accommodation – Chanters Lodge Livingstone

Livingstone In Perspective

Probably the last guest blog from Ruth Binney for a while, that’s Ruth with my wife Ireen pictured above in the latest fashion at Victoria Falls!

“Back now in grey and rainy England, my mind is full of memories of Zambian warmth – not just the sunshine but the smiles and generosity of everyone who made my recent visit so enjoyable. Particular thanks must go to Richard and his family, and to all the staff at Chanters Lodge who looked after me so well.

As a ‘regular’ tourist, the highlights were the rhino walk and the one day safari to Chobe (reported in previous blogs), as well as the sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone and the visit to the Falls which, full of water after the rains, were awesomely powerful – and wet. If you are reading this and anticipating a visit soon believe me (as Richard will undoubtedly tell you) you WILL get soaked. Even with a hired raincoat and the umbrella of my guide, I was wet through. The Knife Edge Bridge was a river and the spray so intense that it was like being in a rainstorm. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world!

As for everyday experiences, writing this on a Saturday afternoon I am recollecting the gathering around the TV to watch the football last weekend – a great way to share a sporting experience with fellow Arsenal supporters!

Shopping in Livingstone included the new Shoprite supermarket which is well stocked, bright and cheerful, but also visits to the fishmonger, butcher, chemist and stationer. Out with Melinda I also met her friends and members of her family and visited the market packed with stalls selling vegetables and fruit of all kinds. There – and on every street corner – ‘talk time’ for the mobile can be bought. This is definitely the most prized commodity for young and old alike.

To visit the home of Susan, one of Richard’s senior staff, was a privilege and a pleasure. For her, saving means buying cement and having bricks made so that her home can be extended. She is one of many young women acting as sole supporters of their families.

The food at Chanters was as good as ever – I specially recommend the Bean Curry and the Bream. At a family meal I followed Zambian tradition and ate nshima and chicken with my hands – it was delicious! The pool is inviting and warm and the garden carefully tended. As well as the many geckos I was also happy to spot a chameleon fly catching.

The downsides? Very few, but the internet is expensive and sporadic and business wise enterprises such as Richard’s suffer from the monopolies of banking, TV and other utilities in terms of both price and service. It makes some of our complaints seem trivial in retrospect.

Should you visit? Yes certainly – it is an experience that no one should miss and will surely give you a new slant on life. I can’t wait to be back in Livingstone and at Chanters Lodge again.”

Thanks Ruth, it was great to see you!

22
MAR

accommodation, activities, Africa, Arsenal, Botswana, Chanters, infrastructure, internet, victoriafalls, Zambia

Offices

We’ve been making good progress on our new offices at Chanters Lodge as the picture shows. We still have to put up the fascia boards, finish the external painting including the roof, and fit then paint burglar bars and grill gates. There’s still a tiny amount of tiling to be finished as well.

Pelmets have to be erected, curtain material has to be bought and the curtains sewn. Then we have to buy at least the basic furniture, fit phone extensions and move in. When? Hopefully, but not necessarily, before Easter which is the first weekend of April.

18
MAR

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, entrepreneurship, extension, livingstone, Zambia

Volunteer Work At Mwandi Mission

I don’t normally reproduce Guest reviews for the blog, after all you can check them on our site anyway, but I’m making an exception in this case because of the reference to Mwandi Mission. I know lots of people would like to spend some time undertaking voluntary work in Africa, and Mwandi’s one of the best places you can do this! Here’s the review:

“My daughter and boyfriend stayed at Chanters Lodge last October and highly recommended it. They were so right. When I decided to volunteer in the Livingstone area I emailed Richard, the owner, and he could not have been more helpful. He put me in touch with a wonderful project in Mwandi

I stayed a total of five nights at Chanters. The accommodation is first-rate and the restaurant one of the best in Livingstone – the pepper steak and Zambian dishes were my favourites. We had poolside air-conditioned rooms set in a beautiful garden. It is an intimate hotel (about 10 rooms) with a terrace to eat on as well as an inside dining room and lounge. Richard collected us from the airport and took us back and could not have provided better service. He organised things for us including a sunset cruise on the Lady Livingstone (well worth the money), and a walking safari with Chiinga which was excellent ( we saw the rhino close up). The museum lived up to his recommendation and of course the Falls are fantastic – but a very wet experience in March (at least take a waterproof bag, we got soaked through in the rain/spray).

The project in Mwandi was brilliant. I spent three weeks there building a mud hut, helping at schools, feeding programme etc etc. I know Paula is always keen to have more volunteers and as it is only two hours by bus from Livingstone (very easy). Shorter visits are feasible.”

Great stuff! Thanks to the reviewer.

14
MAR

accommodation, Africa, charities, guests, TripAdvisor, volunteers, zambezi, Zambia

Mr N Kobashi

Alice, Aggy, Mx, Mushiba, Junior and Melinda are shown saying bye! Why?

Well Mr N Kobashi has been staying at Chanters Lodge for the past 15 months whilst supervising the resurfacing of the road between the water tower as you enter Livingstone on the Lusaka Road, to the Victoria Falls Border. He left today. Sob sob!

He was a great Guest and I’m sure he’s very happy to be going home to his family in Tokyo. We say:

‘THANKS A LOT’!

9
MAR

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, guests, Japan

Guest Rights

This from Hotelinteractive interested me, and certainly at Chanters Lodge we do try to live within these service principles.

“This week GuestRights unveiled its Guest Bill of Rights, a list of the top 10 customer service principles its creators feel a hotel should guarantee whenever someone stays at a hotel. The idea is simple: a straightforward list of promises that imbues guests with confidence that the hotel they booked will provide the experience they expect.

1. Guests have the right to guaranteed reservations.
Reservations will include room type and will be available at the rates quoted. All approved discounts and other offers will be honored. Rooms will be ready at the stated time of check-in.

2. Guests have the right to clearly stated prices and policies.
There will be no hidden fees or charges. Basic amenities will be offered at no extra charge. Prices for food and all additional products and services will be reasonable.

3. Guests have the right to clean hotel rooms.
Rooms will be regularly cleaned and kept to the highest standards.

4. Guests have the right to well-maintained hotel rooms.
All features, amenities and utilities will be in good working order. These include all televisions, lighting, electrical, plumbing, heating and air-conditioning (where appropriate), among others.

5. Guests have the right to clean and well-maintained facilities.
All advertised features and amenities will be in good working order and available for guest use. Restaurants, grounds, and other common areas will be well-maintained and clean.

6. Guests have the right to a satisfying dining experience.
Food will be fresh and well-prepared. Restaurant and room service will be prompt and courteous.

7. Guests have the right to be safe and secure.
Reasonable measures will be taken to provide a safe and secure environment for guests and their belongings.

8. Guests have the right to be treated with the utmost respect.
Staff members will be well-trained and will make every effort to respond to guest inquiries accurately and in a timely and courteous manner.

9. Guests have the right to have all reasonable requests honored.
If a room is unacceptable to a guest for any reason, a good faith effort will be made to move the guest to a room that meets the guest’s satisfaction. Efforts will be made to satisfy every guest in all other areas as well.

10. Guests have the right to have all complaints properly addressed.
A good faith effort will be made to promptly resolve all complaints and customer service issues in accordance with generally accepted good hospitality practices and to the satisfaction of the guest, whenever possible.

Got me thinking though, do hoteliers have rights? For example, not to have hotel property stolen? Customers to respect non-smoking regulations? Guests to have the means to pay? Guests to give “utmost respect” to hotel property, facilities and staff?

I guess we do but no-one talks too much about that do they?

The picture? A rainbow by Victoria Falls

6
MAR

accommodation, Chanters, guests, promises, service

Another Hotel World

This from Kevin May at Tnooz is so far away from where we are in Livingstone, Zambia as to be from another planet! (Check the picture above for that!) Meanwhile we shall continue to battle with our sub-standard Chinese ‘mortice’ locks and have a good laugh!

“Travel technology firm OpenWays is attempting a major push to the world’s hotel chains with a new system which allows customers to open doors with a mobile. The system works by sending an digitally encrypted audio bleep to the door locking mechanism from any smartphone. Customers are given a code when they check in to a hotel which then sits within a downloadable app on their iPhone, Android or Blackberry device.

The technology was created so it would work with existing locks that use the Crypto Acoustic Credential system, a standard on many electronic access control and locking devices such as those in hotels. OpenWays says the system can be integrated into existing phone app concierge services made by hotel chains or as a standalone function.

It claims the system also makes it easier for hotels to handle security for when customers lose their room keys. The system can also be activated on a person’s handset without visiting the reception desk – a move likely to trigger the ire of critics who suggest the important of customer service is on the wane in the hospitality industry.

The company is currently targeting the big hotel groups in the industry and will be exhibiting at the ITB trade show in Berlin this month. A number of North American and European chains and casino groups are expected to install the system shortly.”

Lol!

2
MAR

accommodation, Africa, hotels, Zambia

Why Offices?

Most visitors to Chanters Lodge, Livingstone, when they see the new office building pictured above (with a roof on, you’ll note), ask “are you building new rooms?” They’re usually surprised when we reply “no, they’re offices”.

We then go on to explain that back in 1998 when we were developing the original 3 bedroomed house into a restaurant with some rooms, money was very tight. An admin office seemed to be the last thing we could afford in the light of having to provide private bathrooms for the 3 bedrooms, refloor the whole building (parquet tiles throughout), provide public toilets, convert and extend the servants’ quarters to become the stores, kitchen, laundry and staff changing facilities, and the small existing domestic kitchen into the bar. We also had to landscape (there was nothing), equip the kitchen, bar and restaurant then fully furnish the rooms and public areas.

So, where did we work? Well, initially I worked on the end of the terrace, from where I had good peripheral vision and the accountant worked under one of the seven rondavels we’d erected in the garden as an afterthought! These were soon to become, and still are, one of the most popular features at the lodge! Accounts moved to share our tiny reception area. As for me, I got fed up with having to move from the terrace due to Client demand – the terrace was our second most popular feature – so I moved into the restaurant. When I first got a laptop in 2005/6 it was too risky to leave it lying around the restaurant and I sort of moved into room 2 (we had expanded to 8 rooms at this stage), and later somehow became firmly ensconced!

In 2009 it seemed to me daft to continue occupying a guest room when we did have space and just about enough finance to build offices, and reception is still too small for two people to work in comfort! So in late December we started the construction of two offices. The exciting plan once we’ve moved in, is to convert two of the original rooms into a pool facing suite. This won’t be simple and won’t be cheap but it will be the most innovative challenge since we built the first two pool facing rooms in 2006!

We’ve posted a photo of the original building to give you perspective! Oh! And I was writing this the builders arrived to start plastering the office block.

6
FEB

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, extension, innovation, offices, victoriafalls, Zambia

Pillars Of Wisdom

I guess these red brick pillars outside the new management offices at Chanters Lodge, Livingstone should be ‘pillars of wisdom’ but there are three and not seven!

More exciting than the new offices is our plan to convert rooms 1 and 2 into a poolside suite when the new offices are finished. More later.

29
DEC

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, management, Zambia

Lowden Lodge, Luanshya

Recently we had Janet Kay and husband Lee staying with us for one night at Chanters Lodge. Janet runs Lowden Lodge near Luanshya on Zambia’s Copperbelt. They have 13 rooms and a great reputation. Here’s about it:-

“Lowden Lodge is a small private guest house offering first class hospitality with a genuine home from home atmosphere on the copperbelt in Zambia.

Conveniently situated 20km from Ndola. A warm welcome awaits you where you can relax in our peaceful rustic surroundings. Accommodation is in spacious and comfortable en suite rooms. If you prefer privacy we offer three cottages with a self-catering option.

Rates include breakfast, dinner available on request supplemented by our own home-grown fresh produce, a feature of our excellent cuisine.“

Now, I can’t find a picture of Lowden Lodge, and I can’t even find a decent picture of Luanshya – only of the sprawling copper mine, apparently about to re-open under Chinese management. So here’s another picture of Derek Dawson – a friend of Janet’s who introduced us, with partner Pam who’s “ex-Luanshya” (as those who are, call themselves!)

16
DEC

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, copperbelt, guests, Zambia

Accommodation at Chanters

We were delighted to learn yesterday, that Chanters Lodge was cited by a Trip Advisor executive at a recent e tourism summit held in South Africa for the complementary reviews about us on their site. Indeed we’re grateful to all Guests who have reviewed the lodge. We’re often marked slightly down on rooms in these reviews. In order to try and make it clear what we offer at our very reasonable prices, we’ve recently updated the accommodation page on our site to reflect the current situation. Here it is:

Chanters Lodge offers Guests a variety of rooms all of which are self-contained and air-conditioned with satellite TV (choice of 5 channels), refrigerators and complimentary tea/coffee making facilities.

There are 4 poolside double rooms (each with one double bed), located in a quiet, peaceful lovely garden setting. These rooms have spacious bathrooms which contain a seperate shower cubicle.

There are 4 large twin bedded rooms, each (soon to) have two double beds – these rooms face the main building and are ideal for those requiring family accommodation, as they have space for at least one extra bed. These have self-contained shower rooms. Travellers can park their vehicles immediately outside these rooms.

There is 1 big, purpose designed, family room with two double beds and a double bunk bed. It has a spacious bathroom with seperate shower.

The original building of Chanters Lodge houses 3 small double rooms, each with one double bed, and self-contained with private bathroom and/or shower. These rooms are ideal for the single traveller or couples travelling on a budget.

Click here to see the various different rates for these rooms.

At certain seasons and for group travel, as well as for long stays, discounts are available on request. All room rates are per room per night and include full english breakfast and free transfers from/to Livingstone International Airport or the city centre on arrival/departure if required.

All rooms have Wifi availability. The lodge gives one free hour internet access per room to Guests on arrival and very reasonable internet vouchers are available for purchase thereafter. There’s also a laptop situated in the lounge for Guest use if required.

The lodge has a stand-by electricity generator in case of power cuts and a 28,000 litre reserve water supply. The site is surrounded by a wall fence and there is a security guard at night. There is space for parking approximately 10 vehicles.

The picture is of one of our recently completed poolside doubles.

8
DEC

accommodation, Africa, Chanters, extension, TripAdvisor, Zambia

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