On the banks of the Zambezi, a short drive upstream from the Smoke that Thunders, David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa has been gently reworked. The bones of the old riverside lodge remain. What has changed is the feeling inside.

In brief: David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa is a refurbished riverside lodge on the Zambezi, about 5 km from Livingstone, Zambia, and 10 km from Victoria Falls. Its 72 river-view rooms and five suites now feel lighter and airier, and the lodge has an infinity pool, a spa and the Lady Livingstone river cruiser moored alongside.

Where the River Runs Wide

Anyone who has spent time in the older lodges of the region will know the type. Thick walls of local stone. Rough-hewn timber beams overhead. Heavy furniture built to outlast its owners, and public rooms that open straight onto the view, so that the line between inside and out is more suggestion than rule. David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa was built in that tradition, on a stretch of the Zambezi about five kilometres from the town of Livingstone in Zambia.

The setting has always done much of the work. The river here is broad and unhurried, still some way above the point where it tips over the basalt lip of the falls. Victoria Falls is about 10 kilometres downstream, and the lodge sits on the doorstep of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park. The lodge takes its name from the Scottish explorer who, in November 1855, became the first European to describe the falls, and named them for his queen. Locally they were, and remain, Mosi-oa-Tunya: the Smoke that Thunders.

Lodges along this stretch were built for a particular kind of traveller: one who came for the falls, stayed for the river and expected a degree of ceremony with both. Sundowners on the water. Dinner by the fire. A turndown that left the nets drawn and a lamp burning. That ritual is still very much part of a stay here, and it is the thread the renovation was careful not to cut.

A Lighter Hand Indoors

The recent refurbishment did not set out to reinvent the lodge, and that restraint is its strength. The owners, RDC Properties, describe the work plainly: upgraded interiors, improved finishes and enhanced guest amenities. There is no sudden swing to glass and chrome, and no attempt to make a riverbank lodge look like a city hotel.

Instead, the changes read as an exercise in editing. Traditional safari interiors can feel weighed down: dark wood against dark wood, heavy drapery, deep armchairs and dense, oversized pieces filling every corner. Much of that heavy furniture has gone. New pieces and fixtures, lighter in line and lighter in feel, have taken its place, and the lodge breathes for it. The property now describes its style as contemporary with African accents, a fair summary of the balance it has struck. The stone and timber that give it character stay, but they are framed rather than piled on.

For a traveller who knows the older lodges well, this is the appeal. The familiar grammar is still in place: the open-sided public spaces, the long views, the sense of a house built around the river rather than against it. What has gone is the clutter. It is the difference between a room that insists it is on safari and one that simply lets the river do the talking.

Rooms Facing the Water

There are 72 Deluxe River View Rooms and five Signature Suites, and every one looks onto the Zambezi from its own balcony. That single decision matters more than any finish. Wake early and the river is the first thing you see; by evening it is the backdrop to a drink before dinner.

Inside, beds sit beneath wraparound mosquito nets, a piece of the old style kept as much for practicality as for romance. Each room has a king-size bed, a seating area and a desk. The suites add a separate bath and shower, and a private indoor jacuzzi. Six rooms interleave for families, and two are designed for guests with disabilities.

It is in the rooms that the lighter touch shows most. They are noticeably airier than before, and the difference comes down to the furniture and fixtures. Where the old rooms leaned on bulky, dense pieces, the new ones leave more open floor, so the river, rather than the furnishings, sets the mood. Travellers used to rooms crowded with campaign trunks and heavy dark wood will find something calmer here, without the sense that anything essential has been taken away.

Beyond the rooms, the lodge is set up for slow afternoons. An infinity pool lined with daybeds stretches towards the river. The David Livingstone Spa works with organic, African-made skincare, and has a steam room and plunge pool alongside its treatment rooms. Dining spreads across several spaces: Kalai, the main restaurant, with its Afro-Arabian fusion menu and views over the Zambezi; the Gwembe Terrace, a casual deck around the pool for grills and light lunches; and the Ujiji Bar. Boma dinners around the fire can be arranged on request.

Then there is the water itself. The Lady Livingstone, a three-deck cruiser that carries up to 144 guests, is moored beside the lodge and follows the river boundary of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, with hippos, crocodiles and birdlife for company. There are breakfast, sunset and dinner sailings, and for many visitors the cruise is as much a part of the stay as the rooms. The upper deck seats only 20, for those who prefer a quieter vantage. Animals are known to wander through the grounds, a reminder that for all the polish, this is still the bush.

Why It Works

The best renovations of traditional lodges are the ones you notice least on arrival. David Livingstone Safari Lodge & Spa has kept what drew people here in the first place: the river frontage, the stone and timber, the easy reach of the falls. It has simply taken some of the weight off.

For travellers who came of age on the classic safari lodge and have lately found it heavy going, this is a welcome middle ground. It is familiar enough to feel like the old circuit, and light enough to feel current. Give it two or three nights. See the falls, then hand the afternoons back to the river, which is, after all, the reason the lodge was built here.

Need to Know

• Where: On the banks of the Zambezi, about five kilometres from Livingstone, Zambia, and about 10 kilometres from Victoria Falls, on the doorstep of Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park.
• Getting there: Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport, Livingstone, is about 20 minutes away.
• Rooms: 72 Deluxe River View Rooms and five Signature Suites, all with private balconies facing the river. Six interleading rooms for families and two accessible rooms.
• Facilities: Infinity pool; spa with steam room and plunge pool; Kalai restaurant, Gwembe Terrace and Ujiji Bar; and the Lady Livingstone river cruiser, with breakfast, sunset and dinner sailings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Rates: For current rates and availability, visit https://thedavidlivingstone.com/

Related reading on Travel Essence:

• Riverfront Luxury at Radisson Blu Mosi-Oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort
• Tsowa Safari Island – Serenity, Sun & Sustainability on the Zambezi