Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel
Highlights
- Big Five private game reserve with resident black rhino
- 15 minutes' drive from Victoria Falls and the town centre
- Only 16 suites — intimate, quiet and never crowded
- 1871 gourmet restaurant, one of the finest tables in Victoria Falls
- Waterhole in front of the main lodge, busy with game day and night
- Large garden swimming pool and sun terrace
- Spa treatments in-suite or outdoors
- Wine cellar stocked with South African and international labels
- Gardens rich in birdlife
Information
- Lodge type: Luxury boutique hotel
- Location: Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Lodge size: 16 luxury suites
- Recommended stay: 3–7 nights
- Malaria risk: Yes — Victoria Falls is a malaria area; anti-malarial prophylaxis is recommended, and the risk peaks in the November–April rains
- Getting there: 15 minutes' drive from Victoria Falls town; about 20 minutes' drive from Victoria Falls International Airport; about 45 minutes from Harry Mwanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone, Zambia, including the border crossing
The Stanley & Livingstone, A Luxury Boutique Hotel Located Just 15 Minutes Away From Victoria Falls
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel is a 16-suite luxury hotel on the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, 15 minutes' drive from Victoria Falls and the town centre. Since December 2024 the hotel has traded as Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel, the first Anantara property in Zimbabwe. It is one of the very few places at the Falls where you can pair the thunder of the Zambezi with a genuine Big Five safari without packing a bag in between.
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel sits within a Big Five conservation area that borders Zambezi National Park and is a designated Intensive Protection Zone for black rhino. The main lodge looks straight out over a waterhole where giraffe, zebra and antelope come down to drink throughout the day and well into the night. You get the hush of the bush at breakfast and the roar of the Falls by mid-morning — a superb combination, and a rare one this close to town.
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel suits honeymooners, couples, solo travellers and families equally well. The 1871 restaurant, the gardens, the spa and the large swimming pool give each day a gentle rhythm between excursions to the Falls and the river.
Stanley & Livingstone is part of our selection of the very Best Lodges In Victoria Falls.
Rooms and Suites
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel has 16 luxury suites, each with a king-size bed (twin configuration on request), a lounge area, a spacious en-suite bathroom with shower and freestanding bath, and a furnished private terrace facing the gardens. The décor nods to the age of the great explorers — glowing lanterns, wooden shutters and leather travelling trunks — with every modern comfort underneath. Two sets of interleading suites create private two-bedroom accommodation, ideal for families or friends travelling together.
Room facilities:
- Air conditioning
- Lounge area
- Minibar
- In-room safe
- Satellite television
- Free Wi-Fi
Cuisine and Wine
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel's 1871 gourmet restaurant takes its name from the year Henry Morton Stanley found David Livingstone at Ujiji, and dining here is as much a highlight as any activity in the area. Breakfast on the terrace with game at the waterhole, a long lazy lunch, high tea, or dinner by candlelight in the gardens — every meal is an occasion. The wine cellar holds a fine selection of South African and international wines. Special dietary requirements are catered for with advance notice.
Facilities
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel is built around a luxuriously appointed thatched guest area at the heart of the property. Here you will find the front desk, where the day's activities are booked, along with the lounge, library, bar and dining rooms, all with free Wi-Fi.
The bar and wine cellar pour an excellent range of South African and international wines, beers and spirits, and room service is available whenever you want to spoil yourself. A large swimming pool and sun terrace sit within beautifully kept gardens — the perfect retreat on a hot Zimbabwean afternoon.
Shared shuttles run to Victoria Falls town and to Victoria Falls International Airport.
Activities
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel offers guided game drives and nature walks on its own Big Five reserve, where black rhino are the sighting everyone hopes for. Beyond the reserve, every one of the Victoria Falls activities is within easy reach: guided tours of the Falls, sunrise and sunset cruises on the upper Zambezi, white-water rafting in the Batoka Gorge, helicopter flights over the spray, and the bungee from the Victoria Falls Bridge.
Closer to home, walk the reserve with binoculars and camera in hand, or settle in beside the waterhole and let the birdlife and plains game come to you.
Activities with a difference include:
- Fishing expeditions on the Zambezi
- Crocodile ranch tours
- Community tours
- Afternoon tea at the historic Victoria Falls Hotel
- A walk across the Victoria Falls Bridge
Child Friendly
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel welcomes children of all ages, with family-friendly accommodation, meals and activities, and a kids' club for younger guests. The two sets of interleading suites give families a private two-bedroom set-up, and the waterhole turns breakfast into a wildlife lesson. Victoria Falls lies in a malaria area, so take travel-clinic advice before travelling with small children.
Spa and Wellness
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel's small team of expert therapists offers spa treatments in the privacy of your suite or outdoors in the gardens. The menu covers massages, body wraps, facials, manicures and pedicures — the perfect antidote to a morning in a rafting boat or a soaking on the rainforest trail.
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel FAQs
Where is Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel?
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel stands on the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve in north-western Zimbabwe, a Big Five conservation area bordering Zambezi National Park. The hotel is a 15-minute drive from Victoria Falls town and the Falls themselves, and about 20 minutes from Victoria Falls International Airport. Guests arriving via Livingstone in Zambia should allow roughly 45 minutes, including the border crossing.
Is Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel the same as Anantara Stanley & Livingstone?
Yes. Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel has traded as Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel since December 2024, when Minor Hotels brought the property into its Anantara brand as the group's first hotel in Zimbabwe. The hotel keeps its 16 suites, its 1871 gourmet restaurant and its setting on the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve.
Can you see black rhino at Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel?
Black rhino live on the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, the setting of Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel, and the reserve is a designated Intensive Protection Zone for the species. Guided game drives from the hotel cover the Big Five, while giraffe, zebra and antelope regularly drink at the waterhole in front of the main lodge, in full view of the terrace and pool.
Is Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel good for families?
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel welcomes children of all ages. Two sets of interleading suites create private two-bedroom accommodation for families, and a kids' club keeps younger children busy while parents enjoy the spa or a Zambezi cruise. Victoria Falls lies in a malaria area, so families with small children should take travel-clinic advice before booking.
Is there malaria at Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel?
Yes. Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel lies in the Victoria Falls area of Zimbabwe, which is a malaria risk zone, with the highest risk during the November to April rainy season. Anti-malarial prophylaxis is recommended, so consult a travel clinic or doctor before you travel. Insect repellent, long sleeves at dusk and the air-conditioned suites all help reduce bites.
When is the best time to stay at Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel?
The best time to stay at Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel depends on what you want from Victoria Falls. February to May brings the Zambezi at full flood, with thundering water and drenching spray. June to September offers clearer views of the Falls, cool dry days and good game viewing on the private reserve. October and November are hot, with the year's lowest water levels.
In Conclusion
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel solves the classic Victoria Falls dilemma: stay in town and give up the wildlife, or stay deep in the bush and give up the convenience. Here you have both — black rhino on the reserve, the 1871 restaurant at the table, and one of the greatest waterfalls on earth fifteen minutes down the road. With only 16 suites, it is intimate enough for a honeymoon and generous enough for a family.
The Falls change character through the year, so timing matters. Come between February and May to feel the full force of the Zambezi in flood, or between June and September for clear views, cool days and the best game viewing on the reserve. A stay here pairs beautifully with the elephant herds of Hwange National Park, a few nights on the Chobe River in Botswana, or the wild walking country of Mana Pools.
Uyaphi.com has been planning tailor-made African safaris from Cape Town since 1999 — 27 years of matching the right traveller with the right lodge, season and route. There are no booking fees and no credit card surcharges, just honest advice from people who live and breathe this continent. Tell us your dates and what you dream of seeing, and we'll build your Victoria Falls stay around you.
Rates from US$ 551.00 Per person per night
Stanley & Livingstone Boutique Hotel Rates
Per person per night sharing
Rates are in US Dollar
*Rates may vary according to season
- Accommodation
- Breakfast only
- Shared Victoria Falls Airport or Livingstone Airport transfers
- Shared Victoria Falls town transfers
- VAT and Government levy
- Emergency medical evacuation
- WiFi
- All flights
- Optional transfers
- Travel Insurance
- All beverages
- Cigars and cigarettes
- Visas
- Gratuities
- Telephone calls
- Laundry
Book This Zimbabwe Lodge Now
Zimbabwe Travel Topics
The Perfect Zimbabwe Honeymoon
Most honeymoons are an exercise in doing very little at considerable expense, and there is a great deal to be said for that. Zimbabwe simply arranges better company for it. Elephants come down to drink below the deck while you are still on your first coffee; the guide turns out to know which lion crossed the airstrip in the night; dinner happens on a Zambezi deck while the light goes orange and then goes altogether. Nobody puts Zimbabwe at the top of the shortlist — Kenya and the Cape get there first — which is precisely why the lodges are quieter and the guiding is better than it needs to be.
Top 10 Must See Attractions In Victoria Falls
Livingstone named it after a queen who never saw it, and the Tonga had been calling it Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders, for a very long time before he turned up. Theirs is the better name. Five hundred million litres a minute go over the edge in full flood, which is enough to soak you through a hired raincoat before you are halfway along the Zimbabwe footpath, and enough to hide the falls entirely if you have come in the wrong month. There is also a rock pool at the very lip of the drop that people swim in. We will come to that.
5 Best Lodges In Victoria Falls
You can see the falls properly in ninety minutes. The rest of the week happens wherever you are sleeping, which makes the choice of lodge matter more here than almost anywhere else in Zimbabwe. Some of them are town hotels with a shuttle and a buffet. Others sit far enough upriver that the loudest thing at breakfast is one hippo disagreeing with another. The gap in price between those two experiences is usually smaller than you would expect, and the gap in the holiday is not. Here are five I would put my own money on.
10 Reasons To Visit The Zambezi River
The Zambezi begins as a spring in a patch of Zambian woodland you could step across, and ends two and a half thousand kilometres later in the Indian Ocean, having spent much of the journey acting as the border of half of southern Africa. Six countries. One waterfall that needs no introduction, a dam that made an inland sea, and a stretch below that dam at Mana Pools where you are permitted to walk. It is also, at six in the evening with the light going, the single best place in this part of the continent to be sitting still.
Luxury Tented Safari Camps in Zimbabwe
"Tent" is a word working extremely hard in this part of the brochure. It covers canvas on a hardwood deck with a four-poster and plumbing that would pass in Kensington, and it also covers a bucket shower and a zip. What the two share is the actual reason to choose either: canvas does not keep sound out. You hear the elephants arrive at the Hwange waterhole at two in the morning. You hear the hippos settling their differences on the Zambezi. You lie there listening rather than sleeping, which is rather the point of the whole arrangement.
10 Reasons To Visit The Hwange National Park
Hwange should not really work. Most of it sits on Kalahari sand with no permanent river anywhere near it, and the reason elephants stand shoulder to shoulder at Nyamandhlovu Pan in October is that somebody is running a diesel pump. That decision was taken in the 1920s by a warden named Ted Davison, and it has been kept up, more or less, ever since. Fourteen thousand square kilometres of managed thirst. The Big Five are all present on paper, though I would not build a holiday around seeing the rhino. The elephants are an entirely different proposition.
Zimbabwe Travel Bucket List
For most of the last century the Rhodesian authorities preferred to believe that Zimbabweans had not built Great Zimbabwe. Phoenicians were proposed. So were the Queen of Sheba's architects. The stonework is Shona, laid without mortar, eleven metres high in places, and it is the only ruin I can think of that gave its name to the country containing it. That is the sort of country this is. The obvious things — the falls, the Hwange elephants, the rapids below the gorge — are worth every hour of the flight, and underneath them sits a second Zimbabwe that most itineraries never touch.
10 Reasons to Visit Victoria Falls for an Unforgettable Experience
The bridge was cast in Darlington, shipped out in pieces and bolted together over the gorge in 1905, and people now jump off it on an elastic rope. Victoria Falls has been like this ever since: a serious piece of natural history with an adrenaline economy bolted to the side of it. You can run the grade five rapids in the Batoka Gorge in the morning and be on a boat with a gin and tonic by six, watching the same water arrive flat and innocent above the lip. Both are honest ways to spend a day here. So is doing neither.