Reviews of Avani Victoria Falls
(85%) From 208 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Wet, Wet, Wet at the Falls
We started our holiday here with two nights / one full day to 'chill out' after the overnight flight. So we didn't have very long to enjoy the activities on offer, or to explore the surrounding area properly.
We enjoyed visiting the Falls by ourselves, so that we could explore in an unhurried fashion. We got very wet! There had been a lot of rain, and the Falls were probably at their best. Well worth seeing.
We chose to go on a suset cruise on the African Queen. This trip was organised very efficiently by the hotel and the boat trip was very luxurious, unlike any other we have experienced. We were fortunate to be directed to the top deck of he boat, and so escaped the noisy chatter of the other two decks, and experienced not onlly very good views of the countryside and wildlife, but a very informative commentary from the very knowledgeable captain on the wildlife of the area.
We also sampled the large hotel swimming pool and spent a happy hour in the bird hide watching weaver birds and kingfishers.
We are not normally fans of large hotels, but we couldn't fault this one. The food was particularly good and varied. The wild animals wandering loose around the campus were an interesting bonus, and the Falls really were just five minutes walk from our bedroom.
It would have been good to have at least one more day to explore the surrounding area. I did not feel we visited Zambia, we basically had a hotel experience (we were ferried to and from the hotel for the river trip). This was due to our lack of time in the area, and our choice of activities during the time we had.
perfect location for visiting Victoria Falls
The location of this hotel is excellent for visiting the Falls, which was our main reason for being there. Our room was at the back of the hotel which gave us a wonderful view of the spray rising from the Falls, with rainbows included ! Our room was small but adequate.
The main buffet restaurant gave a good choice of foods. We ate one night in a smaller restaurant on-site and although the food was o.k. ,the restaurant looked a littlle shabby and in need of re-decorating. All hotel staff were friendly and helpful.
Zambezi Sun review
Good hotel, ideal location for the falls.
Afternoon tea at the Royal Livingstone is a lovely experience, but a must do is the helicopter flight over the falls. Do the 30 minutes rather than 15.
Something to remember, the water levels of the falls is seasonal - Nov/Dec is "low tide".
Zambezi Sun
Excellent location.
Good service.
Nice choice in restaurants.
Rooms not particularly special or large but are perfectly adequate for any normal requirements. Over all not to flash but does a good job at the basics.
Back to the real world!
Even though one stays at the Sun, it is easy to get the shuttle to the Royal Livingstone and this is what we did each day as it had a lovely piano bar, and generally more facilities.
We were a bit niggled that upon arrival we went to the pool bar for a drink - one menu said a glass of wine was
USD 4.25 and another USD7. when we queried it, the waiter took the cheaper menu away. We wondered if there is a weekend price! Wine in the Royal was cheaper!
The international buffet dinner in the Sun was USD 35 whereas silver service dinner overlooking the Zambezi at the Royal was USD28 - no contest. Wonderful sun deck for a glass to watch the sun go down.
The Sun was very comfortable and I would definitely stay there again but drink and eat at the Royal.
Zambezi Sun - Ideal Falls location
The Zambezi Sun is in a geat location for the falls and is only a short walk. The facilities at the hotel are good and the staff are pleasant and friendly. The only downside was the service in the restaurants which was quite slow despite there being a lot of staff around, slow to take the order and slow to bring the food.
Read more about the whole tripZambezi Sun
The choice of food at their buffets is excellent although we felt that compared with a visit two years ago there was a slight reduction in overall quality.
The prices for extras (drinks) seemed quite expensive.
Great location for the falls
Bit of a culture shock staying here after the bush camps!
A large hotel, with very good facilities. Great location for viewing the falls as they were only 5 minutes easy walk away. The staff at the activities centre were helpful, although we think it would have been better to pre book some of the activities as many were fully booked for the whole time we were there, we did however manage to go rafting & on an elephant ride.
The nocturnal noises were some what different to the bush, the hippo and hyena calls were replaced with the strains of pop music!
The food was very good with plenty of choice, room service was also a good value option if you were not so hungry. We ate at Squires restaurant one evening which was also a very good meal. Bottled water was very expensive here, we found a bottle of "sprite" was half the price of water!
Large hotel but comfortable
A large hotel with a mixture of clients from businessmen, south African 'weekenders' and tourits from many different countries.
Clearly different from the lodges previously visited or perhaps lodges upstream.
Neverthless made a change and I think I would do the same again.
