Making a splash with new resorts

Heading for the falls: Sun International’s new properties are located just a few minutes drive from Victoria Falls

Making a splash with new resorts

Hotel chain opens Victoria Falls properties

SUN INTERNATIONAL opened its first resort property in Victoria Falls, Zambia, this month.

Located in Mosi-Oa-Tunya National Wildlife Park, it is a few minutes’ drive from Victoria Falls. The 212-room, three-star Zambezi Sun, together with the group’s new 172-room, four-star hotel The Royal Livingstone, are located on the edge of the Zambezi River. The latter opens in May

Guests can watch wildlife from a viewing platform near the water’s edge.

Sun International sales and marketing director Ian Anderson said the 46-hectare Zambezi Sun resort has been developed in accordance with the sensitivity of its location. “The Zambians are very conscious of the environment and they have strict planning rules,” he said.

The property is set back from the river and there is no construction above tree height. The Zambian side of Victoria Falls is relatively undeveloped compared with the Zimbabwean side, with just a few small lodge properties spread along the riverside.

Anderson said Sun International is marketing the Victoria Falls resort as part of a three-centre Africa holiday together with its Sun City resort, north of Johannesburg, and Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town.

The Royal Livingstone Hotel features an à la carte restaurant with river views, while the nearby Zambezi Sun offers a buffet restaurant and an alfresco grill and entertainment area. A conference centre located between the two properties opens next month. Game drives and other activities such as bird watching, white-water rafting and bungee jumping can be booked on site.

Safari day trips can also be arranged to the Chobi National Park in Botswana which is just over one hour’s drive from the resorts. Here some of the area’s 45,000 elephant, buffalo, sable, wildebeest, giraffe and lions can be viewed.

&#42 SAA Holidays is offering tailor-made stays from £117 per night at the three-star hotel and £148 for the four-star in June. Flights start from £505 return from Heathrow to Johannesburg and £208 return from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls. Thomas Cook also features the two properties in its Signature Africa brochure. The two properties cost the same with Thomas Cook until October 31, but increase to £123 and £155 per person per night respectively during December.