Royal Livingstone

within sight of the top of the falls

The Royal Livingstone Hotel is located in the Livingstone area of southern Zambia.

The hotel is a large and reliable commercial operation which aspires to high levels of service.

Perhaps most notable is the check-in procedure, where you are taken to a nice comfy table for a chat with a member of staff whilst receiving a complimentary hand massage.

Entering the main building it is impossible not to be impressed with the colonial style architecture, which may be completely faux, but really is surprisingly good. The atmosphere of the main public spaces really is very elegant.

Passing by a vast reception desk, to the right there is a huge restaurant, whilst to the left there is a comfortable tea lounge and an impressive bar.

These areas look out over beautiful grounds, with lawns running down to the river.

Outside the restaurant there is a large swimming pool, with a riverside spa and popular sunset terrace beyond, from which you can usually see the spray rising from the falls and hear the thunder of the water in the chasm below.

A range of further facilities include a gym, curio shop, activities centre, bank and a further cafe.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at The Royal Livingstone Hotel is in a total of 173 rooms in three specifications …

• Standard Luxury Rooms : x169 : Modestly sized rooms with either one large or two small beds.
• Junior Suites : x3 : About twice the size of the above and with a separate lounge area.
• King Presidential Suite : x1 : Slightly larger than the above, but otherwise pretty similar.

Rooms all have the usual hotel facilities such as phone, minibar, hairdryer, television, air-conditioning and sliding patio doors out onto a veranda looking in the direction but the falls, the view being restricted by trees.

Activities

The Royal Livingstone Hotel provides access to the following activities, not all of which are included in the room rate …

• visits to the Victoria Falls
• motorboat safari
• canoe safari
• white-water rafting
• vehicle safari
• scenic flights

The Victoria Falls is a very popular location and is, from a transport perspective, the central hub for safari in the southern part of the continent. The area therefore tends to feature in a lot of trips.

The usual stay duration at Livingstone is 2-4 nights, usually at the front end of a trip, since this is such an easy place to slide gently into Africa.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Livingstone is generally considered to be during the May-Oct dry season, when safari in the reserves of Zambia and Zimbabwe is strongest.

During the early part of this season, the flow rate over the falls should be high, possibly with the spray obscuring the views.

Towards the end of this season, the flow rate over the falls can reduce to not much more than a trickle, which can significantly reduce the majesty of the experiences.

Generally, we tend to recommend that you focus your trip on the best time for safari, rather than worry too much about the falls.

Getting there

The international airport at Livingstone is the main hub for safari in the region, with regular direct connections to Johannesburg, Kruger and other key locations. There may also be some long haul connections.

From the Livingstone Airport it is a drive of around 30 minutes to the lodge.

Most of the safari areas in this region are connected to the falls by light aircraft. The main exceptions are Hwange (which can also also be easily reached by road) and Botswana (which is usually accessed by road to the airport at Kasane, with onward flights from there to the camps).

can be combined with a very wide range of safari areas