Interior
Check availability

Reviews of Lodge at The Ancient City

2.5 out of 5
Lodge at The Ancient City
1 Shepherd's Plot, Great Zimbabwe, Masvingo

Reviews

9.0

Wonderful

Rating 10 - Excellent. 40 out of 68 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 20 out of 68 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 6 out of 68 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 2 out of 68 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 0 out of 68 reviews" "

9.0/10

Cleanliness

8.8/10

Staff & service

8.0/10

Amenities

8.8/10

Property conditions & facilities

8.4/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Sandra

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very spacious rooms, nicely decorated. Super pleasant staff and delicious food. Memory and Chimms were very nice to us
Stayed 2 nights in Jan 2024

8/10 Good

Nyasha

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Nice resort fare a family weekend getaway. Beautiful architecture and excellent customer service. Menu and pricing can be updated a bit to get the hotel to a five star rating. ie. no wine menu, instant coffee to barista made coffee. Very minor cosmetic changes to make the last mile.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
There was a strong chemical smell in the room. I think from what they used to treat the beams. The food was ok. Staff service was excellent.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023
Response from Clive on 5 Jan 2024
Good day Nyasha ,thank you so much for the feedback we are to implement the above mentioned suggestion ,i hopefully you travelled well .

10/10 Excellent

Philippa

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
One night visit to Great Zimbabwe
This place has a unique setting and design for every room. Every detail considered. Bar and restaurant area are dramatic and superb. It is half an hours drive from Mavingo but hotel were happy ton organise car and driver to help us throughout our stay.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023
Response from clive on 10 Nov 2023
Thank you so much Philippa

10/10 Excellent

Andrew Keith

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Sep 2023
Response from Clive on 12 Nov 2023
Good day Andrew ,thank you so much enjoy your day

10/10 Excellent

Smart

Stayed 1 night in Jul 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lilian

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Parking was too far from the lodge rooms
Stayed 1 night in May 2023
Response from Clive on 27 May 2023
Thank you for staying with us , we are going to fix the problem as soon as possible .Hopefully you traveled well .

8/10 Good

Hans-Michael

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Marvellous view, very nice surrounding
Stayed 3 nights in May 2023
Response from Clive on 27 May 2023
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us .

8/10 Good

Kundai Andrew

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2022

8/10 Good

Johannes

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Great location, great architecture, spacious rooms, good food, some of the amenities look a bit tired, but overall to be recommended.
Response from Clive on 10 Nov 2023
Thank you so much ,we are working hard to improve the amenities

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Spectacular
This was my second stay at The Lodge at The Ancient City - I returned because I found the location and facilities spectacular. Service was friendly and food was also tremendous this time - as a vegetarian, my preferences were taken care of. I will return again and highly recommend this wonderful lodge!
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2021

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The lodges are unique with a great potential to recover when Covid 19 goes down. I didn't like the fact that paying residents were kicked out because there was an outside Birthday on Saturday and the noise was terrible. The amenities paying residents were supposed to stay by the pool side was reserved for a noisy outside Birthday Party. The meals could have been better especially for vegans when the lodge were informed about the person. Best not to go for full-board because the meals didn't match the price being paid
Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2021

10/10 Excellent

Chief

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Loved everything about the property especially when it rained
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020

6/10 Okay

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Amenities
What an amazing place!!! Food is really good, rooms and beds are very comfortable and set in a beautiful location with some stunning architecture. Two problems though, their location on google maps is incorrect and it was a struggle to find the property. They need to update the property address. Also, I had no hot water!! Not good.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2020

10/10 Excellent

Gunther, Australia

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
What a great experience! Staff accommodated our late check in and early check out. Warm reception and an amazing room!
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2020

10/10 Excellent

Clive

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Rumbi

Travelled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Very well maintained property. The rooms are exceptionally clean and so refreshing! Beautiful views, trees and relaxing atmosphere. However, the food was underwhelming. Not much variety on the menu. A little bit of planning from the chef and seasoning can transform their meals. The drinks and meals are overpriced.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2019

10/10 Excellent

Diogo

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Absolutely great place! I would totally recommended. The only problem is that the confirmation email you get and even the address received will send you to some place near the Polithecnic Institute of Maswingo when, in reality, the Lodge is quite far from that, near the Ancient City.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2019

4/10 Poor

Michael

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overbooking fiasco
I was booked at the Lodge at the Ancient City and paid for my booking, but I was later informed that the booking could not be honored due to overbooking. We were placed in a nearby hotel in Masvingo, but the condition of that hotel was nowhere near the accommodation we would have enjoyed at the Lodge. We ended up overpaying for a bad hotel because the Lodge at the Ancient City overbooked. We paid for the Lodge. We got a crummy hotel in Masvingo.The Lodge did give us a free meal and tried to make it right, but we still had three nights in a very undesirable hotel at the cost of the Lodge at the Ancient City. Unsatisfied. I was pleased they attempted to make it right, but I wanted what I paid for. The Lodge is very nice.
Stayed 3 nights in Oct 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Amazing settind and rooms simply stunning. One concern, breakfast $20US/head .
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Stayed 1 night in Aug 2019

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

8/10 Good

Edward

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very good
It is a nice and pleasant place to stay, particularly if you need somehow tranquil and peace of mind..you can breeze fresh air from forests around you! however, they need massive improvement for their breakfast....(or be realistic of what they charge, they charge 20 or 25 usd per person and this is somehow too way high), they have a very simple breakfast which doest nt cost one more than 8-10 usd.
Stayed 2 nights in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Gregory

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Zimbabwe spectacular
Spectacular design and atmosphere. Very welcoming. Great experience. Meals pleasant and homely but not on a par with the decor.
Stayed 1 night in May 2019

10/10 Excellent

Edson

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great Zimbabwe retreat
Amazing place and beautiful, great service by staff. Food could be improved
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019

10/10 Excellent

Pete

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Its unique, reflection of the Great Dzimbabwe. Lovely bush, birds and quiet.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2019

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Gem in Zimbabwe
Beautiful lodge with great hospitality. Excellent staff
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2018

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

10/10 Excellent

Iain

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Greeeeaaaat Zimbabwe
Absolutely fantastic. The perfect setting for visiting Great Zimbabwe and the staff were so friendly and knowledgeable and went out of their way to solve my petrol problems (successfully). Great rooms, with fantastic views and a beautiful restaurant.They even washed my car as a little surprise bonus.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2018

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Truly Zim, rich flora, fauna and quiet country nights....loved it
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018
Response from Ancient City on 18 Sept 2018
Thank you for the feedback

6/10 Okay

Tom, Harare

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Great location and, in principle, facilities and rooms. Also very friendly welcome. However, slow and barely smiling service at the restaurant and lack of attention to detail do this place a disservice. You have a fabulous terrace overlooking valley and the Great Enclosure. Why not make it welcoming? Large tables with plastic table cloths do not invite to sit and have a light meal. What is needed are four seater tables nicely presented and arranged across the terrace rather than bunched together in one corner. People don't want to eat in the gloomy dining area when there is a nice spring sunshine out there.
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2018
Response from ANCIENT CITY on 18 Sept 2018
Dear Tom Thank you for the feedback, we are excited with amazing idea and have started working on serving more meals at the summer house and add small tables.

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

10/10 Excellent

Mercy

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fantastic place,
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Enjoyable stay
We had a couole problems but we enjoyed staying here and would stay again. First issue--we had requested a crib but it was not in our room. Second-took us a long time to check-out. Maybe they need more staff at the front desk or maybe more organization? We enjoyed our family room though. Very nice and comfortable. Breakfast was nice as well but meals can be a little pricey. Local area is pretty much non-existent because the hotel is in the boonies (hence the rating) so you don't have much else to do besides visit Great Zimbabwe.
Stayed 1 night in Aug 2018
Response from LATAC on 6 Sept 2018
Good day Thank you very much for the feedback.We apologize for the inconveniences caused , we thank you for this feedback as we are looking at improving and managing a swift checkout for all clients.

10/10 Excellent

Eoin

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Room in the jungle
Good hotel
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2018
Response from LATAC on 23 July 2018
Thank you.We are happy you enjoyed your stay

10/10 Excellent

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great
Beautiful rooms , delicious food , big area in general and great pool . Loved it !
Stayed 1 night in May 2018
Response from Mimi on 9 May 2018
Thank you for the feedback, we will improve on luggage assistance.

10/10 Excellent

weina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

10/10 Excellent

richard, france

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Amazing
This has to be one of the most atmospheric hotels anywhere. The room was huge as was the bathroom and the decor exceptional. I am a vegetarian and the chef made me a vegetarian main course. It was great. Staff were very friendly and helpful.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2018

10/10 Excellent

Ennie, Edmonton AB Canada

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Back to my roots
It’s was great being back to the motherland,Zimbabwe Africa. The ruins are really great. Just showed how innovative our ancestors were though the media does say much about the acumen of the black Africans.Having my wife and daughter with me, my mother, my mother in law , my grandmother and all my siblings around was really awesome. Chatting on starry nights and just connecting with nature as well a my beautiful family was just priceless. Coming from a Canadian winter. The break from the cold was really well appreciated . This was a great experience!!
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2018

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel; interesting decor
A great place to stay near the Great Zimbabwe monument. Hotel architecture follows that of the monument.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Response from Mimi on 5 Jan 2018
Thank you for the feedback. We will improve on the food experience.

10/10 Excellent

Kathy, Australia

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice hotel in a quiet refreshing location
The staff were very friendly and welcoming.The lodge is very clean and earthy/natural, built around the the natural local granite stone, it’s a resemblance of Zimbabwe Ruins.The bar and dining areas are quite spectacular featuring these granite stones right inside them.We were meant to stay for one night but we ended up adding another night.The location and set up of this lodge is very quiet peaceful and refreshing.If you’re looking for a get away place there’s one 😀
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Response from Mimi on 5 Jan 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We look forward to hosting you again.

6/10 Okay

rebecca, UK

Liked: Room comfort
Architecture 10/10, Food 1/10, stay but don't eat!
Wonderfully and interestingly designed on the theme of Great Zimbabwe the architecture is its main attraction and the only reason we opted to stay here. Rooms are huge, and beds comfortable. However the remote location of this hotel means there are no alternative bars/restaurants nearby so if you want to eat, you have no alternative but to eat here. The food was dreadful and extortionate prices, even by Zim standards. We arrived late after a long drive and the hotel appeared to be deserted with no other guests, although they were apparently busy. We ordered the set menu, I had fish my partner had the T-bone. The fish was dry and tasteless, but just about edible, the T-bone was from an unidentifiable animal and completely inedible, all sinew, fat and gristle with barely an inch of edible meat. The waiting staff are polite but completely ineffectual, and when we complained they merely nodded and appeared clueless as to what to do. Breakfast wasn't much better, but after the previous nights experience we stuck to a continental breakfast, a cheaper and no doubt more edible option. If you arent bothered about eating, then this is a really great place.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2017
Response from Mimi on 5 Jan 2018
Thank you for your feedback. We will improve on the food experience.

10/10 Excellent

Daniel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Great place to stay
Highly recommended - Atmosphere, location, accommodation style
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2017

10/10 Excellent

Carlos

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Excelent
Stayed 1 night in May 2017

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Location Location Location
Fabulous Location - can See Great ZImbabwe from the Patio

10/10 Excellent

Brian, Zimbabwe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Big room in the park
All the rooms are separate single houses in the hotel area. It is just in the Great Zimbabwe park area though it is a separate area inside the boarder of the park.

10/10 Excellent

Steven, China

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Nice environment
It is a very large room with two big beds. All the rooms are single houses in a nice small hill just neighboring the Great Zimbabwe Park.

8/10 Good

Judah and Eunice

Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Staff & service
A real refreshing "Touch teh Wild" experience!
It was a pleasant wild experience. Not the same as it was twelve years ago when I last visited. The thatch repairs are not up to standard and the new grass does not look good. Very bad workmanship. There was no TV and the wifi was poor.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Unique Hotel and experience...
Unique Hotel and experience... must seen! nice staff. location close to great zimbabwe.

8/10 Good

Verified traveller

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort