Extracts from Chapter 1 of the book. The story of The Victoria Falls Hotel is not simply the story of a hospitality establishment; it is also the story of the creation and development of the town that grew around it.
In addition, it is in reality the story of the Zimbabwean tourism sector, since the Victoria Falls are the country’s premier tourist attraction a4nd its greatest natural asset, and is the sector’s very foundation.
There are many factors surrounding this remarkable success story – the excellent position on which the hotel was sited; the enormous wealth of talent, foresight and determination among the people who built it and have run it; the consistent attention to quality and standards over a century of operation; its ability to survive in all manner of times, good and bad.
Together these and other factors have been instrumental in making the hotel what it is today: a real treasure for Zimbabwe and Africa and a delight for visitors from all over the world.
This is “the grand old lady of Africa,” the first Zimbabwean hotel to achieve 100 years of operation and the first to mark a centenary.
The most important factor behind the hotel’s success is its proximity to the Victoria Falls, one of the most remarkable sights in the world.
Here the Zambezi River crashes into a deep chasm and provides visitors with a natural grandstand from which to view and experience a spectacle unrivalled in the world.
The people who have lived in the area for thousands of years have marvelled at the sight, calling it “the smoke that thunders” – “mosi-oa-tunya.”
It was in November 1855 that missionary-explorer David Livingstone saw the falls and became the first Westerner to do so.