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
Mrs S
Denver
"Ilala Lodge review"
1 night Arrived 9 Apr 2014
"The Lodge was very clean and quite comfortable. The staff were personable and ready to help or answer questions. We enjoyed dinner our evening there, and the food and service were good. Transportation to the Lodge and to the airport arrived as we had been told.
Being able to walk to the Falls was a plus for us." See all these reviews: 4n in Zimbabwe
Being able to walk to the Falls was a plus for us." See all these reviews: 4n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
The A family
Florida
"Vic Falls - lovely property, very comfortable"
2 nights Arrived 2 Apr 2014
"The lodge is very comfortable, well kept, and the grounds are beautiful. The outside seating area and yard are very nice and scenic for enjoying breakfast (which was very good), dinner, or just a drink by the pool (vey nice). The service was friendly and helpful.
You can see Victoria Falls from the backyard. We saw elephants walking through the trees. We saw baboons very close, in the backyard out of our patio doors in the room.
We took a short bus ride to see Victoria Falls. The Ilala is walking distance to the Victoria Falls hotel.
We would certainly recommend the Ilala and stay there again." See all these reviews: 5n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
You can see Victoria Falls from the backyard. We saw elephants walking through the trees. We saw baboons very close, in the backyard out of our patio doors in the room.
We took a short bus ride to see Victoria Falls. The Ilala is walking distance to the Victoria Falls hotel.
We would certainly recommend the Ilala and stay there again." See all these reviews: 5n in Zimbabwe; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Mr C & Mrs H
Canada
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 6 Mar 2014
"Ilala Lodge is a good place to stay. It's very close to the falls, and it's easy to walk there. The town itself was not really the kind of place we wanted to spend any time in. Way too commercial, way too many people trying to sell you things at every street corner. In addition, the various activities that are available are incredibly expensive for what you get.
But the Falls themselves are spectacular and interesting. Well worth a day's visit.
Ilal is an old colonial place. The rooms are fine, the service is adequate (after 7 days in camps in Botswana the service at Ilala was pretty impersonal). The food in the restaurant is very good." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
But the Falls themselves are spectacular and interesting. Well worth a day's visit.
Ilal is an old colonial place. The rooms are fine, the service is adequate (after 7 days in camps in Botswana the service at Ilala was pretty impersonal). The food in the restaurant is very good." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Mr B & Ms C
Vancouver
"Ilala Lodge review"
2 nights Arrived 6 Mar 2014
"We found the Victoria Falls in general a culture shock after being in the unspoilt uncommercialised world of the Botswana concessions. We felt somewhat gouged by high single entry entrance fees to the Falls. The falls are in themselves totally spectacular and no disappointment.
The environs have become touristy and expensive. It is difficult to cross the border into Zambia without a big cost. The zone needs to become more tourist friendly so that people will want to stay there.
Ilala Lodge was okay. The internet did not work very well. The reception staff were not consistently pleasant and helpful. The dining staff were mostly very nice and the breakfasts were very good." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
The environs have become touristy and expensive. It is difficult to cross the border into Zambia without a big cost. The zone needs to become more tourist friendly so that people will want to stay there.
Ilala Lodge was okay. The internet did not work very well. The reception staff were not consistently pleasant and helpful. The dining staff were mostly very nice and the breakfasts were very good." See all these reviews: 7n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average
Location:
Good
Service:
Average
Activities:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Ms V
Chelsea
"Illala Lodge wonderful"
2 nights Arrived 31 Dec 2013
"Super hotel - couldn't get nearer to the falls.
Lovely vibe, super helpful staff - Martin Vaughan the manager very helpful and attentive (no relation) good pool, fantastic piano player" See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
Lovely vibe, super helpful staff - Martin Vaughan the manager very helpful and attentive (no relation) good pool, fantastic piano player" See all these reviews: 6n in Namibia; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Ms E & Mr J
Spain
"Right next to the Victoria Falls."
3 nights Arrived 21 Nov 2013
"The room was just OK."
See all these reviews: 21n in Namibia; 10n in Botswana; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Good
Mr & Mrs T
Shropshire
"Returning from safari"
1 night Arrived 27 Oct 2013
"I have already written at length about Ilala at the start of our safari. [Ed: See below!]
It is an excellent place to end a safari, being calm, clean and a great place to adjust back to reality." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
It is an excellent place to end a safari, being calm, clean and a great place to adjust back to reality." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs T
Shropshire
"Relaxing place to start and end a safari"
1 night Arrived 21 Oct 2013
"We stayed here just before and just after our safari into Zimbabwe. It has very pleasant rooms which overlook a lawn that is open to the National Park and there were warthogs and mongooses walking past only feet from our patio door. It was the ideal place to prepare for a safari, and a delight to return to to wash off that safari dust and return to the real world!
The breakfasts were delicious and offered a lot of variety, although I was at a loss as to find marmalade for my toast! Not that this was really a problem as there was a wide range of dishes available.
There was also free internet here although on arrival it seemed to be somewhat temperamental. Something quite common in Africa. The staff were very helpful and accommodating with regard to staying a little after check out time and looking after bags etc.
The location is excellent. Very convenient for both the Falls and the shops and it is right next door to the banks and post office." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
The breakfasts were delicious and offered a lot of variety, although I was at a loss as to find marmalade for my toast! Not that this was really a problem as there was a wide range of dishes available.
There was also free internet here although on arrival it seemed to be somewhat temperamental. Something quite common in Africa. The staff were very helpful and accommodating with regard to staying a little after check out time and looking after bags etc.
The location is excellent. Very convenient for both the Falls and the shops and it is right next door to the banks and post office." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr & Mrs K
Maidstone
"Ilala Lodge review"
1 night Arrived 20 Oct 2013
"Being only a moderate sized hotel we felt more relaxed than if staying at a much larger hotel.
Service levels were good." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
Service levels were good." See all these reviews: 8n in Zimbabwe; 2n in Botswana; 1n in South Africa
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Good
Service:
Excellent
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Ms N
Idaho
"Convenient location."
2 nights Arrived 14 Oct 2013
"Meals were excellent, if expensive; many choices of game on menu. Eating outside on the balcony was a treat and service was excellent. Room was ordinary, but the wildlife just outside our French door was marvelous for our first introduction to Africa (other than airport hotel). There was a family of wart hogs frolicking for our entertainment, along with meercats.
They were excellent in trying to set up activities for us, but the girl in charge of booking spoke so softly she was impossible to hear. We were able to a arrange a trip to Victoria Falls very spontaneously as he was about to leave with a prebooked group. Although falls were close to hotel, it was just too hot to walk.
The main drawback was the very steep staircase with dangerous footing. Pool beautiful. Nice to have air conditioning as we adjusted to heat. Very close to shops, but the young guys descending on us to buy stuff was tiresome; they were very persistent. Service was excellent and they allowed me direct access to refrigerator for my medicine." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
They were excellent in trying to set up activities for us, but the girl in charge of booking spoke so softly she was impossible to hear. We were able to a arrange a trip to Victoria Falls very spontaneously as he was about to leave with a prebooked group. Although falls were close to hotel, it was just too hot to walk.
The main drawback was the very steep staircase with dangerous footing. Pool beautiful. Nice to have air conditioning as we adjusted to heat. Very close to shops, but the young guys descending on us to buy stuff was tiresome; they were very persistent. Service was excellent and they allowed me direct access to refrigerator for my medicine." See all these reviews: 8n in Botswana; 3n in Mozambique; 2n in South Africa; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good
Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Average
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
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