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Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge
Ilala Lodge

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

Showing 251-260 of 273
Duration
Arrival date
Family L
Sevenoaks

"Ilala Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 20 Sep 2011
"Excellent central location 15mins from Falls.

Excellent service from front desk staff & activities agent, slightly let down by slowish service in restaurant." See all these reviews: 9n in Namibia; 4n in Botswana; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Average
Mr C & Mrs M
Cheshire

"Great small atmospheric hotel"

2 nights Arrived 20 Sep 2011
"2 great days here. a lovely way to finish our holiday. Would recommend this to anyone.

Brilliant location for the falls and all activities can be booked at the hotel and include transfers." See all these reviews: 18n in Namibia; 6n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Mrs M
Luxembourg

"some problems at Ilala Lodge"

1 night Arrived 17 Sep 2011
"I arrived at Ilala Lodge late in the afternoon and had a positive first impression. My room was spacious, clean with everything you might need in the bathroom. I made reservation at their well known Palm Restaurant and enjoyed an excellent dinner. But, some hours later, the problems startet with cramps etc. Fortunately, my transfer to the airport was scheduled around noon, that left me some time to recover. But it also meant, that no morning visit of the falls and no shopping was possible.

After this unpleasant experience I can recommend Ilala Lodge Hotel, but not their restaurant." See all these reviews: 10n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Dr G & Dr E
UK

"Ilala Lodge review"

1 night Arrived 16 Sep 2011
"Back to the land of luxury after "roughing it" in the bush. So nice to have a bath!! Couldn't beat the location.

Slightly shocked at the American food prices though..." See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr W & Ms W
Worcs

"Ilala Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 29 Aug 2011
"Perfect for a short stay at Victoria Falls. Uncomplicated with helpful and polite staff.

If a little pampering is required then visit the Victoria Falls Hotel for tea and cakes." See all these reviews: 11n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Good
Service:
Good
Activities:
Good
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Good
The D family
London

"Ilala Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 19 Aug 2011
"Very comfortable friendly hotel with good food. Our 2 rooms were separated by a connecting door which was perfect for a family & we had a small patio which looked out over lawns populated with warthog & baboons.

The spray from the Falls was just visible in the distance & the walk to the Falls was 10-15 minutes. There was a helpful receptionist available to book trips & my daughter did a zipwire over the Zambezi & a gorge swing which she loved.

We visited the Victoria Falls game park & used a guide recommended by our guide in Vundu called Charles. He couldn't take us himself as we booked at short notice but we went on a night drive with one of his team which was excellent. The guide was very knowledgeable." See all these reviews: 7n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Excellent
Facilities:
Excellent
The G family
Finchley

"Ilala Lodge review"

3 nights Arrived 25 Jul 2011
"Lovely hotel with a relaxed atmosphere in a good location very close to the Falls. The staff were friendly and polite, the service excellent and the rooms were both comfortable and quiet each with an outdoor veranda. The boys loved the pool even if it was cold. It was nice to be able to have informal lunches in the bar area by the pool and everyone gave the burgers top marks.

It was great being able to hang out on the veranda and watch the Baboons, Vervet monkeys and the Warthogs on the lawn below. The Baboons were particularly entertaining. The breakfast was excellent and the evening meal good but lacking in variety. If I was there again I would try out a few other places for evening meals. We would definitely return to Ilala Lodge and highly recommend it.

The extra activities (not included in our package ) brokered through an agent with a representative based at the hotel were over priced. We did not understand that they was a deal of three activities for the price of two as this was not explained. However, we chose the sunset cruise down the Zambezi which was really enjoyable and well worth the cost. If I went again I would try other agents in the town to get a cheaper deal or I would read the pricing more carefully. Others who spotted this gave good feedback on walking with lions and riding elephant. We just chilled out and visited the Victoria Falls hotel which has an interesting colonial history and an excellent view of the Victoria Falls Bridge with the Falls behind." See all these reviews: 14n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Mr & Mrs F
St Albans

"A wonderful place to stay"

3 nights Arrived 25 Jul 2011
"We were delighted to be staying in Ilala Lodge rather than the Victoria Fall Hotel. We visited the latter for afternoon tea and that was enough. Ilala was more "African", smaller and more exquisite.

The room was excellent and the tea/coffee making facility was a bonus (we could even use tap water for the kettle!). We were glad to be on the ground floor which, we think, provided the best experience. The food was good, though not as good as that on the Zambezi Queen.

They were very helpful organising the helicopter ride and everything went to plan. It was lovely to sit in the outside bar and hear the roar of Victoria Falls in the distance. Equally we loved seeing its "smoke" from our bedroom window." See all these reviews: 3n in Namibia; 3n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Excellent

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Excellent
Activities:
Excellent
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Facilities:
Excellent
Mr E
Berkeley

"Ilala Lodge review"

2 nights Arrived 1 Jul 2011
"This is a very nice lodge within a 10 minute walk of the falls. The room was very comfortable, and the front desk was helpful. Bathroom had plenty of hot water and good water pressure. They did screw up my transfer from the airport, but they gave me a credit and an apology, so they did resolve the issue. Breakfast was included in my rate and was very good. Dinner at the restaurant was good.

The location is excellent – shopping and the Victoria Falls Hotel are all within a few minutes walk. They also have a computer in the lobby for free internet access. Wireless access is available for a fee.

My room was on the ground floor and had french doors that led out into the backyard of the hotel. Of interest, there was a small sounder of warthogs munching on the grass out there every day." See all these reviews: 14n in Zambia; 2n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Good

Location:
Excellent
Service:
Good
Facilities:
Good
Rooms:
Excellent
Food:
Good
Drs N & S
Switzerland

"close to the falls"

3 nights Arrived 27 Jun 2011
"Good place to stay for it's central position, no other noteworthy characteristics" See all these reviews: 12n in Zimbabwe
Experience Report
Overall Rating:
Average

Location:
Good
Service:
Average
Rooms:
Good
Food:
Good
Showing 251-260 of 273
93%
273 reviews of Ilala Lodge by travellers since August 2007
Overall rating by our travellers
194
69
9
1
0
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