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4.5
#2 of 6 hostels in Livingstone
Location
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Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Fawlty Towers is set in a large, private garden shaded with mango trees, with a crystal clear swimming pool. We offer accommodation for those on a budget, as well as private air-conditioned rooms and with the best service in Livingstone. Enjoy our free pancakes served every day, whilst cold beers and drinks are available at the bar. Try our chef's legendary meals or have your own barbeque round the pool on our braai stand. Free Wi-Fi is available in the Public Areas. The Lodge is in the centre of town with seven cafes and restaurants less than 500 yards away and the town's largest supermarket is just over the road.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
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Fawlty Towers hotel garners accolades for its range of amenities, including a well-regarded pool and garden, creating a welcoming environment that guests frequently commend. The staff's friendly and efficient service consistently receives high marks, contributing to the hotel's reputation for good value.
While the rooms receive mixed reviews, from cleanliness to occasional upkeep issues, the hotel's cleanliness, especially in communal areas, is often praised. Its central location is another highlight, providing easy access to local attractions and transport.
Location
Convenient
Atmosphere
Peaceful
Rooms
Varied
Value
Reasonable
Cleanliness
Spotless
Service
Helpful
Amenities
Abundant
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Very reasonable, clean rooms with a terrific location. You can walk to several restaurants, Shop Rite, Hungry Lion, ATM and many shops are across the street. There is a drug store down the street as well as other restaurants. The breakfast was included with our private rooms and was fantastic! They were very gracious and helpful. The outdoor sitting area by the pool was terrific and they worked to keep the bugs down by spraying. This was super helpful since we went to a nearby hotel for a meal and the flies and bugs were overwhelming. The air conditioned rooms were very nice, albeit small. They were just what we needed after touring and sightseeing all day. Drinks are reasonable and the bar is generally well stocked.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Value
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa Davie, Other at Fawlty Towers
Responded 16 Sept 2021
Thank you so very much for such lovely feedback. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay with us. It was a pleasure to host you! We hope you will come visit us again, one day. With best wishes, Elisssa Foreign Relations Liaison Manager.
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I arrived at Fawlty Towers early on 28th April without a booking, I had left my previous booked accommodation after the first night as it was not very nice. From the moment I arrived Miriam was very helpful in showing me a room, and negotiating a very good rate for me. Miriam looked after me, I am a solo traveller so it is not easy to book activities, I gave her a list of what I wanted to do and she planned and organised it all for me There was even a situation where my Walking Safari was cancelled by the company, they neither informed Miriam or myself. It was cancelled as their other clients cancelled which meant I was solo, which they don’t accommodate. Miriam very kindly managed to get them to take me, as she knew how very upset I was by the situation, as she was as well, she felt she had let me down which of course she had not, it was not her fault.
Miriam is exceptional with guests, her customer service, care and attention to detail is superb, she is an Angel always with a smile on her face, and a happy persona she made my stay in Livingston a truly memorable experience.
I highly recommend staying at Fawlty Towers, the accommodation, pool, garden and lounge area are always kept clean and tidy by the staff. Free tea and coffee all day, unfortunately due to Covid the free shuttle and pancakes are not available but this is no way detrimental to the lodge as Miriam will arrange taxi for you. It’s a great location with a supermarket just across the road, and lots of restaurants all within walking distance
I highly recommend Fawlty Towers, there is nothing I can complain about or would change
Thank you Miriam and all the staff for looking after me
Caroline
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Date of stay: May 2021Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Mike Welch, General Manager at Fawlty Towers
Responded 5 May 2021
Hi Caroline, Thank you for your fantastic review. We are so happy that you enjoyed your stay with us and that you found Mirriam a great help. Our staff pride themselves with showing their friendly side and Mirriam is a great leader in this part for Fawlty Towers. I will be sure to pass on your review to her. All the best. Mike
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A lot to digest? Read an AI-generated summary of recent traveller reviews.
Perfect spot for a budget/mid range place to stay in Livingstone. Location is great, 10 min drive to falls and airport and 1 min walk to greet places for food - we loved Cafe Zambezi, Lavender Patisserie and Olga’s (for the pasta, pizza was overated). There are taxis outside the hostel and the security guards are happy to help you find one. Don’t pay more than 150kwacha for these 10 min journeys
Room was basic but adequate with a great shower. The grounds were very relaxing and loved the bar area but watch for mosquitoes. Small complimentary breakfast was a plus and free tea/coffee available all day.
The staff were very helpful and helped organise activities for us.
Would definitely recommend this place as a base for your Livingstone stay! Thank you !
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, General Manager at Fawlty Towers
Responded 19 Jul 2022
Thank you so much Emily993. We appreciate the lovely feedback. Thank you for recommending us! With best wishes, Elissa
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We are the first people arrived here after the lockdown. So some things still getting to order, but we where well taken care of. As a traveler very big consideration is the bed and shower, they are good 😍. The shower is strong which I love the most. After long day out is really nice to have hot strong shower. The place is neat even they still arranging stuff. They only free coffee in the morning these times I guess. Inside the room they provide insect spray, bed mosquito net, towels, tissue, soap and air-conditioning. The staff are friendly and nice. I did try the facial here and it was okay, by Polina. The one week here is so chill make us rested alot after along travel. The ambience of the garden and pool makes us feel at home, quiet and relaxing. Very convenient location bcoz there's big supermarket, restaurant, fastfood just cross the road. There's cute chubby cat also 😍.
We really like this place alot.
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa Davie, General Manager at Fawlty Towers
Responded 15 Oct 2020
Dear Dethnina Thank you so much for your review. You go down in Fawlty Towers history as being the first guests to visit us when we reopened after 6 months of closure due to the Covid pandemic. Thank you so much for choosing to stay with us and thank you for the lovely compliments and your understanding that we are still getting things back in order after our long closure. We are so glad you had a lovely time and felt at home here. Thanks again! You've made our day! With best wishes, Elissa Foreign Relations Liaison Manager
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I would never have chosen this place by just seeing the gate. The inside of the lodge is wonderful. The rooms are basic - no tv... - they are clean and comfortable. You can chose your room according to the price you want to pay. There are just beds in a shared room for backpackers, private rooms with 2 bunk for 4 people with fans, a basic room with ac and a deluxe larger room with ac. There is a shared communal kitchen if you want to fix your own meals. Shoprite is across the street if you need supplies. All the rooms face the wonderful garden designed grounds with pretty flowers and plants. The pool is clean and there is a shallower area for younger kids. The basil cafe is the restaurant on location. Breakfast is free for private rooms. You can order lunch at the restaurant and free pancakes are served at 15 hours each day. We really enjoyed our stay and would stay again and recommend them to others.
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Date of stay: September 2021
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:If you have a young child you can get a deluxe room and have a twin bed added.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa Davie, Other at Fawlty Towers
Responded 16 Sept 2021
Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. It's also very detailed and informative for other people thinking of booking with us, so thank you for that. We are so pleased you enjoyed your stay and thank you for choosing Fawlty Towers. With best wishes, Elissa Foreign Relations Liaison Manager
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The Fawlty Towers was a great place to stay! There is no daily room cleaning and the twin private rooms are basic but clean. It is called a backpackers place and they do have hostel rooms at crazy inexpensive prices. I didn't see them, but they have some brand new deluxe rooms.Because of Covid and just getting tourism up and running again, they only provide breakfast and in the evening the bar tender has to take care of everything so isn't always at the bar. They have a communal kitchen with all the cooking amenities and two large fridges. The staff, including the "foreign relations Liason manager" were all very friendly and treated us like friends that were visiting and the security was superb. Mirriam at the front desk was so knowledgeable and helpful. You can book activities at the desk at the same price as if you were booking with the tour operator. She makes sure the activities are convenient for your time frame. The lodge is within easy walking distance to restaurants, the Livingston Museum, a bank, and grocery store. Pretty well everything you need. There is a disco close by that plays late, but you get that in many places. The music wasn't so loud as to be a detriment to sleeping.I will definitely stay there again, if I get back to Livingston.
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Date of stay: August 2022
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, General Manager at Fawlty Towers
Responded 10 Oct 2022
Dear basshome. Thank you ever so much for such a nice review. We are so happy to read such lovely feedback and chuffed to hear you had such a nice stay. Thanks for your empathy regarding the trials brought to us by the covid pandemic. We will be employing more staff as and when we become more confident in the future. Mathews, our barman, does usually have evening support, but our staff are currently taking some well-deserved annual leave whilst we are in our low season so at the moment, he is having to assist in reception, in the evenings for a couple of weeks. We would be delighted if you were to visit us again some day! Thanks again! With best wishes, Elissa
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We had a lovely 2 weeks staying at Fawlty Towers. We initially had booked the accommodation for a trip to Zambia in 2020 but due to the pandemic were not able to go. They were happy to keep our reservation credit for up to 2 years, and when we went this year, as we were staying for half as long as our original trip, they were happy for us to put the remaining credit towards activities at the guest house. The guest house is very peaceful and cosy while being right in the middle of Livingstone, and very close to Victoria Falls, for which they provide a shuttle bus for guests to visit. The room was spacious and comfortable. There was a lovely swimming pool, restaurant and bar despite it not being a big resort. They also provided guests with free pancakes every afternoon which was an awesome touch. The staff were all great, including the onsite beautician/masseuse who we visited a few times for services like pedicure, massage, etc. The guesthouse also has good links with lots of trip and activity companies in the area and are able to get good prices for these. We enjoyed a day trip safari to Chobe in Botswana, went abseiling, visited an elephant cafe, even saw a Lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls, among lots of other activities. The one critique we had was that the wifi was slow at times but we appreciate this is not limited to the guest house (though it was better in the bar/restaurant area). All in all a wonderful experience and we would happily stay again.
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Date of stay: May 2023
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:The wifi could be better so it may be worth picking up a cheap SIM card locally, they usually...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, Other at Fawlty Towers
Responded 21 Sept 2023
Derinda1722, this is such a lovely review! Thank you so much. We are so chuffed for you that you were finally able to do your long awaited trip to Livingstone. And thank you for choosing Fawlty Towers. With best wishes, Elissa
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A perfect spot for a couple of days visiting the falls. Super friendly and helpful staff. It’s centrally located, with a grocery (shoprite) center is right over the road and within walking distance of other restaurants. Taxis stop right out front (arranged by the helpful staff) For self catering, there is a well stocked shared kitchen Be sure to book your free pancakes daily @15:00 - delicious! Joy helps with booking activities - simple and efficient!
Disliked · beds were a little lumpy bunk beds are not suited to adults! WiFi is VERY slow and erratic even when in the bar
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, General Manager at Fawlty Towers
Responded 2 Nov 2022
Dear hooraynickytravels. Thank you very much for your review. We are so pleased that you had a good stay. I'm chuffed to hear that you found our location good, our staff helpful and friendly, our location good and our communal self catering kitchen well stocked. I'm glad to hear you got to sample our free pancakes and that Joy was able to make life easy for you with regards to booking your activities. I am sorry you found your mattress lumpy. We have now, as of yesterday afternoon ordered new mattresses from South Africa. As far as the four bunk bed ensuite is concerned, I am sorry you felt it inappropriate for adults. Actually, interestingly, we are about to remove that option altogether and turn those two rooms into twins instead, so in future you won't have to worry about sleeping in bunk beds unless you choose a dorm bed. Regarding the internet, unfortunately internet in Zambia can be slow and temperamental and has been particularly bad recently. Even my own internet at home has been awful and I have been the only one using our home internet router. Regardless, our lodge has had nearly 100 guests staying recently and if everyone starts downloading movies etc, it affects the connection for everyone. We do ask guests only use it for communication rather than movie watching. We pay close on K5000 a month to provide free internet to our guests. The more bandwidth we provide, the more people use, so to be honest, we can never win, unless people are respectful of the service and other guests in the lodge. If you visit speedtest . net you can measure the speed of your internet on your device. It also gives the speedtest global index. On that list, Norway has the fastest in the world 126.94 Mbps. South Africa ranks 57th in the world with 34.75 Mbps Zambia on the other hand is 122nd in the world with just 12.13 Mbps. There's not much we can do about that for now, but we have put down a deposit with Elon Musk's Starlink, and hopefully that will improve the internet for us in the future. Thanks again for the review. With best wishes, Elisssa
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The staff were excellent here, Joy in reception to Gladys in kitchen who makes yummy pizzas and pancakes. Very conveniently located in town felt safe walking to nearby cafes and restaurants at night Joy booked all our excursions and offered us advice which one to go on and we enjoyed all the trips. All the staff always were smiling and nothing was too much for them. The only grumble i had was we paid $90 a night we were there 5 nights but there was no WIFI in room and we saw the same room on booking.com for $45 a night whilst
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Date of stay: January 2024
Value
Location
Service
Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, Other at Fawlty Towers
Responded 29 Jan 2024
Hi there. Thank you so much for your lovely review. We are so glad you enjoyed your stay. We are hoping to get Starlink soon which we hope will be much better than all the current ISPs that are available in Zambia that provide very expensive and often temperamental internet. I see you did not complete what you were saying in your review about the cost of your room and the price on B.com. Reading between the lines, I expect you were going to say that the same room was available on B.com for half the price. If it is any consolation, this would not have been the case. B.com run some deals for their Genius customers and customers booking via mobile. Other than those deals which I think is usually about a 10% discount, they charge the rates provided to them by us, so there is no way they would be able to offer you a half price room without our agreement. What they do sometimes do, is entice you to book by advertising the lowest priced room at the lodge, but when you actually click on the room, you want, you will see that they will charge you full price, so you have to be careful with those booking sites. Booking directly with us, usually costs you $5 less and we are very transparent with our pricing. We like to keep it simple. Thanks again for the review. With best wishes, Elissa
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We stayed 3 nights in a standard room, and it had everything we needed: a bathroom with a shower and toilet, a firm 2p bed including a mosquito net.
Good security and helpful reception (for us, it was a plus that they were easy to contact via WhatsApp). Breakfast and afternoon pancake service. Having the bar, pool, and spacious (and well-kept) inner garden is a big plus.
There is also an option to get an affordable massage, pizzas, and souvenirs at the small shop on the premises. A shopping mall is conveniently located on the other side of the street.
The only ownside I can think of is that there were power outages due to the drought.
We enjoyed our stay, and if we are in the neighbourhood, we'll gladly come back.
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Date of stay: August 2024Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:When arriving with the bus from Lusaka: The new bus station is "Livingstone Inter-City Bus...
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Elissa D, Other at Fawlty Towers
Responded 26 Aug 2024
Thank you so much for your lovely review. We are so glad you enjoyed your stay and do hope you will be back. We agree with you on your only downside... Yes, the power outages are a huge downside for us too, and you can imagine our enormous diesel bill as we now run our big 65 KVa generator all night until 10 am the next morning, during these power outages. We are fortunate enough to be one of the lodges who have such a generator and are able to bring power to our guests during prime time. Some lodges don't have this luxury. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do about the power outages beyond what we do within our lodge. The power cuts are scheduled and are throughout the whole of Zambia. Thanks again for the lovely feedback. With best wishes, Elissa
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Hi JS de la Bat
Thank you very much for your email. How long does your son and friends intend to stay? We don't usually offer camping. Drop me an email which you can find on our website (unfortunately, I cannot enter these details here) and let me know their plans.
With best wishes,
Elissa
Hi there. The Victoria Falls are about 8 km from Fawlty Towers. You can reach the river at different locations in Livingstone, but the closest access is about 6kms from Fawlty Towers.
Fawty Towers has a shuttle that runs TO the Victoria Falls every day at approximately 10h00 am.
You have to make your own way back, but there are many taxis outside the Victoria that can take you back to Fawlty Towers.
Evesham, United Kingdom28 contributions11 helpful votes
No this is to Vic falls Zambia.Would then need to get taxi to border and possibly walk across the bridge. Ensure you have a multiple visa before you enter Zambia if want to do this.Vic falls from Zambia is just as spectacular as the Zimbabwe side. I have done both in past.
Yes, Fawlty Towers does have towels. As towels are super expensive and have to be imported, Fawlty Towers takes a deposit for your towel, which is returned to you when you return your towel. :-)
Hi Christy W.
Fawlty Towers offers a complimentary airport transfer TO Fawlty Towers on arrival, Mon - Fri between 8h00 - 17h00 and off lunchtime flights on the weekend.
We are not able to enter web or email addresses here but do a Google search for Fawlty Towers, Livingstone and find the adventure-africa web address. You will find the Lodge email address there. Drop us an email.
With best wishes,
Elissa
Amsterdam, The Netherlands294 contributions102 helpful votes
"When arriving with the bus from Lusaka: The new bus station is "Livingstone Inter-City Bus Terminus". It's about a 10-15 min walk from Fawlty Towers. "
There are more places to choose from in the Livingstone area.
PRICE RANGE
£38 - £49 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
fawlty towers hotel livingstone
LOCATION
ZambiaSouthern ProvinceLivingstone
NUMBER OF ROOMS
37
Prices are provided by our partners for one room, with variable occupancy rules as provided by the property, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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