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Hotel Class: 
4 Stars - 3 Reviews and 178 Opinions
411 Livingstone Way, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
of people enjoy staying here
181 Opinions
grets
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The hotel is really super, with very friendly staff. We are shown to room no. 26 on the same level as all the facilities: bar, restaurant, pool, reception etc. Far enough away to not hear any noise from the bar in the evening (not that there is any, we discover later) but near enough to be able to stumble back at night.
The room is nice and large with French doors opening out onto the terrace with steps leading down to the garden and further into the National Park. I think tehre must be a fence to keep wild animals out, but I can't actually see it.
The lodge is quite small, only 30 rooms or so, nice thacthed buildings with an open-sided restaurant.
There's a small gift shop and a travel agent.
Ilala Lodge Photo: The lodge from the air - taken from helicopter
safardreams
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Very pretty and quiet place. You have the FALLS near by. Also, the week before there were a couple of ELEPHANTS at the front door. Eating the flowers!! Thats what I like!
Unique Quality: Good food, friendly people. They can set the options and fun for you. The place is still going. Bought by some European and kept it going. Wonder if my friend PETE is still there.
I can't say anything about the price. It was part of a package. I don't believe too expensive.
Ilala Lodge Photo: Would Stay Again!
safardreams
Helpfulness
Nice quiet rooms. Sometimes elephants come by. Pretty grounds. This picture grabbed
my eye. It's not a painting or drawing. The
whole thing is wood!! It looks like it's in
3-D!! Very nice.
Ilala Lodge Photo: WOULD HAVE BOUGHT IT!
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The rooms are great and the lodge arranges some brilliant trips. They also have one of the best nightclubs in Victoria Falls here. This Lodge is only 5 mins walk from the Victoria Falls themselves and the staff are some of the most helpful I have come across.
The hotel is really super, with very friendly staff. We are shown to room no. 26 on the same level as all the facilities: bar, restaurant, pool, reception etc. Far enough away to not hear any noise from the bar in the evening (not that there is any, we discover later) but near enough to be able to stumble back at night.
The room is nice and large with French doors opening out onto the terrace with steps leading down to the garden and further into the National Park. I think tehre must be a fence to keep wild animals out, but I can't actually see it.
The lodge is quite small, only 30 rooms or so, nice thacthed buildings with an open-sided restaurant.
There's a small gift shop and a travel agent.
Great food - a mixture of African and european dishes. Friendly service.
Apparently the campsite has now been taken over by the Ilala Lodge who also run this restaurant which is located on the site.
We decide to have dinner at the hotel tonight, and the food is absolutely superb. David has chicken supreme, while I brave the crocodile in a cream sauce with mustard. Delicious, as is the dessert of ginger ice cream with mango sauce. We have two bottles of Pinotage to wash it down with.
I wake at 01:30 with terrible stomach cramps, followed by severe sickness and diarrhoea, obviously the revenge of the crocodile.
This group of corrugated tin shops in a U shape is to your left off the main road just past the train tracks if you are heading from the Airport to the Falls. (See Specific Directions below). This market has everything you want and they will find it if you need it. I got a Noah's Ark carved from Teak wood that is about 2 feet 2 inches long for $35 US. It did not come with the animals but they had plenty for purchase. We bargained them down form $120 US. They asked us for $10 for a little musical toy that they gave us for $2 US (Still a bit high in my book). They are hard bargainers but smile and shake your hand after completing a bargain.
I also acquired a Kudu Horn Shofar that they found and made for me and took to my lodging place since it had to be finished. I paid $45 US for the horn--BTW US Dept of Fish and Wildlife said Kudu is not endangered or protected so I was okay. USDA only cares that the product is finished--that is why I asked the person I purchased it from to sand it and coat it. I did not pay for it until it was dropped off since I had no guarantee that I would ever receive it.
They seemed to prefer South African Rand to US Dollars but wanted to say that there are only 6 rand to the US Dollar since I paid some in Rand and some in US Dollars--I told them no--that 6 rand to the Dollar was last years exchange rate and that it is currently 7.19 rand or so to the dollar.
Coming from Victoria Falls airport you pass Wimpy's Restaurant on the left in Vic Falls and then cross train tracks and there is a strip mall on your left with a phone card shop and the ILALA Lodge at the far end. At the beginning of the strip mall there is an entrance/little access road that leads you to this market behind the strip mall--you follow the little access road as it winds behind the strip mall and curves to the left and then you will see the U shaped tin roofed shanty market on your right They will make any wood item you want--if you bring a picture, they will carve it and deliver it. They even found my kudu horn. I bought a creche set, carved bread baskets, beaded necklaces, etc. Anything wood--they can make if you want more than the carved animals, the drums, the other wood items like masks, etc. On average, I paid 20-35% of their initial asking prices--just because you might pay more for the item in the USA doesn't mean it would cost anywhere near that price in Zimbabwe.
Ilala Lodge
Good food, friendly people. They can set the options and fun for you. The place is still going. Bought by some European and kept it going. Wonder if my friend PETE is still there.
I can't say anything about the price. It was part of a package. I don't believe too expensive.
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Address: 411 Livingstone Way, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
