Meikles Hotel: Our full report

The Meikles Hotel, located in the heart of Harare overlooking the Africa Unity Square Park, is perhaps the ...

... Zimbabwean capital’s most famous hotel. Despite its 100 years plus history, the hotel has managed to keep up to date and still offers a high-quality, international-style stay.

The five-star hotel, which celebrated its centenary in 2015, has long been a landmark for locals and travellers to Zimbabwe. Over the years, members of the Expert Africa team have stayed here many times – although more recently we have only been in for a day visit.

The Meikles’ 312 rooms are split across two multi-storey wings: the North and the South. Though still traditional in feel, they have in recent years adopted a rather modern design alongside touches of colonial décor, especially in the entirely renovated North Wing.

The rooms differ in style depending on the wing, but common to both are the Park Suites, all with great views of Africa Unity Square Park and combining luxurious comfort with personalised service. Each suite features a bedroom with private lounge and a bathroom including shower and bath. Guests in the suites benefit from a butler service, with tea/coffee delivered each morning, as well as a trouser press, and an express laundry service. Complimentary WiFi is available throughout the hotel and all rooms in both wings are air conditioned.

We tend to recommend the more modern rooms in the North Wing, especially the Club Rooms, which feature colourful hand-painted fabrics in the colours of the Zimbabwe flag. In this wing, the rooms and suites are divided into six types:

Deluxe Rooms are available with twin or double beds, and all have a bathroom equipped with either a bath or a shower, or both. A minibar, safe, telephone, air conditioning, satellite TV and a hairdryer come as standard.
Deluxe Park View Rooms offer the same facilities as the Deluxe Rooms, but they overlook the historical Africa Unity Square Park.
The elegant Club Rooms offer a very personalised service to travellers, with access to the Club Lounge. This has its own kitchen, a library, a satellite TV, tea/coffee-making facilities and a bar service. The Club manager and staff are on hand to help you with any requests.
Club Park View Rooms offer the same services and facilities as the Club Rooms, but overlook the park.
The Imperial Suite offers two separate en-suite bedrooms, three balconies with great views, a spacious lounge and a dining room. Guests also benefit from all same services as the Club Suites.
The Presidential Suite includes a sitting room, TV viewing area, dining area, private balconies, boardroom, kitchenette with supplied chef, and a main bedroom with spacious en-suite bathroom and walk-in closet. A second bedroom with its own shower room and lounge is suitable for security or administrative staff.

Rooms in the South Wing are modern and comfortable but with a colonial ambience from mahogany furnishings and muted earth colours:

Standard Rooms include either twin or double beds, a bathroom with bath/shower combination and tea/coffee-making facilities. Some rooms have interleading doors, making them suitable for family groups.
The Standard Park View Rooms include the same facilities and services as the Standard Rooms, but overlook Africa Unity Square Park.
Two Honeymoon Suites each feature a four-poster bed. Guests are presented with flowers, fruit and snack platters on arrival.
The Royal Suite is stylish and modern with two separate entrances, two en-suite bedrooms, a walk-in closet, a spacious lounge and a dining room.

At the hub of the hotel is a large main area that incorporates a tea lounge, a restaurant, two bars, a gym, a swimming pool, a shop and a business centre.

Dining at Meikles starts at La Fontaine Restaurant, which has been the hotel's main restaurant since 1958 and was celebrating its 60th year on our visit in October 2018. While it has been refurbished and updated over the years, it remains traditional in style, with an extensive, upmarket grill-house menu.

The adjoining Can-Can Cocktail Bar, which is open to hotel and restaurant guests only, is a good spot for a pre- or after-dinner drink. Its offerings include a wide range of whiskies, including a 20-year-old Benriach and an 18-year-old Jameson Special Reserve.

There is also the more casual Explorer's Club, kitted out in colonial style, where you can get pub lunches, daily specials and an array of light meals.

For afternoon tea, look no further than the Tanganda Tea Lounge, where fresh pastries, bagels and scones jostle for attention among a selection of teas and coffees, but strictly no alcohol.

Finally there’s the Pavilion Bistro. The most recent addition to the hotel’s dining scene, it’s located on the first floor with views of the hotel’s rooftop garden and on to African Unity Square Park. The alfresco terrace where guests can enjoy buffet breakfast and dinner complements an indoor dining area.

Meikles Hotel has a well-equipped gym with a range of modern equipment. After a hard workout you can cool off in the swimming pool on the 14th floor (roof) of the South Wing, which is reserved exclusively for hotel guests, or relax in privacy on the deck – perhaps with a cocktail.

Retail therapy comes in the form of a smart shop. Here you'll find a range of gifts, including fine silver pieces by Zimbabwe's renowned artisan Patrick Mavros, alongside more everyday items such as books, newspapers, magazines and toiletries.

The presence of a 24-hour business centre reveals the strong business-hotel credentials of the Meikles. Facilities include computers for guest use, a fast broadband internet connection and assistance with laptop, cellphone and conference equipment rentals.

There aren't any activities organised at the Meikles – this is very much a city hotel. That said, while Harare is a buzzy African capital with museums, theatres, parks and shops, we tend to find that there isn’t a lot to detain visitors and the hotel is generally used only as a one-night stop to make flight connections or recover from/prepare for long-haul flights.

In our experience the city centre is generally safe to explore during the day - but ask our team for the latest advice on this and, as for any country, we'd always suggest that you read the FCO advice on Zimbabwe before venturing out on your own, and consider arranging a driver-guide for the day.

Our view

For the last 30 years or so, the Meikles Hotel has set the standard amongst the larger hotels in Harare – and it continues to do so. It's in a very central location, has a good range of restaurants and facilities on site, and its newer rooms, especially the Club Rooms, are of a very high standard. For travellers wanting, or needing, to stay in the centre of Harare, this is probably the best base there is.

Tom Morris

Country manager: Zimbabwe

Geographics

Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
Ideal length of stay: Most travellers use Harare as a one-night stop, for which the Meikles is a good option.
Directions: The entrance to the Meikles Hotel is on Speke Avenue in the central business district of Harare, approx. a 25 minute drive from Harare International Airport, depending on traffic.
Accessible by: Fly-and-Transfer

Food & drink

Usual board basis: Bed & Breakfast
Food quality: Although we visited the Meikles in October 2018, we have not eaten here for some time. Since the various restaurants have been upgraded and new options have opened we would expect that most guests will be able to find something they like at the hotel. Alternatively, as the hotel is so central, guests can arrange to eat out if they wish.

For dinner, the hotel recommends budgeting around US$100 per head for a three-course meal at La Fontaine, with options ranging from salads and soups to seafood, steaks, curries and pasta. Desserts are severed from a dessert trolley.

Alternatively the Pavilion Bistro offers a buffet dinner from US$27 per head, excluding drinks.
Dining style: Individual Tables
Dining locations: Indoor and Outdoor Dining
Further dining info, including room service: Room service is available.
Drinks included: No drinks are not included in you stay here.

Children

Attitude towards children: The Meikles welcomes all children.
Property’s age restrictions: None
Special activities & services: None
Equipment: None
Generally recommended for children: We consider that the hotel is fine for children of all ages.
Notes: The Meikles is a large international-style hotel and is pretty safe for children but with an unfenced and unguarded pool and the risk of getting lost we recommend that children are supervised at all times.

Communications

Power supply notes: There are charging stations in all the rooms.
Communications: Meikles has WiFi throughout – and a business centre to help with printing and other communications.
TV & radio: All the rooms have satellite TV.
Water supply: Mains
Water supply notes: All rooms have hot and cold running water and flush toilets.

Health & safety

Malarial protection recommended: Yes
Medical care: There are various hospitals in the vicinity of the hotel which would be able to treat the majority of ailments. For anything very serious medical evacuation by air to Johannesburg can be arranged.
Dangerous animals: Low Risk
Security measures: There are guards and doormen on site 24 hours a day and the rooms are all accessed by key card.
Fire safety: There are fire hoses and extinguishers throughout the hotel.

Extras

Disabled access: On Request
Laundry facilities: There is a good laundry service. For some rooms this is charged, but some of the suites have this included as part of the cost.
Money: Each room/suite has a small electronic safe for valuables.
Accepted payment on location: The hotel accepts Visa and Mastercard, but note that card fees can be significant. As such we generally suggest making any payment in US dollars cash, although we understand that other currencies will often be accepted on a locally agreed foreign exchange rate.