Lodge at the Ancient City

Beautiful hotel in lovely setting. Extremely spacious and comfortable room in a lovely setting. Very friendly, helpful staff. Not many guests but slightly off-season. Would warmly recommend this place as a comfortable option at Great Zimbabwe full of character. Slightly over-priced food, but worth it for the quality of setting, staff and facilities.

Amazing architecture! Impressive-looking! This lodge is amazing. If you were to build a castle in Africa, it would be like this. This establishment is on the scale of European castles but in an African style - made to mimic the nearby Great Zimbabwe ruins. The architecture is impressive with its high ceilings and everything on a grand scale, with many stone walls built among the boulders that are characteristic for this part of the country. Even the individual rooms are palatial in size. We chose to eat dinner at the lodge's restaurant on the night we stayed there. It was a bit pricey but in line with what you would pay at a higher-end lodge like this. However, the atmosphere of the restaurant was a bit awkward. It was in a huge room, and our family wasn't sure if we should engage in conversation because the atmosphere felt like we had to be hushed. The service was excellent, but the wait staff hovered in the corner and watched us while we ate - kind of creepy and part of why we didn't want to talk much (we felt like they were listening to everything we said). The general manager greeting us a couple times and wanting to engage in conversation was a bit too much and added to the creepiness factor of the staff here. This place has great amenities and spaces - a swimming pool, indoor and outdoor bar areas for watching the sunset, seating areas inside and outside in the rooms. The only thing lacking seemed to be the choice of stations on the TV.

I stayed for one night only on my way to the Zimbabwe monument. Great ambience. Large rooms with authentic African decor. Clean and cozy. Great food, large portions. Our party had to leave by 3:00am and the staff had packed breakfast ready for us!

The architecture of the buildings was sensational as were the surrounding gardens and overall integration of the lodge into the natural geological rock features. The lodge has a ‘wow factor’ was a standout place to stay. The menu and food could be improved to match the their aspects of the lodge.

Nice resort fare a family weekend getaway. Beautiful architecture and excellent customer service. Menu and pricing can be updated a bit to get the hotel to a five star rating. ie. no wine menu, instant coffee to barista made coffee. Very minor cosmetic changes to make the last mile.

There was a strong chemical smell in the room. I think from what they used to treat the beams. The food was ok. Staff service was excellent.