Update - July 2005:

Again this year, I got an opportunity to travel to beautiful Victoria Falls and again stayed at Elephant Hills. The scenery, grounds, food, etc. are still beautiful and it is worth the trip!! I was told that after we left in on our first visit, there was a fire at Elephant Hills and a great deal of the property was rebuilt. This time I was traveling with a group of about 70 persons from my church.

The only "down-side" this time is that when we got ready to leave, we had to pay a "tax" that we were unaware of upon our arrival. The problem came when we tried to pay using Zimbabwean dollars--they wanted U.S. dollars or our credit card--and we preferred to pay in Zim dollars. We could have paid with Zim dollars if we had the receipt showing the exchange of our currency; but we had gotten our money exchanged as part of a large group exchange and did not have individual receipts. Now granted, the costs only amounted to maybe $15-20 (US), but when you have your money exchanged--you want to us it there!

This was the only "glitch" this time, so we'll know the next time we travel there. Just hang on to your receipts for currency exchange. I assume that there is corruption with monetary exchange in some areas so it is probably a good idea to have documentation for your protection anyway.

Following is my earlier review--

As part of a tour my husband and I were on while visiting Zimbabwe, we were treated to a visit to Victoria Falls (or Vic Falls as the native call it). We were housed at Elephant Hills, and was I impressed. I felt like royalty. First of all during checking, we were treated to little samples of a mango sorbet--which was great.

The decor was gorgeous, and I just fell in love with the artwork that is all over the place. So elegant and tasteful...Our suite was veerrrryyyy nice...one of the best we've stayed in anywhere, and we've stayed in a lot of really nice places. The service was impeccable, and I love the fact that all of the service personnel simply go out of their way to make sure you're fully accommodated.

In the restaurant area that overlooks the Zambezi River, you feel as if you're in an old movie, just watching the river, occasional boats passing, and just enjoying nature. The food was wonderful, and the menu offered some interesting "local delicacies."

The grounds are impeccably maintained, and you can see monkeys and other animals just wandering around the grounds. As a matter of fact, we were warned not to leave our balcony doors unlocked, because guests had been known to return to their rooms and find the little creatures had entered.

I would like to return to the area someday, and this is where I'd like to stay. We had a wonderful time, and I'd definitely recommend Elephant Hills to anyone wanting to enjoy some of the best lodging the areas has to offer. I'd really recommend this for a romantic getaway, but it would also be great for bringing your kids, if your budget allows...the other upside for our trip--we never saw a bill : )




Recommended: Yes