Words by Yvonne C Mtengwa

Some retreats ask you to choose between the thrill of the bush and the stillness of a private sanctuary. Anantara Stanley & Livingstone has never seen why a guest should have to pick — and its two new Pool Suites and a Spa Gazebo make that philosophy harder to argue with than ever.

In brief: Anantara Stanley & Livingstone is a boutique safari hotel on a 4,500-hectare protected reserve minutes from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Its newest additions are two secluded Pool Suites with private verandas and pools, and a thatched Spa Gazebo with two treatment beds using TheraNaka products, which is also open to non-residents.

I have always thought of Stanley & Livingstone as one of those rare Zimbabwean addresses where the wild feels close enough to touch and the luxury never once apologises for it. Set across 4,500 hectares of protected reserve just minutes from Victoria Falls, it has built its name on that exact tension — safari adventure on one side, intimate five-star hideaway on the other. What’s new is how much more privately you can now hold both at once.

A Suite With Its Own Wild Theatre

It felt quite surreal being back on the grounds of a property that gave my first luxury safari experience some twenty or so years go. With a few days set aside for rest and recalibration with friends, I was particularly keen to explore the two new Pool Suites that sit at either end of the lodge, deliberately placed for seclusion. The effect was immediate.

Wide glass doors open onto a private veranda where your own pool waits. It’s certainly not as a resort amenity you share, but as a quiet reward between game drives. I also loved that the grounds around each suite are left verdant and alive rather than manicured into submission: birdlife moves freely through it, the occasional family of mongooses scatter across the sprawling lawns. It isn’t unusual to watch elephant, rhino or antelope drift past from the comfort of your sun lounger.

It’s easy to see who these suites are built for — solo travellers wanting real privacy, honeymooners after a hideaway that still feels like Africa, nature lovers who’d rather watch the bush than work their way through a robust itinerary. And for the days you’d simply rather not leave your veranda, 1871 Restaurant will bring dinner to you, which is its own kind of decadence.

Wellness Under the Thatch

Just as considered is the new Spa Gazebo, tucked close to the main pool beneath a canopy of mature trees. Its glass doors are left to frame the reserve rather than shut it out, so birdsong and the scent of the bush move through the treatment space along with you. The design leans into Zimbabwean tradition, boasting natural textures, thatch detailing, a sense of having been built from the landscape rather than placed on top of it.

Two treatment beds and private shower facilities mean couples, friends or family can share the experience, and the signature rituals use TheraNaka, a South African brand whose ethical, cruelty-free, community-uplifting practices feel entirely at home here. The Gazebo also opens its doors to visitors staying elsewhere in Victoria Falls, a detail worth knowing if a refined, green-shaded massage is on your own itinerary.

A Variety of Soul-moving Experiences at One Address

What strikes me most is how little Anantara Stanley & Livingstone asks you to compromise to have all of this. Mornings still belong to guided game drives through the private reserve; walking safaris still offer that deeper, quieter connection to the land most vehicles can’t give you. There’s a rhino conservation experience worth building a day around, and a bush dinner beneath the stars that remains, for me, one of the most affecting ways to end a day in the African wilderness. And Victoria Falls itself — that improbable, thundering wonder — is still only minutes away, ready whenever you’re ready for it.

The new Pool Suites and Spa Gazebo don’t reinvent what makes Stanley & Livingstone special. They simply give you a more private, more personal way to hold onto it, which, if you ask me, is exactly the kind of addition a boutique safari retreat should be making.

Need to Know

• Where: A 4,500-hectare protected reserve just minutes from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
• What’s new: Two Pool Suites at either end of the lodge, each with a private veranda and pool, and a Spa Gazebo beside the main pool.
• Spa: Two treatment beds, private showers and signature rituals by TheraNaka. Visitors staying elsewhere in Victoria Falls can book too.
• Dining: 1871 Restaurant, which will also serve dinner in the Pool Suites.
• Experiences: Guided game drives, walking safaris, a rhino conservation experience and bush dinners under the stars.

Frequently Asked Questions

To explore offers from Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel visit anantara.com/stanley-and-livingstone-victoria-falls

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• Victoria Falls Safari Collection Clinches Top Honours at 2025 AZTA Awards
• Wilderness Chikwenya: Why Zimbabwe’s Untamed North is the Ultimate Frontier for the Soul
• A Toast to Wildlife Conservation: Saving the Wild and Minor Hotels Partner in Africa