The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara

The Royal Livingstone sits on the Zambian bank of the upper Zambezi, inside Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park and about a five-minute walk from the edge of Victoria Falls. Two-storey guest buildings with verandas are spread across broad lawns that run down to the water, and on a still evening you can see the spray of the Falls rising downstream from the riverside decks.

The style is explorer-era Africa: four-poster beds under mosquito nets, ceiling fans, dark wood, botanical murals and deep armchairs. Every room and suite has a private balcony, terrace or sunroom looking over the gardens or the river, and butler service is part of the stay. Room types run from garden-facing Premier rooms through river-view Grand and Executive rooms to three suite categories, the largest being the Presidential Suite with its own dining room and wide terrace.

Wildlife moves freely through the grounds. Zebra, impala, vervet monkeys and giraffe are regularly seen on the lawns, hippo surface in the river, and the area has a long bird list, with yellow weavers nesting along the waterfront. Guests have their own path to the Falls, open from 6.00 am to 6.00 pm, so you can walk the rainforest trail early before the day visitors arrive.

Meals move between The Old Drift restaurant, the Kubu deck over the river, the Travellers Bar and the lounge, with high tea in the afternoon and sundowners on the riverside Sundeck. Private dinners can be set under a monkey tree, on the jetty or on your own veranda, and the Anantara Spa treats guests in three open gazebos on the riverbank. A riverfront pool, hammocks, croquet on the lawn and a gym fill the slower hours.

The hotel supports local projects including a beekeeping cooperative in Mukuni village, Linda Community School through Pack for a Purpose, and youth training with SOS Children's Village Livingstone, and it has replaced plastic water bottles with sealed glass bottles in the rooms.