The Royal Livingstone

For a traditional hotel stay, guests can choose to stay in either the Premier Room, the Deluxe Room, or the Deluxe Corner Room. All decorated in a traditional Victorian style, with modern touches which add luxury to the rooms. A muted colour palette runs throughout all the rooms, with light cream walls and crisp white bed linens which act to reflect light and make the room feel spacious and bright. Green scatter cushions bring in a splash of colour whilst keeping in theme with the natural colour scheme.

Wide sliding glass doors fill the space with natural light and fresh breezes, and lead out onto a private balcony or verandah area, where guests can enjoy relaxing and gazing at the luscious gardens from the Premier Room or the river and gardens from the Deluxe Room or Deluxe Corner Room. All rooms come with ensuite bathrooms, and the Deluxe Corner Room comes complete with its own sunroom area, where guests can bathe in the warm rays of the setting sun.

The Livingstone Suite is luxurious and comfortable, with a soft colour palette and splashes of colour in the bed runner, scatter cushions and hanging curtains. Dark wooden furniture features around the room, making the space feel chic and classy. A large king size bed sits in the middle of the room, covered in a plush duvet and crisp bed linens, and romantically draped in mosquito netting. This room is perfect for couples, with a separate lounge and dining area, and a verandah where dinner can also be arranged, for a private dining experience. A large ensuite bathroom is also included. From the verandah guests can immerse themselves in the surroundings of the hotel. Marvelling at the sparkling Zambezi River and endless horizons over the water.

Another suite which is perfect for couples is the Presidential Suite. Decorated in the same luxurious and classy way as the Livingstone Suite, this suite has a large separate lounge and dining area, and an expansive terrace area, large enough for private dining with a group of friends or family. The rooms are comfortable and stylish, with cosy cushions, and a large king size bed which is swathed in mosquito netting, so guests can have a comfortable nights sleep.

Floor to ceiling sliding doors flood the rooms with natural light and fresh breezes, acting to bring the outside in. This suite comes complete with a spacious ensuite bathroom. In the evenings, guests can unwind on their private terrace and watch as the setting sun reflects its golden rays off the sparkling waters of the Zambezi.

Guests at The Royal Livingstone are spoilt for choice when it comes to mealtimes. The Old Drift Restaurant serves food from a range of cuisines, all presented in a chic and sophisticated way. Here you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner in the comfortable dining room, or out on the terrace, with a view of the river and any meandering wildlife while you dine. Kubu is another restaurant and bar which serves lighter lunches and dinners, as well as fresh, fruity cocktails. With a spectacular view over the Zambezi River, dine here at sunset and raise a toast to your magnificent surroundings.

Light dining is also served in The Royal Livingstone Lounge, which is traditional, with modern and stylish touches adding atmosphere to the space. Here guests can enjoy their morning coffee, or dine on light meals and snacks throughout the day. For a classic afternoon tea experience, high tea is served between 3pm and 5pm in the lounge. Light but flavourful sandwiches, pastries and scones are served with sparkling wine or loose leaf tea.

The Travellers Bar is open 24 hours, and is the perfect space to meet before or after dinner for drinks and snacks. The bar is filled with comfortable armchairs and bar chairs, all exuding an early traveler atmosphere, which is aided by large hanging chandeliers and mahogany features. Enjoy a glass of fine wine, a creative cocktail or refreshing beer as you relax into your chair and listen to the live piano.

A variety of al fresco dining arrangements can be made, all of which are unique and will treat guests to a dining experience like no other. Guests can request a private dining experience to be arranged either on the banks of the Zambezi or on a romantic riverside deck. These experiences are private and romantic, and create unique memories. If guests wish then dinner can be served around the boma. This is a traditional experience, guests can enjoy dining on fresh, delicious food whilst being warmed by the crackling fire, and sitting under the wide starry Zambian sky.

Located exceptionally close by the wondrous Victoria Falls means spending the day touring the falls is the prime activity. Wander around the perimeter of the falls, following winding paths and walking across bridges. Touring the falls is the best way to see the waterfall from all angles and truly appreciate the beauty and magnificence of the thundering water, and will leave guests with a greater understanding of why it is one of the seven wonders of the world.

Many activities are available for guests who wish to explore Victoria Falls in more detail, and the water around it. Devils Pool, which is a naturally occurring rock pool on the edge of the waterfall can be swum to by guests, who can then perch on the very edge of Victoria Falls, watching the water rush over the end. This is an exciting activity for the adrenaline seekers, but not for the faint hearted!

At the bottom of Victoria Falls are pools of water where guests can enjoy a refreshing afternoon dip in the cooling waters of the Zambezi River, or a private island picnic can be arranged by guests to enjoy a picnic on the privacy of a remote island near Victoria Falls, so you can enjoy the magnificence of your surroundings in peace and quiet.

For a once in a lifetime experience guests can arrange to take to the skies in a helicopter trip over Victoria Falls. Soar through the skies, taking in unparalleled and uninterrupted views of the waterfall and wilds beyond. For a more unique way to take to the skies, enjoy an afternoon spent gliding through the skies in a microlight aircraft, where you will be able to feel the wind on your face whilst you look down to the majestic, thundering Victoria Falls.

Just a stone’s throw away from the Zambezi River, guests of The Royal Livingstone can spend the day exploring the waters. Enjoy a gentle ride on a water taxi, floating over the waters, keeping an eye out for fish, crocodiles and lounging hippos, as well as nesting birds and wildlife on the riverbank. For the more adventurous guest, the  winding river includes some immense rapids, perfect for white water rafting, bumping along the exciting waters in the fresh Zambian air.

Game Drives can be arranged for guests who wish to spend some time exploring the wildlife and nature of the Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. This is a classic safari experience, there is no better way to understand these animals than to view them undisturbed in their natural habitat. Guests may be lucky, and see anything from elephants and zebras, to giraffes and impalas. If a closer connection to nature is what guests are after, the national park can also be explored by foot with a guide, to track lion and rhino populations and immerse yourself in nature, seeing smaller ecosystems and animal prints you may miss on a game drive.

For guests who like to start or end their days with a workout, then a fully equipped gym is on site, as well as their own running trail around the hotel. For some gentle rest and relaxation guests can make their way to the spa where they can receive a range of massages, facials, and treatments which are stress relieving and will leave guests feeling a mixture of relaxed and revitalised. To escape the afternoon heat guests can enjoy a refreshing dip in the swimming pool, with views over the Zambezi River, so you won’t miss any watering wildlife.

Running throughout all Anantara properties is the ethos of sustainable tourism and a responsibility to the local communities and the environment in which they operate. With help from the guests, there are many projects which help support and preserve the wildlife and community life around their resorts, with any donations guests’ making being matched by Anantara themselves. In each property “sustainable growth” and conservation of ecological resources run through the property’s operations.

Anantara’s steps to being sustainable and eco friendly have won them international recognition, winning the “Green Growth” certificate for 36 of their properties. This award is “based on a set of internationally recognised hotel-industry standards” which include areas such as employee rights, human rights, community and child development and protection, sustainable tourism, and eco consciousness.

At Anantara Royal Livingstone, local communities and enterprises are supported and protected through The Maramba Women’s Mushroom Farm project and the Smallholder Engagement project. Both of these projects help to offer farmers better land to grow their crops on, away from the roadsides, by “committing to buy crops from the smallholders directly and at a fair price.” This initiative cuts out the ‘middleman’ which helps maintain that profits go directly to the farmers and empower the whole community.

Anantara has their own “social involvement programme” which helps to “promote local cultural awareness amongst guests” by offering opportunities for local performers within their resorts and hotels, and integrating “indigenous culture into everyday experiences.” Staff are employed from the local villages wherever possible, and products and services are environmentally and sustainable sourced where they can be.

Anantara operates in many corners of the world, and help to protect and preserve in all areas and operations. In the Maldives Anantara has joined with “Coral Reef CPR” to help create and carry out a “Holistic Approach to Reef Protection (HARP)” to help restore the coral reefs health and colour. In Thailand, Anantara works in “partnership with Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation” which helps to raise funds, aiding in the safe collection of sea turtle eggs, the incubation period and then release from the beaches. Also in Thailand, the welfare of local populations of elephants are supported through “The Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation.” Helping both captive and wild elephants stay off busy streets and protecting them to help “create a safe and sustainable future for the next generation.”

In Cambodia, a partnership of Cardamom Tented Camp, Wildlife Alliance, Minor International and Yanna Ventures works as a “non-profit alliance” and helps to protect and preserve 18,000 hectares of the Cardamom Mountains. The local rangers are given funding to help protect the jungle and preserve its beauty so it can be enjoyed for generations to come. In Sri Lanka, Anantara, specifically Anantara Peace Haven is helping to pioneer sustainable tourism. To help preserve the coastline where it is located they take part in various eco initiatives such as “water conservation, zero waste garden, guided nature walks as well as wildlife and mangrove conservation.”

At all Anantara properties, water and energy is conserved, to help minimise their carbon footprint and using extra resources that aren’t necessary. Both guests and partners help to conserve the water and power, and each year Anantara “strive to reduce energy consumption by at least 10%.” The waste at Anantara properties is also disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, following the motto of “reduce, reuse and recycle.”