Anantara Stanley & Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel

The hotel sits on Old Ursula Road on the quiet, bush side of Victoria Falls, in a private game reserve on the edge of town. All 16 rooms are suites in gardens, and two pairs interconnect to make two-bedroom family units. Bathrooms have claw-foot baths, and terraces look toward a waterhole. There is a pool, spa and gym, and the 1871 restaurant serves dishes made with local ingredients.

The signature activity is the black rhino conservation experience in the Victoria Falls Private Game Reserve, starting from the hotel's waterhole view. The hotel also arranges game drives, guided nature walks, sunset cruises on the Zambezi, helicopter flights over the falls and ziplining across the Batoka Gorge. Two or three nights here works well at the start or end of a safari.

It suits families, couples and anyone who would rather be out of town in a quieter setting with wildlife around. The trade-off is distance: you will need a 15-minute drive each way to see the falls, and the reserve is fenced, so it feels more like a garden hotel in the bush than a wilderness lodge. It works best as a bookend to a safari rather than a replacement for one.