Our family hotel in the heart of Victoria Falls has bloomed into a popular accommodation choice for tourists from across the world, amounting from decades of combined expertise, passion and determination.
To honour 30 years of Ilala Lodge Hotel, we hosted an intimate event at the hotel on Monday 4th October, to share our appreciation to our travel industry partners who have kept Ilala flourishing over the decades.
The evening event saw the Ilala Lodge Hotel pool side lounge decorated with 60 of our long-standing travel partners made up of agents, Destination Management Companies (DMC’s) and industry providers who have been part of the hotel’s great journey. Guests travelled from locations across the region including Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Livingstone, Maun, Harare and Victoria Falls to join the celebrations.
Opening the event, hotel owner Jim Brown expressed his gratitude to guests for their contribution to the on-going success and longevity of the establishment, in particular for their loyalty in the past 18 months during Covid-19.
Jim continued to express his appreciation to the commitment of the Ilala Lodge Hotel staff, as he commented, “Our most important cog in the machinery of a successful hotel is its staff. Hospitality is a people business, but the staff and management are by far the most essential ingredient in making for a prosperous hotel.
During the event, two of the hotel’s longest serving members of staff were praised for their loyal service, having been with the company since it began in 1991. Peter (Front of House) and Basil (Barman) have worked at the hotel and watched it develop through the past three decades overcoming good times and bad. In recent Covid-19 times, the pair showed admirable willingness to adapt and diversify their job positions, taking on new roles as builders assistants, gardeners and painters during quieter times of Covid last year.
An evening of networking and reconnecting with fellow colleagues unfolded and guests expressed their excitement to Ilala for providing the opportunity for industry partners to be reunited after months of separation due to travel restrictions.
In addition to delicious canapes and drinks, the evening was filled with much laughter and joy – in honour of the grand milestone Ilala has achieved in the past 30 years. And on that celebratory note, we thoroughly look forward to entering the next chapter of the Ilala Lodge Hotel legacy.
30 years of Ilala Lodge Hotel
The hotel’s history dates back to 1991 where it first began as a boutique hotel with 16 rooms, owned by the Brown family. Since then, the hotel has grown from 16 rooms to 32 in 1994, and then in 2015 it expanded to a total of 56 rooms with the newest Deluxe wing. In 2018 we welcomed the latest expansion bringing the hotel to a total of 73 rooms made up of standard, deluxe rooms and suites.
Due to a global social media blackout, the livestream shared with travel colleagues around the world was interrupted, however we were able to capture the joy and excitement of the event in the images included here.
