Reviews of Ilala Lodge
Wildlife sightings and reviews
273 independent comments and wildlife information from our travellers who have visited Ilala Lodge and kindly agreed to share their thoughts. They do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa
Wildlife sightings by our travellers
Starting in Jul-2019, 62 of our travellers have recorded their wildlife sightings at Ilala Lodge.
Leopard
0% success
Hippo
67% success
Elephant
54% success
Buffalo
14% success
Zebra
13% success
C family
West Sussex
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 7 Aug 2014
"Lovely place and great location for Victoria Falls. Helpful staff and excellent food."
See all these reviews: 12n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Family S
Leeds
"Ilala Lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 31 Jul 2014
"A lovely lodge to relax and finish our trip with. We didn't do the boat trips as we had spoken to someone who had been to Chobe the same time as us, and not as good as there (hardly any animals and far off), so we relaxed here instead. Having looked around the town, this did seem the best.
We walked to see the Falls and we did the helicopter flight (the shorter one -12min-Flight of Angels) - it was expensive but felt worth it, just to see the Falls, so close from above-amazing. We booked it from the lodge which seemed competitively priced and felt safer in that we were staying there. Although there were other activities to choose from, we chickened out of the zip-wire rides, having watched them and the Devil's pool was not possible as the water was too high. We had done so much throughout the trip though,so it was great to chill in such a lovely lodge.
The breakfasts were great as was the outside bar to chill beside the well maintained pool. The evening menu was not that adolescent-friendly, so we only ate here once (but was delicious). We didn't find a restaurant in Victoria Falls for evening eating to recommend for families." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe
We walked to see the Falls and we did the helicopter flight (the shorter one -12min-Flight of Angels) - it was expensive but felt worth it, just to see the Falls, so close from above-amazing. We booked it from the lodge which seemed competitively priced and felt safer in that we were staying there. Although there were other activities to choose from, we chickened out of the zip-wire rides, having watched them and the Devil's pool was not possible as the water was too high. We had done so much throughout the trip though,so it was great to chill in such a lovely lodge.
The breakfasts were great as was the outside bar to chill beside the well maintained pool. The evening menu was not that adolescent-friendly, so we only ate here once (but was delicious). We didn't find a restaurant in Victoria Falls for evening eating to recommend for families." See all these reviews: 15n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Family H
Bedfordshire
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 24 Jul 2014
"A very attractive lodge. Rooms are lovely.
Staff attentive and pleasant.
Food disappointing- think they were trying too hard and it didn't come off.
It's the nearest lodge to the Falls ." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Staff attentive and pleasant.
Food disappointing- think they were trying too hard and it didn't come off.
It's the nearest lodge to the Falls ." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
K
Austria
"absolutely okay!"
2 nights Arrived 7 Jul 2014
"Can´t imagine, there is a much better place to stay (and eat) in Vic Falls. The droning of the helicopters you have to accept i the entire area, especially if you are going on a flight yourself - what I highly recommend."
See all these reviews: 6n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Sir & Lady B
UK
"ilala lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 5 Jul 2014
"The location (within easy walking distance of the Falls) and experience (good check in, tourism assistance, excellent breakfast) at Ilala suited us perfectly.
The lodge struck exactly the right note for us and we were very satisfied with it" See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
The lodge struck exactly the right note for us and we were very satisfied with it" See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs M
Arizona
"Nice Lodge"
2 nights Arrived 23 Jun 2014
"The lodge is within a short walk to the Falls which is a plus for staying here. The grounds are beautiful.
There was no directory in the rooms. We wanted a light snack for room service and in order to do so had to walk to the restaurant to review the menu to order. Seemed to defeat the purpose of room service. Even then the menu posted in front of the restaurant was not current. They had to run back and get "the current version."" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
There was no directory in the rooms. We wanted a light snack for room service and in order to do so had to walk to the restaurant to review the menu to order. Seemed to defeat the purpose of room service. Even then the menu posted in front of the restaurant was not current. They had to run back and get "the current version."" See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Feedback Response
As with all of the feedback we receive from our travellers we forwarded these guest's thoughts on to Ilala Lodge who had the following response:
"Thank you for highlighting your concerns in the feedback on your recent stay at Ilala Lodge. The telephone directory is placed on the telephone itself and gives the number to dial for all enquiries. We do offer room service and if placed using the number provided the Restaurant would have delivered the order directly to the room. We will look into the menu being incorrect at the entrance of the Restaurant as this should be up to date - please accept our apologies for this inconvenience.
Once again thank you for your valued feedback and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday."
"Thank you for highlighting your concerns in the feedback on your recent stay at Ilala Lodge. The telephone directory is placed on the telephone itself and gives the number to dial for all enquiries. We do offer room service and if placed using the number provided the Restaurant would have delivered the order directly to the room. We will look into the menu being incorrect at the entrance of the Restaurant as this should be up to date - please accept our apologies for this inconvenience.
Once again thank you for your valued feedback and we hope you enjoyed the rest of your holiday."
Mr & Mrs E
Disley
"ilala lodge review"
3 nights Arrived 10 Jun 2014
"lovely room and the staff were very good
food at breakfast and evening meals were excellent, though could be improved by warm plates when serving cooked breakfast and the coffee not so good if you went to eat later, shame as it's lovely when hot and fresher
location is very good, but it's marred by street sellers as soon as you leave the lodge area. we were harassed every time and did not explore the town or eat out as a result, and were warned it was not safe to do so after sunset. the tourist police are around but hardly effective. on our second day we were returning from our only shopping trip at elephant walk when I tripped and fell after being distracted by a seller's hands/products in front of my face, resulting in cuts, bruises and damaged glasses. we were very close to the lodge who were very concerned, offered medical help which I didn't need and a tourist police escort if we wanted to go out anywhere!
we then booked an extra tour to the crocodile farm which was very interesting, and later did the sunset cruise which gave us some good final game sightings" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
food at breakfast and evening meals were excellent, though could be improved by warm plates when serving cooked breakfast and the coffee not so good if you went to eat later, shame as it's lovely when hot and fresher
location is very good, but it's marred by street sellers as soon as you leave the lodge area. we were harassed every time and did not explore the town or eat out as a result, and were warned it was not safe to do so after sunset. the tourist police are around but hardly effective. on our second day we were returning from our only shopping trip at elephant walk when I tripped and fell after being distracted by a seller's hands/products in front of my face, resulting in cuts, bruises and damaged glasses. we were very close to the lodge who were very concerned, offered medical help which I didn't need and a tourist police escort if we wanted to go out anywhere!
we then booked an extra tour to the crocodile farm which was very interesting, and later did the sunset cruise which gave us some good final game sightings" See all these reviews: 10n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs W
Canada
"ilala lodge"
1 night Arrived 9 Jun 2014
"The ilala lodge was a comfortable place to stay and close to Victoria Falls. Being in a town, there were banking facilities, which was convenient to get local currency for the days ahead.
The restaurant served very good food and the rooms were very clean and looked over an area where elephants would wander. The Falls were a bit too far to walk, so a taxi is recommended. While there, we booked a ride on an elephant which was so exciting and received a paper with the elephant's footprint which we will frame. The staff at the lodge were friendly and helpful." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
The restaurant served very good food and the rooms were very clean and looked over an area where elephants would wander. The Falls were a bit too far to walk, so a taxi is recommended. While there, we booked a ride on an elephant which was so exciting and received a paper with the elephant's footprint which we will frame. The staff at the lodge were friendly and helpful." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 1n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Ms H
USA
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 3 May 2014
"The accommodations were very comfortable and the staff was helpful and friendly. Food was delicious with good variety and the pool, patio, bar area was both relaxing and very attractive. We appreciated that there were menu options throughout the day and evening as our family of 6 was coming from several different time zones. In addition to seeing Victoria Falls, Ilala Lodge was a great spot for us to rendezvous, regroup from travel, and get some rest before beginning our safari.
The on site office personnel were knowledgeable and helpful with regards to making reservations for attractions. We thought the elephant trail ride might be super touristy but were very pleased with the experience. The young trainer who rode with us cared deeply about his elephant and really wanted to share information with us. It was a delightful experience and a yummy breakfast.
The helicopter ride was thrilling and offered a wonderful perspective of the falls from the air. The 12 minute ride was sufficient to see the sites.
The sunset cruise on Ra Ikane was lovely. We were entertained by frolicking hippos. The drinks were delicious and plentiful. The food that was served was lacking.
The walk all around the falls was spectacular! We were in awe of the stunning beauty and power of the falls and so vey glad we decided to visit Victoria Falls." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
The on site office personnel were knowledgeable and helpful with regards to making reservations for attractions. We thought the elephant trail ride might be super touristy but were very pleased with the experience. The young trainer who rode with us cared deeply about his elephant and really wanted to share information with us. It was a delightful experience and a yummy breakfast.
The helicopter ride was thrilling and offered a wonderful perspective of the falls from the air. The 12 minute ride was sufficient to see the sites.
The sunset cruise on Ra Ikane was lovely. We were entertained by frolicking hippos. The drinks were delicious and plentiful. The food that was served was lacking.
The walk all around the falls was spectacular! We were in awe of the stunning beauty and power of the falls and so vey glad we decided to visit Victoria Falls." See all these reviews: 9n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs S
Hampshire
"superb centrally located lodge"
3 nights Arrived 14 Apr 2014
"Very friendly, centrally located, lovely room."
See all these reviews: 6n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe; 3n in Namibia
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
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