The Royal Livingstone Hotel Victoria Falls Zambia by Anantara

Me and my family had great experience. The staff were friendly, the food was excellent with a wide variety of options and the facilities were modern and in good conditions. There was a mistake in the total cost but they fixed it immediately. Also my family had status with Anantara and they upgraded both our rooms free of charge to the better rooms that were refurbished. The welcoming and leaving experience was one of the most iconic experiences I have had. Some staff on arrival were dance and singing while playing music to welcome us. They also did this when we were leaving too. Recommendation if eating at the restaurant facing the beach you spray insect repellent and eat with the table light off so no light attracts flies come to the table and get into your food and drinks.

What an amazing experience. This very charming hotel has a colonial flair, in a picturesque location by the Zambezi River. The main reason for choosing The Royal Livingstone for our stay in Zambia was the roaming wildlife; giraffes, zebra, impalas, and monkeys frolick around for many photo opportunities. The other plus was the complimentary access to the Zambian side of Victoria Falls, which is stunning. We stayed in the Premier Garden Balcony Room, with all the amenities that you'd need. Even prior to the stay, we were treated with luxury of choosing our pillows / drink preferences / room temperature settings. The hotel also boasts a lovely pool that is often visited by zebras grazing the grass around it, as well as a private 24/7 gym. We did not manage to experience their spa facilities this time round. There is also an activities coordinator who can help plan interesting things to do. We cannot fault the service here. From the get-go, there was upbeat drumming to welcome our arrival. Check-in and check-out were seamless and there was attention to our preferences and itinerary (shout-out to Pittard at front desk). We had a personal room butler Johnathan who was so attentive and kind with his service. A very special moment would be on our last day at the Royal Livingstone, we were treated to a surprise breakfast on the jetty due to bad weather affecting our dinner plans the previous night. Special thanks to FnB coordinator Lister for organising this and making our stay extra special, as well as Skinner and Mwangala for their exceptional service. Even Nafi (?may be wrong spelling) who is part of the maintenance team was so helpful with pointing out where the giraffes were during our stay. The food here was a delight. We had complimentary buffet breakfast at the Old Drift, as well as delicious meals from Kubu and the Old Drift, alongside very tasty cocktails and mocktails with recommendations from staff. The Royal Livingstone is highly recommended. The price is definitely on the steeper side, but we could not fault the wonderful stay in a wonderful hotel with wonderful people.

Staying at the Royal Livingston hotel was one of our greatest experiences. It is truly like visiting the Garden of Eden. It is one of the few places we have visited that feels untouched and completely surrounded by natural beauty. You can sit on your balcony hearing the Victoria Falls and see the Smoke that Thunders (Mosi-oa-Tunya, which are only a 10 minute walk away) while sipping a glass of wine watching the sunset over the Zambezi. Every evening and morning we had zebras, impalas, giraffes and vervet monkeys greeting us from only a few metres. The courteous and super friendly staff added to this amazing experience. The restaurants at the hotel are out of this world. They offer local Zambian and international cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They organised all our activities (helicopter trip in the gorge and over Victoria Falls, sunset cruise along the upper Zambezi and Tigerfish fishing) with very little notice. We lost count of how many hippos and African birds we saw - African Fish Eagle, Osprey, Openbill Stork, Pelicans, Kingfishers, just to name a few. Thank you RL team for an amazing experience and we will definitely come visit again soon.

A charming hotel with a privileged view over the Zambezi River, spacious and bright. Warm and informative reception. Spacious, clean and well-equipped rooms. Good Wi-Fi coverage. Varied and very good quality food.

Parts of the Royal Livingstone are great. The location is sublime, the welcome majestic, the food excellent, the staff generally were superb. The animals roaming the gardens were amazing. These things were all 5 star. But there were several things that were 1 star. And they were well away from a 5 star resort. The trip organisation was poor. After 4 attempts (3 with no response) we pre-booked two excursions with the hotel. Upon arrival they professed no knowledge and proceeded to try and sell them to us again. We then had emails from third party companies who had been contacted “by a friend at the hotel” trying to sell us more. The pool towels were generally torn and dirty. Very poor. The pool wasn’t overly clean. Everything at the hotel is a very expensive. For example, Livingstone airport is 20 minutes away yet they charge $150 for their taxi shuttle. Food prices are also exorbitant as is the wine. Did we enjoy it? We enjoyed the location yes. Superb. The hotel ? It’s tired. Not well managed. Living on a reputation past its sell-by date in my opinion.