Reviews of Ilala Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
261 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Ilala Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jul-2019, 48 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Ilala Lodge.
Leopard
0% success
Elephant
52% success
Buffalo
17% success
Zebra
17% success
Mr M & Ms C
Dublin
"Mixed results."
2 nights Arrived 13 Nov 2011
"Lovely lodge. Good food. Great staff. Ideally positioned for walk to Falls.
Big letdown was room 16. It was tired and weary looking. Needs a revamp. Bathroom has no window so extractor fan was essential. Extractor fan not working. Showerhead needed cleaning as it was spewing all over the place. Did my best to improve it and that helped. Poor shelf space in bathroom as well with the result that bathroom essentials had to be placed on ground.There was no fridge in the room. Had to ask for water as there was none. Temperature outside was high 30's! Got response from management. See below:
On behalf of the Management and staff at Ilala Lodge Hotel, I would like to say thank you for your feedback that you wrote on the guest questionnaire regarding your stay with us.
I noticed that you mentioned some problems regarding your room – Firstly the bathroom extractor fan: we do actually have them in the bathrooms but obviously yours was not working – my sincerest apologies for this and I would like you to know that it has been attended to and fixed.
Secondly regarding a mini bar - Unfortunately this is not something we supply them in any of our rooms. I would like you to know that we are looking into it for the future. Once again thank you for your feedback and if there is anything else you would like to add please do not hesitate to let me know.
Please note we were not looking for a mini bar as stated above. Merely a fridge to keep the water cool!!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe
Big letdown was room 16. It was tired and weary looking. Needs a revamp. Bathroom has no window so extractor fan was essential. Extractor fan not working. Showerhead needed cleaning as it was spewing all over the place. Did my best to improve it and that helped. Poor shelf space in bathroom as well with the result that bathroom essentials had to be placed on ground.There was no fridge in the room. Had to ask for water as there was none. Temperature outside was high 30's! Got response from management. See below:
On behalf of the Management and staff at Ilala Lodge Hotel, I would like to say thank you for your feedback that you wrote on the guest questionnaire regarding your stay with us.
I noticed that you mentioned some problems regarding your room – Firstly the bathroom extractor fan: we do actually have them in the bathrooms but obviously yours was not working – my sincerest apologies for this and I would like you to know that it has been attended to and fixed.
Secondly regarding a mini bar - Unfortunately this is not something we supply them in any of our rooms. I would like you to know that we are looking into it for the future. Once again thank you for your feedback and if there is anything else you would like to add please do not hesitate to let me know.
Please note we were not looking for a mini bar as stated above. Merely a fridge to keep the water cool!!" See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Poor
Food:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs K
Maidstone
"Ilala lodge review"
1 night Arrived 7 Nov 2011
"See previous comments earlier. [Ed: see below!]"
See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Mr & Mrs K
Maidstone
"Ilala Lodge"
1 night Arrived 31 Oct 2011
"Service levels from staff were excellent.
The meal menus were imaginative (not too many dishes) but the actual quality was not quite as good as I had anticipated having read the menu particularly when considering the price which I felt was pretty expensive." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
The meal menus were imaginative (not too many dishes) but the actual quality was not quite as good as I had anticipated having read the menu particularly when considering the price which I felt was pretty expensive." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Mrs B & Ms W
Surbiton
"Ilala Lodge"
3 nights Arrived 16 Oct 2011
"Very relaxing end to our trip. Nathanda at Zambezi Safaris, the in-house tour operators, was excellent!"
See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs S
Nevada
"Ilala lodge"
2 nights Arrived 14 Oct 2011
"There was miscommunication about our transfers to and from the airport that caused some stress. Otherwise, our stay was excellent.
The activity staff was very nice and helpful." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
The activity staff was very nice and helpful." See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs P
Harrow
"Ilala Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 8 Oct 2011
"We stayed in a downstairs room, which was a tad "tired". An upstairs room with a terrace would have been preferrable. We stayed three nights-two might have been sufficient.
Close to the Victoria Falls Hotel and we would recommend having high tea and lunch there. Servise was in general good, but there was one major slip when the wine arrived after the meal." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Close to the Victoria Falls Hotel and we would recommend having high tea and lunch there. Servise was in general good, but there was one major slip when the wine arrived after the meal." See all these reviews: 10n in Namibia; 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
R, M, A & P
W Sussex
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2011
"This is more of a hotel than a lodge. Some of the staff were "just going through the routine" in their dealings with guests, others were excellent and put themselves out to help us and sort out problems. The river cruise was good and of course its brilliant to see the Falls. The restaurant was excellent.
Our experience of the boarder crossing into Zimbabwe was not good, about 2 / 2.5 hours, two long queues and in high temperatures, at one point queuing in the full sun. In reality there is nothing that can be done about this and it is a reality that "needs to be experienced" as part of visiting Zimbabwe. It may therefore be worth giving a bit more information to prepare people for what may happen." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Our experience of the boarder crossing into Zimbabwe was not good, about 2 / 2.5 hours, two long queues and in high temperatures, at one point queuing in the full sun. In reality there is nothing that can be done about this and it is a reality that "needs to be experienced" as part of visiting Zimbabwe. It may therefore be worth giving a bit more information to prepare people for what may happen." See all these reviews: 13n in Namibia; 5n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs H
Northwood
"Lovely Ilala Lodge"
3 nights Arrived 30 Sep 2011
"Glad we chose this over Vic Falls Hotel. Much quieter and more personal. Friendly and helpful staff. Even tried Warthog Fillet which was excellent.
We were more than happy with our experience of Ilala Lodge. 'Excellent' is a difficult box to tick as there is always room for improvement." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe
We were more than happy with our experience of Ilala Lodge. 'Excellent' is a difficult box to tick as there is always room for improvement." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Family L
Sevenoaks
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 20 Sep 2011
"Excellent central location 15mins from Falls.
Excellent service from front desk staff & activities agent, slightly let down by slowish service in restaurant." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Excellent service from front desk staff & activities agent, slightly let down by slowish service in restaurant." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Mr C & Mrs M
Cheshire
"Great small atmospheric hotel"
2 nights Arrived 20 Sep 2011
"2 great days here. a lovely way to finish our holiday. Would recommend this to anyone.
Brilliant location for the falls and all activities can be booked at the hotel and include transfers." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 6n in Zimbabwe
Brilliant location for the falls and all activities can be booked at the hotel and include transfers." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 6n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
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