Reviews of Ilala Lodge
(92%) From 169 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
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Ilala Lodge review
Great location, only a short walk from the Falls.
Everyone at the hotel was very friendly. Food was good, but recommend at least one meal at the Victoria Falls Hotel, which is a short walk away. Spent a morning birding in Zambezi NP with Charles Brightman, which was excellent.
Helicopter flight was great, though do not think the longer flight is worth the extra money.
Great place to stay
We'd eaten well at Ilala in the past, but this was our first stay there and it was brilliant. This is the closest hotel to the falls, just a few minutes' leisurely walk.
Our very pleasant room was on the lower floor with glass doors to a small patio and the gardens. The odd warthog wandered past. Service was faultless and staff went the extra mile, offering to run errands for us and keen to ensure we had a comfortable and relaxing stay. Dinner was okay, but breakfast was absolutely superb.
Lovely pool and terrace, with quiet, shady courtyard to escape the heat.
Building work on the new wing was almost complete and it seems as though the hotel will double in size. I hope the 'small and friendly' atmosphere is retained.
Ilala Lodge review
A comfortable, old world hotel . Warthogs and monkeys roaming on the lawn. If the wind was in the right direction the spray from Victoria Falls could be seen. The constant buzz from the sightseeing helicopters was a bit of an irritant but that would apply to anywhere in the township of Victoria Falls.
Read more about the whole tripLuxury close to the falls
In my view this is one of the best, and certainly the closest place to stay when visiting Victoria Falls. At the time of out visit the water flow was at its lowest but there was still quite a lot of spray.
It's a trade-off in that you don't see the full majesty of the falls, but you can take clear photographs and you can walk along the length of the falls without getting soaked.
Watch out for the vervet monkeys around the small café near the falls; they'll pinch your crocodile wrap off your plate in an instant!
Nice stay at Ilala Lodge
We stayed one night at Ilala Lodge, our last night in Africa on this trip. We asked to change rooms, as our room was located next to where they were building the new hotel wing, which went flawlessly. Location is excellent, as it is only 10 min. away from the Falls by foot. Rooms are not that new any more, but very much OK for a one night stay, and even longer.
Staff at breakfast were friendly and helpful. Breakfast was good.
Overall, Ilala Lodge is a good place to stay if you want to visit Vic Falls, offering good value for money.
Best place to stay at Victoria Falls
Friendly & helpfull staff, clean comfortable rooms, good food in a beautifull open air restaurant and close enough to the falls to see the spray.
All this plus Warthogs on the lawn.....fantastic!
Great location to see Victoria Falls
Ilala Lodge is a lovely hotel which is located right near Victoria Falls.
Staff were friendly and helpful and dinner at the hotel restaurant was very nice.
Victoria Falls is only a 10 minute walk away which makes it a good choice for those without much time to spent in the area
Ilala Lodge review
Great location close to the Falls and the craft market. Also short walk to The Victoria Falls Hotel for high tea.
Very helpful and friendly staff.
Food was excellent.
Great place to stay
Great place to stay. Excellent location in town but very near the falls (all walking distance).
Staff very helpful and friendly and booked activities for us and charged them to room along with dinner making everything very straightforward. Best pool of all the places we stayed, amazing food and loved the river cruise that we booked through them.
Only downside was the workmen working right outside our room as we were on the ground floor - so couldn't really use the balcony outside area. But had a lovely time here and would definitely recommend
Convenient Location in Vic Falls
The hotel was nice - nothing special but the people were very helpful. I do wish it had been easier to get change, but every time we asked them to break a $20, you were lucky to get anything smaller than a $10, which doesn't make negotiating when shopping very easy, since many of the merchants don't seem to have change either!
We were told meals were on our own here, but turns out breakfast was included, not just a buffet, but also hot breakfast options, which was a nice surprise. The rooms included water, but since ours wasn't ready when we checked in, we ended up buying it at the restaurant for lunch, which was a little annoying since we wouldn't have done that had we known.
Great location - a quick walk from the shops and a short bus ride to all of our excursions (Vic Falls, sunset cruise, helicopter tour) and the hotel did a great job coordinating all of our transportation and helping us identify some other activities.
We ate dinner at the restaurant one night and it was very tasty, although the room was a little on the chilly side as they leave the doors open to the outside so if you get cold, bundle up!
The room itself was adorable, with little doors to an outdoor "patio."
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
