious, bright and light, the suites have sisal rugs on tile floors. Multi-colored paintings of African ladies in traditional costume decorate the walls.
Big sliding glass doors open onto large balconies (but we were warned not to leave the doors open as baboons could enter).
They’re extremely comfortable – among the best accommodation in Victoria Falls.
Service is excellent, because you have access to a concierge and reception desk just for guests in the Club’s 20 rooms.
Things to do in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe side
View the falls!
Of course, the main reason people go to Victoria Falls is to visit the amazing curtain of water, almost a mile wide, that crashes down from a height of over 300 feet.
6 Fun facts on Victoria falls
- Victoria Falls are also known as “Mosi-oa-Tunya” or “The Smoke That Thunders.”
- Scottish missionary and explorer, David Livingstone, was the first European to “discover” or see the falls (on November 16, 1855).
- The falls are the largest sheet of falling water in the world (one-and-a-half times wider and twice the height of Niagara Falls).
- Victoria Falls is almost a mile wide and crashes down more than 300 feet.
- There are 19 viewing points – 15 on the Zimbabwe side and 4 on the Zambia side.
- In his diary, Livingstone said of the falls: “scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.”
Vulture Culture
Less dramatic perhaps, but equally interesting in its own way, is the “Vulture Culture” experience at the Lodge.
The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge feeds hundreds and hundreds of wild vultures daily; you learn more about these creatures (they’re endangered and need protection in Africa), then watch them fly in and rip into meat carcasses.
Supporting the community…
Both the Club and the Lodge are operated by Africa Albida Tourism, a Zimbabwean-based hospitality group of hotels, lodges and restaurants in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in southern Africa.
We were interested to know that Africa Albida Tourism is lauded for its environmental efforts and supports the local community in a number of ways.
8 Ways Africa Albida Tourism gives back
1) They donate to Environment Africa, which determines where the local need is most urgent. For example, they recently made a large donation of bedding and mosquito netting to rural villages.
2) When the Safari Lodge was built in 1994, an environmental architect was consulted to reduce the environmental impact. No mature trees were cut and all trees removed during construction were transplanted to the surrounding Zambezi National Park – a move unheard of at the time.
3) Africa Albida is a member of Pack for a Purpose, a non-profit organization which encourages travelers to fill left-over space in their suitcase with pens, deflated soccer balls, medical supplies and the like for the local community.
4) The Safari Lodge helped form the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit, which now employs about 17 scouts. The unit has removed more than 22,000 wires snares, saved the lives of nearly 200 animals and arrested some 700 hardened poachers. The lodge pays the salaries for six scouts and contributes supplies for their work.
5) Africa Albida Tourism provided accommodation, generators and other support for American doctors, surgeons and nurses who set up a temporary eye clinic for local patients.
6) Along with other Victoria Falls town members, the Safari Lodge contributed to the construction of an electric fence around the town’s garbage dump, as three elephants had died from eating all the plastic there.
7) Two now-elderly local wood carvers had been arrested and re-arrested many times for cutting down trees in the national park for their carvings. So several years ago, the Safari Lodge gave the carvers sustainable wood and a place to sell their giraffes and other carvings (at the Boma restaurant). The elderly gents are still seen at the Boma every night with their wares for sale.
8) The Lodge is a member of the international Green Tourism organization. (Green Tourism is the world’s largest sustainable certification program; it’s certified over 2,000 hotels and tour operators.) Both the Club and the Lodge offer natural insect repellents in the rooms and use eco-friendly cleaners.
Booking info
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Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.
Car rental: Renting a car is often one of the best ways to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies so you get the best rates.
Travel insurance: SafetyWing is designed for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads. It covers medical expenses, lost checked luggage, trip interruption and more. We also have and recommend Medjet for global air medical transportation.
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Photo credits: 2, 5, 9 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Remaining images Victoria Falls Safari Club
About the authors
Luxury travel journalists and SATW, NATJA and TMAC “Best Travel Blog” award winners, Janice and George Mucalov are the publishers of Sand In My Suitcase. Between them, they’ve traveled to all 7 continents. See About.
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Anda
Sunday 29th of July 2018
Ah, Janice, what a treat! I'd love to visit Victoria Falls even if I were to stay in a more modest hotel. I would be curious to know how do these falls compare to Iguazú Falls.
Janice and George
Sunday 29th of July 2018
Years ago, we also visited the Iguazu Falls on the Argentina/Brazil border and stayed there for a couple of nights (on the Brazil side). Those falls were spectacular too! How do you compare? So hard... Both are some of nature's most awe-inspiring sights...
Robert Stirling
Thursday 12th of April 2018
So we can live together, see the sights and do good things. What an attractive place to stay!
Janice and George
Thursday 12th of April 2018
Yes, you can feel good staying at the Victoria Falls Safari Club, in more ways than one :-).