Reviews of Avani Victoria Falls
Wildlife sightings and reviews
230 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Avani Victoria Falls and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in May-2018, 33 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Avani Victoria Falls.
Zebra
91% success
Elephant
43% success
Hippo
41% success
White Rhino
19% success
Mr & Mrs J
Norfolk
"2 days r&r"
3 nights Arrived 9 Feb 2016
"Very nice hotel. Comfortable and good food.
Only downside was that we had booked two rooms and these turned out to be at opposite ends of the corridor. My sister was by herself and felt uncomfortable being so far away so we had to ask for a room closer to ours. This was organised but it seemed odd that they had initially given us rooms so far apart - especially as the hotel was quite empty and they managed to find a room two doors down." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
Only downside was that we had booked two rooms and these turned out to be at opposite ends of the corridor. My sister was by herself and felt uncomfortable being so far away so we had to ask for a room closer to ours. This was organised but it seemed odd that they had initially given us rooms so far apart - especially as the hotel was quite empty and they managed to find a room two doors down." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 3n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mrs & Mr D
Sydney
"Zambezi Sun review"
2 nights Arrived 9 Feb 2016
"We didn't have high expectations, but were pleasantly surprised. It is an excellent location a really easy stroll to the falls, it was very well maintained and the pool is excellent.
The only suggestion we have is DONT eat in the restaurant for the evening meal. Our agent had said to go to the Royal Livingstone and we did that on the first night - excellent food and service. We tried the restaurant on the second night... it was a debacle. Who would have thought that Potato and Bacon Chowder was in fact potato salad with lettuce and tomato. The other options were all chicken and then were was chicken on the mains. They conceded that the low numbers in the restaurant had caused them problems. We should have eaten at the restaurant around the pool !" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 6n in Zambia; 5n in Botswana; 3n in Rwanda; 1n in South Africa
The only suggestion we have is DONT eat in the restaurant for the evening meal. Our agent had said to go to the Royal Livingstone and we did that on the first night - excellent food and service. We tried the restaurant on the second night... it was a debacle. Who would have thought that Potato and Bacon Chowder was in fact potato salad with lettuce and tomato. The other options were all chicken and then were was chicken on the mains. They conceded that the low numbers in the restaurant had caused them problems. We should have eaten at the restaurant around the pool !" See all these reviews: 7n in Tanzania; 6n in Zambia; 5n in Botswana; 3n in Rwanda; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Average
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Poor
Facilities:
Good
Mr & Mrs M
Brenchley
"convenient"
2 nights Arrived 3 Oct 2015
"convenient location for the falls"
See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location:
Good
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Average
The G Family
Middx
"Excellent resort, marred by mosquitos"
2 nights Arrived 2 Oct 2015
"The overall experience was fantastic. However, the only thing which let this hotel down was the amount of mosquito's in the room. We were absolutely bitten to shreds by the mosquito's and this was after using wrist and ankle strap repellents, sprays recommended by the hotel and our own Jungle Formula. There was also a plug-in mosquito repellent which the hotel provided and we kept the patio door closed throughout our stay.
The main bar/pool area was fine, as was the breakfast area, but the room was a haven for mosquito's. I would recommend the hotel fumigates the rooms twice daily, when the room is turned over in the morning and once before bedtime." See all these reviews: 2n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
The main bar/pool area was fine, as was the breakfast area, but the room was a haven for mosquito's. I would recommend the hotel fumigates the rooms twice daily, when the room is turned over in the morning and once before bedtime." See all these reviews: 2n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Poor
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms L
Leeds
"Average stay in a rather corporate hotel"
2 nights Arrived 21 Sep 2015
"We wished we had booked the Royal Livingstone Hotel. The Royal Livingstone is the sister hotel to the Zambezi Sun and there is a free shuttle between them.
As soon as we arrived we realised that the Zambezi Sun had a rather corporate feel to it. The bars and rooms are all inward looking to the inner garden area and so we could have been anywhere in the world. The Royal Livingstone on the other hand has wonderful views over the Zambezi River where we saw our first hippo whilst having a gin and tonic in the riverside bar, wonderful. I realise this is a review of the Zambezi Sun but unless your budget is really tight than I think the Royal Livingstone is worth the extra cost just so you can have breakfast with that wonderful view of the Zambezi.
We tried to change our booking but unfortunately all the rooms in the Royal Livingstone were fully booked. We had dinner there and it was wonderful." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia; 2n in South Africa
As soon as we arrived we realised that the Zambezi Sun had a rather corporate feel to it. The bars and rooms are all inward looking to the inner garden area and so we could have been anywhere in the world. The Royal Livingstone on the other hand has wonderful views over the Zambezi River where we saw our first hippo whilst having a gin and tonic in the riverside bar, wonderful. I realise this is a review of the Zambezi Sun but unless your budget is really tight than I think the Royal Livingstone is worth the extra cost just so you can have breakfast with that wonderful view of the Zambezi.
We tried to change our booking but unfortunately all the rooms in the Royal Livingstone were fully booked. We had dinner there and it was wonderful." See all these reviews: 12n in Namibia; 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia; 2n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Average
Service:
Average
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Average
The B family
Leics.
"Zambezi Sun. (Avani)"
2 nights Arrived 30 Aug 2015
"Fantastic position to the falls. A large and less intimate hotel but with plenty of space and a lovely pool to relax after the 5 AM starts!!"
See all these reviews: 10n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr T & Mrs G
UK
"Zambezi Sun review"
1 night Arrived 22 Aug 2015
"Please see the review of our first 3 nights at Zambezi Sun - now taken over by a new company and called Avani Resort."
See all these reviews: 4n in Zambia; 2n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Mr T & Mrs G
UK
"A 3 night stay followed by 1 night later"
3 nights Arrived 17 Aug 2015
"We were picked up promptly at Livingstone airport and the driver gave us a good introduction to Zambia on our drive to the hotel. We were greeted by a quartet of lads in costume singing and dancing to new arrivals. This gave a great atmosphere to start with! We enjoyed watching the zebras and impala roaming the grounds in amongst the iron work animal statues dotted around the grounds.
Our rooms were clean and very well decorated. Good facilities. During our single day/night, stay, the electric power frequently went off but was indicative of the whole area - not just the hotel - but quickly restored.
Breakfast was good with a wide choice and good friendly service.
The pool was cleaned each morning and checked regularly during the day as leaves etc kept floating into the water. There were frequent checks." See all these reviews: 4n in Zambia; 2n in Namibia
Our rooms were clean and very well decorated. Good facilities. During our single day/night, stay, the electric power frequently went off but was indicative of the whole area - not just the hotel - but quickly restored.
Breakfast was good with a wide choice and good friendly service.
The pool was cleaned each morning and checked regularly during the day as leaves etc kept floating into the water. There were frequent checks." See all these reviews: 4n in Zambia; 2n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Facilities:
Good
Mr g
Illinois, USA
"met expectations"
2 nights Arrived 13 Aug 2015
"selected hotel for its proximity to Victoria Falls ( although views of Falls from hotel property were somewhat limited). An unexpected benefit was the fact that the hotel was located within a National Park and there was abundant wildlife that were cited while walking thru the very spacious grounds of the hotel and its "sister hotel" located nearby.
Wildlife cited while strolling included baboon families (en route to Victoria Falls viewing area), zebra, giraffe and impalas. A member of the grounds staff was extremely helpful in walking us to the area where the zebra and giraffe were grazing.
The entire hotel staff ( reception staff, security people, grounds staff, wait staff) were extremely friendly, helpful when needing assistance, and appeared sincere in their efforts to provide outstanding service to the hotel guests. Hotel rooms were clean, and while not luxurious, were very adequate and met our expectations. The breakfast provided as part of the room cost very extensive and food quality was good/excellent.
We had a late evening snack (no dinners because of other scheduled activities outside the hotel property) at poolside which was good/excellent. We had a snack at the pool one afternoon--service was a little slow but this was only a very minor inconvenience." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Wildlife cited while strolling included baboon families (en route to Victoria Falls viewing area), zebra, giraffe and impalas. A member of the grounds staff was extremely helpful in walking us to the area where the zebra and giraffe were grazing.
The entire hotel staff ( reception staff, security people, grounds staff, wait staff) were extremely friendly, helpful when needing assistance, and appeared sincere in their efforts to provide outstanding service to the hotel guests. Hotel rooms were clean, and while not luxurious, were very adequate and met our expectations. The breakfast provided as part of the room cost very extensive and food quality was good/excellent.
We had a late evening snack (no dinners because of other scheduled activities outside the hotel property) at poolside which was good/excellent. We had a snack at the pool one afternoon--service was a little slow but this was only a very minor inconvenience." See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 2n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr P
France
"Zambezi Sun + Royal Livingstone"
4 nights Arrived 3 Aug 2015
"Although we had initially booked the Zambezi Sun, we were lucky enough to be upgraded to the Royal Livingstone. The location of the 2 hotels is perfect for being close to the Falls & all activities.
The service is also very good in both hotels. However if you plan to spend sometime at the hotel, then the RL has perfect river views. The whole frontage of the hotel (restaurant, bar, pool) & all the rooms are directly overlooking the Zambezi river. You can see Hippos in the river & Elephants crossing from the other side, inside the grounds of the hotel Zebra, Giraffe & Impala are also roaming free.
This is definitely worth paying the extra for." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
The service is also very good in both hotels. However if you plan to spend sometime at the hotel, then the RL has perfect river views. The whole frontage of the hotel (restaurant, bar, pool) & all the rooms are directly overlooking the Zambezi river. You can see Hippos in the river & Elephants crossing from the other side, inside the grounds of the hotel Zebra, Giraffe & Impala are also roaming free.
This is definitely worth paying the extra for." See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
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