If you are looking for an informal hotel with excellent access to the falls and no need for personal transport then this is an excellent choice. The hotel blocks and grounds are very pretty, rooms are on the smaller side but perfectly acceptable, clean and bright. The resort has a very large pool, spa and gift shops. Choose a room facing the forest for peace and quiet, the hotel is very family friendly so the pool side can be a little noisey (particularily over holidays). The buffet is good value for money if you are a big eater, the restaurant out back of the hotel is good if you are just after a basic meal. The hotel has the best and free access to the falls giving you the freedom to visit as many times as you like and at different times of the day, also easy to walk onto the bridge. Animals in the hotel grounds are an added bonus and if you have time and a car visit the nearby Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, although small, we saw elephant, zebra, buffalo, baboon, vervet, giraffe, hippo in two hours. If you only do one activity whilst there I highly recommend the microlight flight - amazing!!

If you are there for a day or more then it is worth taking Kwacha from an ATM machine - dollars are fine but the informal exchange rates on change from dollars can vary widely and the local currency is accepted everywhere and only when buying petrol.

Our travel agent (Rhino Africa) selected the Hotel Zambezi Sun for us. Great Location just by the majestic victoria falls.We like the hotel very much. They could still improve their breakfast buffet presentation. six kinds of melon cuts and only two other types of fruits. In the well decorated bed room there was no mini bar fridge to keep the water cool. Also the shower water splashes on the floor making it unusually wet.( pretty common with many hotels where bathroom designers were less intrested in avoiding this flaw. We found the staff very helpful. Good dinner buffet spread. Unfortunately local( within hotel premises) Barclay bank does not accept Australian dollars. Always carry US dollars and S A Rand when travelling South and eastern Africa.

Staying at the Zambezi Sun you have access to all the facilities of the Royal Livingstone Hotel, free access to the falls and if you are lucky, as we were, a herd of Zebra on the lawns in front of your room. Enjoy dinner at the Royal Livingstone, sundowners on their deck and if you are lucky enough to be there in January take the early morning boat to the island above the Falls. They serve a great breakfast and you can take a swim in their "jacuzzi" rock pool at the very edge of the Falls. The microlight flights are also great, but go early they stop flying when the wind comes up.

Going in January you may not get the full impact of the Falls in peak flow, but I would not trade my swim at the edge of the Falls for anything.

My husband and I, together with our visiting friend spent a couple of nights at the Zambezi Sun Hotel. It was a lovely place with an African decor, good sized pool and outdoor restaurants. Our rooms were comfortable, but it lacked a balcony or a place to sit outside in front of the room. The upper rooms were all smoking rooms. The hotel has its own private path to the Falls and one can visit the Falls as often as desired without having to pay entrance fees. It was truly a memorable visit. I was comparing the Victoria Falls to the familiar Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada. Victoria Falls is definitely bigger and the setting is more natural.
The hotel served an excellent buffet breakfast by the pool side and they had another pool restaurant that offered good lunches at reasonable price. Unfortunately dinners were far too costly at the Zambezi Sun ($47U.S. per person). We had dinner at the 5star Livingstone Hotel and it was actually less expensive. However, we would prefer the less formal atmosphere of the Zambezi Sun. I would like to recommend that the Zambezi Sun would have a greater variety of dinner offers at more affordable prices. We also had a tour arranged with the hotel, sunset river cruise down the Zambezi. Enjoyed it very much.
Although we were all seniors traveling, there were many families and children also enjoying the resort. It is a great place for families to come.
The Falls was spectacular. We went out before the sun rose and had the path all to ourselves. There was a fantastic rain bow across the whole of the Falls. One can also see the Zimbabwe side and I believe several people crossed the bridge to observe the Falls from the Zimbabwe side.
Although this hotel is rated 3 stars, I believe it deserves a 4 stars rating.