Reviews of Avani Victoria Falls

"Great location for visiting the Zambian side of the Victoria Falls, as we did in the late afternoon and early the next morning.

Personally we prefer the views from the Zimbabwean side, but we did not have sufficient time to visit both sides this time.

We were impressed that on arrival the chef and manager were called to discuss food intolerances in relation to dinner." See all these reviews: 21n in Zambia

"Avani has the best location in Livingstone for visiting Victoria Falls, solid food options (service can be a bit slow though) , and nice grounds. However, the rooms could be improved a bit-- it was dark, had a small bed and small leak in our shower. But, easy access to the falls, a great staff, and daily encounters with giraffe, zebra, impala, etc on the grounds still made it a memorable stay." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"This was a fun place to stay. The two main selling points for this hotel is that it's so close to the falls and also it has a crazy amount of wildlife in the grounds. Giraffe, baboons, crocodile, antelope, mongoose and zebras all roam around. I really enjoyed this.

The Mois-oa-Tunya national park wasn't the best park that I visited but the walk with rhinos was v special. I also did the mircoflight over the falls which was utterly terrifying." See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia

"Avani has a superb location right within the national park surrounding the Victoria Falls. If you listened you could hear the roar of the falls from the hotel and it was just a very short walk to see them (entrance included when you stay at the hotel).

There were animals everywhere around the hotel: vervet monkeys, baboons, impala, zebra and giraffes!! (Oh and crocodiles... but don't worry, they didn't join us for drinks and dinner unlike the other animals).

The breakfast was a great spread with some variety every day (and tasty fresh pancakes, waffles, omelettes etc.). We also enjoyed the great stone-baked pizzas and an African buffet with entertainment at the Boma. Mmm... crocodile steaks! Great drinks list and super friendly staff everywhere too.

We walked around the falls on the Zambian side getting totally drenched and then took ourselves over the border to Zimbabwe for great views from the other side (all you need is a KAZA visa, lots of space for passport stamps and a bit of confidence... but there are tour buses if you prefer).

At the hotel, we organised a game drive and walk to see the white rhino. Phenomenal seeing a 2 month old baby rhino at such close range accompanied by the rangers who protect them. 200% recommend! We also went on a wonderful Zambezi river trip, combining a small boat cruise where we saw an elephant on one of the islands, and then a lovely sunset drifting along in the larger boat. A lot of food and wine included! Two of us also went horse riding in the national park.

The hotel wasn't the best at providing information about the excursions (including the basics like where to be when, and what's included) but I think the Zambian way is just to chill out and go with it and once we got that down we were fine!!

If you're going to Victoria Falls, I wouldn't even consider staying anywhere else!! (Unless it's the 5* Royal Livingstone on the same site... and even then I preferred the theming at Avani)" See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia

"Great place to stay when visiting Victoria Falls. There is access on hotel property to viewing area to see the Falls without having to pay extra national park fee. But the nicest advantage to staying here is your access to the Royal Livingstone Hotel just a short golf cart ride away. The Royal Livingstone offers a big upgrade on the meals and grounds.

So save yourself some cash and stay at the Avani to sleep, which is very comfortable. Take your meals at the Royal Livingstone. Free transport offered back and forth to the Avani guests. It’s also really fun to see the zebras and giraffes wandering the hotel grounds freely. Definitely makes you smile.

Also want to give a big thank you to Tom, the Concierge when I was there. Helped me organize a day trip to Hwange National Park across the border in Zimbabwe, even though it was not one of their “sanctioned” activities. I asked if it was possible any other way and he reached out to another contact and made it happen. Very thankful to get the help to make that happen.

It was an extremely long day and a lot of time traveling to and from, but worth the time and effort. Saw a huge pride of lions that I did not get to experience anywhere else on the trip." See all these reviews: 7n in Zambia; 3n in Botswana; 2n in Namibia

"This was our 6th visit and we had a room at back near the pond as we have had several times before.

Although there is no view you get the best sound of the Falls from these rooms.

Service bit slow, breakfast had a good selection." See all these reviews: 7n in Malawi; 4n in Zambia

"The hotel was nice and I have no complaint about it, but I much preferred my safari bungalows. It felt a bit too "civilised". The visit to the falls was beautiful, especially as I went there at the opening in the morning and had the whole area to myself for about one hour.

Only downside : the entrance fee to the falls was included with my hotel booking, I understand, but the hotel did not give it to me and I had to pay 20 USD to access the falls." See all these reviews: 9n in Zambia

"Enjoyable two nights stay which was enough to spend time at the falls and also go on a game drive one morning and a boat trip in the evening watching elephants playing in the water.

Rooms were comfortable and food ok although the beef was more like buffalo it was so tough, they even brought me another knife so that I could try to hack my way through it which was a shame because everything else was fine." See all these reviews: 20n in Zambia

"Sept 27+28: Lovely resort within the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Wildlife Park. Surreal to see impalas and monkeys all over the lawns and zebras drinking at the pool! Grounds are beautiful - there is a little nature trail with hide to watch birds in a small lagoon. Easy walk to the Zamibian side of Victoria Falls with free access to the park. Falls were completely dry but still interesting. Baboons grooming and walking right by you on the walkways.

Lots of security and staff who would walk with you or drive you in a golf cart to the gate entrance to the park or to the sister resort Royal Livingstone. Easy walk to the Royal Livingstone, except for having to share the sidewalk with giraffes! Beautiful sunsets over the Zambezi from the Royal Livingstone.

Breakfast buffet was plentiful and delicious - staff were very friendly. I did walk over the bridge to the Zimbabwe side of the Falls. Park entrance was $30USD. More people trying to sell you things on the walk over, which was a bit farther than I thought, but completely doable. The Falls were spectacular though and worth the hike!

I also walked into Victoria Falls, which has a lot of shops and restaurants whereas the Avani and Royal Livingstone are not near the commercial center of Livingstone. I would definitely recommend staying at the Avani!" See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia

"We chose the Avani for its convenience to Victoria Falls, and we weren't disappointed. We arrived early afternoon and were able to walk to the Zambian side of the Falls very easily from the hotel The following day we walked from the hotel across the Victoria Falls Bridge to see the Falls from Zimbabwe. We enjoyed the walk and queuing up with the locals to go through immigration, but that mightn't be for everyone. The Falls were certainly worth seeing from both countries, even though there was little water this year.

Our room on the first floor at the Avani was very good. There was plenty of variety at the buffet breakfast. We had the buffet at the Boma the first evening with a wide variety of dishes, including a action of Zambian dishes, Pan African dishes as well as international dishes. There was live music and performances of local dances.

The following evening we used the hotel's shuttle to the Royal Livingstone, the sister hotel, to have a drink and snacks, watching the sunset over the Zambezi. We then had dinner at the Avani Pool bar.

All the staff we encountered were very pleasant and helpful." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia