Victoria Falls Hotel


The Victoria Falls Hotel is a historic hotel at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The hotel is dramatically situated, with a view of the Second Gorge and the Victoria Falls Bridge from its terrace.
The hotel is a member of the Leading Hotels of the World group. It is managed by African Sun Limited.

History

The hotel was opened in 1904 to accommodate passengers on the newly built railway, part of the planned Cape to Cairo Railway. Later it was a staging post for the BOAC flying boat service between Southampton and South Africa. The hotel has accommodated royal visitors on several occasions, including King George VI and his family in April 1947.
The hotel has been the site of a number of important political meetings. In 1949 Roy Welensky organised a conference there to discuss the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and in 1963 the Victoria Falls Conference at the hotel led to the breakup of the federation.
In 1975 there was yet another conference there, this time to try to sort out the UDI problem that followed the break-up of the Federation.