Victoria Falls Safari Lodge

After a few days at the Elephant Hills we were sure that we couldn't be more satisfied as far as hotels were concerned - we were wrong.
The Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is an up market game lodge just a short way away from our previous stay. The views from the rooms and restaurants are simply spectacular ( we were booked into the Kudu Suite ).
The hotel overlooks a large water hole that attracts dozens of animals of all types but the highlight of my stay was an early morning walk with resident guide, John. We were 20 minutes into the walk and he was explaining the cultural medicinal uses of the various plants to me when we came across a rather mean looking lone buffalo about 20m away. We froze in our tracks, John unslung his rifle -just in case - and we stood there staring at each other with only a few bushes separating us. After a while John said I could take a picture or two of the buffalo, but my movement seemed to generate more interest from the beast and we decided it was time to retreat. At this point I was shown a tree to head for and John made a loud noise to give the buffalo a fright. The buffalo turned and ran away a few metres before turning around again to face us - needless to say, by this time we had retreated a considerable distance and were hiding behind more trees. To my relief, the buffalo lost interest and moved off in the opposite direction and left us to continue our walk. A short while later we came across a small herd of buffalo but they were more interested in their mud bath and didn't even notice us.
The rest of the walk was relatively uneventful yet very interesting and John shared a wealth of information with me and all too soon we were back at the hotel in time for a late breakfast

We had this hotel on a bed and breakfast basis but were always gone for breakfast on an Elephant Back Safari or a Game Drive. The Lodge has suffered from lack of visitors and the inability of everyone to get all of the items they need to maintain the atmosphere they desire. We were there at a reduced cost obtained by my sister who is a South African resident--there are tour packages for South African Residents otherwise it is too expensive.

Unique Quality: Right on a watering hole. We had not seen any Elephants on our game drive, until we were having dinner one evening and several Elephants came to the Watering Hole by the Lodge to drink.

The staff was helpful in downloading a full memory card to CD (Cost was $7 USD) but worth letting us get more photos.

Dinners were included in our package but did not include any drinks (alcoholic or nonalcoholic and a 16 oz Lemonade was $6 USD).

They use all American or South African Currency (US Currency is stronger--otherwise you get a bad exchange rate).

The decor & designing are fabulous, the service is superb, and you couldn't ask for a more strategic site when it comes to viewing game.

Right in front of 'Boma' restaurant, there is an open viewing area looking out at a huge watering hole, where the animals start approaching around dusk.

Unique Quality: The views of the watering hole, and the whole natural, unspoilt scenery.

Directions: Very close the the hotel district

One of the nicest places that i have yet stayed in. the staff is very friendly and always trying to go out of their way to please you.

Unique Quality: the dining room overlooks the watering hole which is absolutely fantastic as you can sit and watch the animals visiting the watering hole while you are enjoying your sundowner, or breakfast.

I stayed at the Victoria Fall the second time I visited Victoria Falls. The hospitality I had received the time before when I stayed at the Hange Lodge was not nearly the same. They hotel people saw us as dollar signs instead of customers. I went into the gift shop when I first arrived and only bought a few things because I didn't have all my money with me. I came back in the store an hour later and they had increased the price of their merchandise four times. Our food also became more expensive because they learned that we were from the United States. It made the trip somewhat frustrating.

Unique Quality: The acctual accommodations were quite nice. The rooms had beautiful color and furniture. It was also fun to come back to your villa and have thirty baby warthogs around. It was a lot of fun.

The side of the villas would role up so you could watch the wildlife around you. Definitely cool.