Richard Chanter (or "Dicky C", as we affectionately referred to him as) is the preeminent host of hosts. We stayed at his rustic Zambian villa for a couple of nights in April 2007, and were thoroughly impressed with the amenities-to-dollar value; spacious rooms, a charming pool-side garden and broken bottles embedded into the top of the security wall highlight the Lodge's spectaular visuals.

Dicky C was extremely responsive to both email and phone conversations leading up to our visit, which included a day's delay because of the imbeciles at South African Airline. He was kind enough to personally drive our group both to and from the airport and was always more than happy to pipe in his 2 cents when it came to sight-seeing and activities in Zambia. (Just don't ask him to suggest a restaurant other than his!)

Food-wise, if you like cold toast Dicky has it in spades (along with many other tasty delights in the kitchen restaurant) and his delightful 'gurrrrrrrrls' are more than happy to cook you up a variety of African dishes. The hired help seemed less than pleased to work for Dicky C, but that's a different story entirely.

We were recommended Chanter's by a friend and after the 7 hour bus journey from Lusaka was delighted on arrival.
The lodge was very clean, with extremely helpful staff, and most importantly had excellent air con! The swimming pool was also the perfect place to relax and cool down as our days were generally very active.
The lodge does exceptional Zambian food - and as its located close to town you can easily walk.
We stopped at the Royal Livingstone which despite being amazing for watching the sunset and looking very upmarket, is not somewhere i would choose to stay. It comes across as very colonial, and is so far from the town you could quite easily stay there and never experience teh Zambian culture.
Also to mention the prices were more than reasonable!

Chanter's Lodge is a great place to stay in. Richard Chanter (the owner) was very helpful and friendly. He catered to every need and the quality of service is incredible. He makes service a feeling. Other staff are also very nice and helpful. Richard helped arrange all the river cruises, bungee jumping and rafting and even dropped us to the center while going there for business!

The rooms are nice and clean but not luxurious. The pool area is very pleasant and it is well maintained despite the scorching sun of Zambia. (Only the number of sun beds is too low but maybe Livingstone is not the place for sunbathing.) Chanter's features a restaurant also which is pretty good. The property seemed very safe.

The only downside of the lodge is that it is further off from the centre and the Falls. So you basically have to take a taxi to the centre and the Falls. This is not a problem as the staff are more than willing to arrange a taxi (be prepared to haggle or you pay too much big time!). (Taxi drivers usually ask $10-15 per taxi to the Falls but will do it for $5 and a grumpy face, but it's up to you how much you want to support the locals. The arranged transports, not taxis, are much more expensive.)

Chanter's is really terrific and I suggest making early reservation as Richard might even give some discount. The accommodation is worth every dollar and more in Livingstone where proper mid-range accommodation is not that abundant! The hotel doesn't compete with the pricey luxury estates near the Falls but offers a superb price-quality ratio.

Chanters Lodge is clean, friendly, quiet, pretty, simple and just about ideal for seeing Victoria Falls. Richard was very helpful with helping us plan our time so as to see the most of the falls and river. He also was able to give us occasional lifts into town which saved us cab fare. The food at the lodge was very good. The room was spacious and comfortable. I highly recommend Chanters Lodge.