AVANI Victoria Falls Resort

Mist from Victoria Falls is visible from parts of the grounds, and the roar of the water carries across the property on a still day. Avani Victoria Falls Resort is a 212-room hotel in Livingstone, built around clean, contemporary interiors rather than heavy colonial styling. Rooms and suites face either the pool and landscaped garden or open bush and a lagoon, with balconies, air conditioning and satellite television as standard. The four Avani Suites add separate lounging and dining space, along with express check-in. Outside, the 46-hectare grounds are unfenced enough that zebra, giraffe, impala and vervet monkeys wander through. It is a five-minute walk to the falls themselves, and guests get unlimited access for the length of their stay. Evenings often move to Mukuni Boma, an open-air dinner set up like a Zambian village, with a four-course spread of Pan-African dishes and grilled game meat, eaten fireside under the sky. The Theatre of Food runs poolside for breakfast and international dinners, while Shungu Pool Terrace keeps to wood-fired pizza and cocktails through the day. Beyond the property, the resort arranges river cruises, microlight flights over the falls, whitewater rafting on the Zambezi and day trips to Chobe National Park in Botswana. Check-in runs from 2pm.