I VERY highly recommend Chanters Lodge. I cannot say enough good things about our experience there!
Ordinarily I expect what I read online to be exaggerated, so I tried to keep my expectations in check, even after reading great reviews of Chanter's Lodge. In this case however, I found the great reviews didn't do justice to the amazing service and delightful place. We were delayed a day and our visit was shortened to two nights, due to a canceled flight and an unplanned night in Lagos Airport, and Richard, the owner of the lodge, was very accommodating. I was able to reach him from Nigeria and let him know and he gave me his cell phone number. From the moment he picked us up at the airport (where he had to wait for us to file a lost luggage report- some of our luggage apparently preferred Johannesburg to Livingstone), he was incredibly thoughtful and attentive. A UK native, he has over 20 years of experience in hospitality and has been living in Zambia for many years and is very knowledgeable, which helped a lot since this was our first stay in Africa.
We arrived at the lodge and were immediately shown to our room, without any check in hassle. The service is so personal in this lovely lodge that there aren't even room numbers. It is better than any service at a 5 star hotel. There is a beautiful garden and a pool (see pictures), and a restaurant and bar overlooking the garden. We ate there for almost every meal, and were able to just bill to our room so we didn't have to worry about settling the check. The service at the restaurant was great and everything was very tasty. We tried samosas, and schnitzel, and veggie curry, all delicious. We also had two of the Zambian specialties, a bean dish and a game stew made with Impala that were very tasty and were served with one of the staples, nshimi, that is made from maize. We also had delicious grilled sandwiches, tuna and chicken, salads, and breakfasts. The lemon pancakes (crepes) were fantastic.
Richard and his team are also very helpful in booking tours, everything from helicopter rides to safaris to sunset cruises. He was able to book us on a helicopter ride the afternoon we arrived and we booked a sunset cruise for the following evening down the Zambezi river. Both tours were amazing. He also gave us good advice about crossing over to the Zimbabwe side of the falls which turned out to be completely worth the visa and park fees (see pictures). Our stay in Livingstone was truly wonderful, and would not have been as special without our stay at Chanters.
Thank you Richard!!
You can read more about the lodge on their website and blog.
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