Victoria Falls Hotel

Last updated

{{Infobox hotel

 | hotel_name            = The Victoria Falls Hotel  | image                 = Victoria Falls Hotel from behind.jpg  | alt                   = The Victoria Falls Hotel  | address               = 1 Mallet Drive, PO Box 10  | location_city         = Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe  | location_country      = Zimbabwe  | coordinates           =  17°55′51″S25°50′33″E / 17.9307°S 25.8426°E / -17.9307; 25.8426  Coordinates:  17°55′51″S25°50′33″E / 17.9307°S 25.8426°E / -17.9307; 25.8426   | opened_date           = 1904  | closing_date          =   | developer             =   | architect             =   | operator              = African Sun Limited & Meikles  | owner                 = [[Emerged Railway Properties| number_of_restaurants =   | number_of_rooms       = 161  | number_of_suites      =   | hotel_chain           =   | floor_area            =   | floors                =   | parking               =   | website               =  www.victoriafallshotel.com   | footnotes             = 

}}

The Victoria Falls Hotel is a historic luxury hotel at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, dramatically situated with a view of the Second Gorge and the Victoria Falls Bridge from its terrace.

Contents

It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World marketing organisation and managed by African Sun Limited and Meikles.

History

The hotel was opened in 1904 to accommodate passengers on the newly built National Railways of Zimbabwe 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. [1]

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.

It hosted the 1975 Victoria Falls Conference to try to sort out Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence that followed the break-up of the Federation.

Related Research Articles

Harare Capital and largest city of Zimbabwe

Harare is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2,123,132 in the 2012 census and an estimated 3,120,917 in its metropolitan area in 2019. Situated in north-eastern Zimbabwe in the country's Mashonaland region, Harare is a metropolitan province, which also incorporates the municipalities of Chitungwiza and Epworth. The city sits on a plateau at an elevation of 1,483 metres above sea level and its climate falls into the subtropical highland category.

Victoria Falls Waterfall on the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animals. It is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe and is one of the world's largest waterfalls, with a width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft).

Northern Rhodesia 1911–1964 British protectorate in Africa

Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North-Eastern Rhodesia. It was initially administered, as were the two earlier protectorates, by the British South Africa Company (BSAC), a chartered company, on behalf of the British Government. From 1924, it was administered by the British Government as a protectorate, under similar conditions to other British-administered protectorates, and the special provisions required when it was administered by BSAC were terminated.

Kariba is a resort town in Mashonaland West province, Zimbabwe, located close to the Kariba Dam at the north-eastern end of Lake Kariba, near the Zambian border. According to the 2022 Population Census, the town had a population of 27,600.

Roy Welensky Northern Rhodesian politician

Sir Roland "Roy" Welensky, was a Northern Rhodesian politician and the second and last Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.

Victoria Falls Bridge Transnational bridge connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe

The Victoria Falls Bridge crosses the Zambezi River just below the Victoria Falls and is built over the Second Gorge of the falls. As the river forms the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, the bridge links the two countries and has border posts on the approaches to both ends, at the towns of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, and Livingstone, Zambia.

Livingstone, Zambia Place in Southern Province, Zambia

Livingstone is a city in Zambia. Until 2012, it served as the capital of Southern Province. Lying 10 km (6.2 mi) to the north of the Zambezi River, it is a tourism center for the Victoria Falls and a border town with road and rail connections to Zimbabwe on the other side of the Victoria Falls. A historic British colonial city, its present population was enumerated at 134,349 inhabitants at the 2010 census. It is named after David Livingstone, the Scottish explorer and missionary who was the first European to explore the area.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Place in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls, popularly known as Vic Falls, is a resort town and city in the province of Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. It lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River at the western end of Victoria Falls themselves. According to the 2022 Population Census, the town had a population of 35,199.

Zambia Railways

Zambia Railways (ZR) is the national railway company of Zambia, one of the two major railway organisations in Zambia. The other system is the binational TAZARA Railway (TAZARA) that interconnects with the ZR at Kapiri Mposhi and provides a link to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam.

The National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), formerly Rhodesia Railways, is a state-owned company in Zimbabwe that operates the country's national railway system.

Beitbridge Town in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe

Beitbridge is a border town in the province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe. The name also refers to the border post and bridge spanning the Limpopo River, which forms the political border between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The border on the South African side of the river is also named Beitbridge.

Blue Train (South Africa) Luxury train in South Africa

The Blue Train travels an approximately 1,600-kilometre (990 mi) journey in South Africa between Pretoria and Cape Town. It is one of the most luxurious train journeys in the world. It boasts butler service, two lounge cars, an observation car, and carriages with gold-tinted picture windows, in soundproofed, fully carpeted compartments, each featuring its own en-suite. The service is promoted as a "magnificent moving five-star hotel" by its operators, who note that kings and presidents have travelled on it.

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Central Bank of Zimbabwe

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is the central bank of Zimbabwe headquartered in the capital city of Zimbabwe, Harare.

Meikles

Meikles is the popular name given to Meikles Hotel in central Harare, Zimbabwe, Meikles' department stores in Zimbabwe and Meikles Limited, the company which owns everything including the hotel, the department stores and Meikles' TM Supermarket chain and other retail outlets.

The following lists events that happened during 1975 in the Republic of Rhodesia.

Rhodesian Air Force Military unit

The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the air arm of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland between 1953 and 31 December 1963; of Southern Rhodesia once again from 1 January 1964; and of the unrecognised nation of Rhodesia following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from Britain on 11 November 1965.

Nedbank Zimbabwe Limited, also Nedbank Zimbabwe, is a commercial bank in Zimbabwe. It is licensed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the central bank and national banking regulator. The bank was previously known as MBCA Bank, prior to rebranding to its present name.

Victoria Falls Conference (1975) 1975 talks between Rhodesia and Zambia

The Victoria Falls Conference took place on 26 August 1975 aboard a South African Railways train halfway across the Victoria Falls Bridge on the border between the unrecognised state of Rhodesia and Zambia. It was the culmination of the "détente" policy introduced and championed by B. J. Vorster, the Prime Minister of South Africa, which was then under apartheid and was attempting to improve its relations with the Frontline States to Rhodesia's north, west and east by helping to produce a settlement in Rhodesia. The participants in the conference were a delegation led by the Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith on behalf of his government, and a nationalist delegation attending under the banner of Abel Muzorewa's African National Council (UANC), which for this conference also incorporated delegates from the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and the Front for the Liberation of Zimbabwe (FROLIZI). Vorster and the Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda acted as mediators in the conference, which was held on the border in an attempt to provide a venue both sides would accept as neutral.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Harare, Zimbabwe.

The A8 Highway is a paved primary trunk road in Zimbabwe running from Bulawayo to Victoria Falls. It is managed by the Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA).

References

  1. Roberts, Peter. "To the Victoria Falls - Royal Visit 1947". www.tothevictoriafalls.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.