The Palm River Hotel: A slice of serenity near Victoria Falls

You might have heard about our sister hotel Ilala Lodge, but Palm River’s location is a little more relaxed because it’s out of town. All you see is the fronting Zambezi River, enveloping trees and a lush island in between Zimbabwe and Zambia with no signs of other buildings. Our lawns are frequented by resident families of warthogs, bushbuck, and mongoose. Sometimes you can tick off game such as buffalo and elephant while you’re just sitting there having a gin and tonic.

I think Palm River’s for people looking for a bit of repose. There is an optional shuttle to the Falls that takes no more than ten minutes but after two weeks of safari, people tend to want to sit by the pool with a martini (a firm favourite of mine). The building is very much Queenslander style – so high ceilings, colonial-style touches and a soft breeze that trawls through the hotel. There’s also a real focus on local artisans.

All the rooms are river facing. Recently we had top seeded tennis player, Coco Gauff, staying in the Honeymoon Suite that features a large outdoor deck and a beautiful four poster bed. We’re also ideal for multi-generational families who can enjoy rooms with their own pool, lounge and barbecue. Dine in the restaurant – there’s a very nice pappardelle pasta with slow stewed ragu on the menu. We can also set up private candle-lit dinners by the pool or close to the river under the starry sky.

What’s the coolest thing I’ve seen at the Falls? If you’re lucky and you’re visiting during a full moon when the water is high, you sometimes get to see moonbows (lunar rainbows). There’s only a couple of places on earth where these occur consistently and Victoria Falls is one of them. Then there’s the Devil’s Pool, a natural rock swimming pool right on the edge of the waterfall edge. I try not look down…