ONE of Victoria Falls’ newest luxury hotels, Mbano Manor Hotel, keeps the winning momentum, this time scooping the Best Boutique Lodge in Zimbabwe at the prestigious 2024 Association of Zimbabwe Travel Agents (Azta) Awards ceremony held recently in Harare.
Only last June, Mbano took a leap into the global tourism fray and joined the world-acclaimed hospitality group, Accor, under the franchise flag of the Accor premium brand called the Mantis Collection. It now trades as Mbano Manor Hotel Victoria Falls by Mantis, becoming the first internationally branded hotel in the resort town in over a decade.
The bespoke all-suites boutique – located just four kilometres from the famous waterfall – opened its doors in January 2020, a few weeks before Covid-19 lockdowns struck and strangled the travel and tourism sector. It weathered the storm to take home the first runner-up Azta award in 2023.
The Stanley and Livingstone, also in Victoria Falls, was voted first runner-up while Batonka Guest Lodge, also in the resort town, came in as second runner-up.
Azta is an agent that represents the interests of travel agents and tourism operators by facilitating a unified voice for the industry and promoting policies that support collaboration.
The association’s awards, however, are held annually and “focus on celebrating the very best in Zimbabwe’s travel and hospitality industry”.
Founder and director of Mbano, Mati Nyazema, was “thrilled to receive this recognition”.
“It is a testament to the hard work, passion and dedication of our team. From day one, we have strived to offer something truly unique, blending luxury with nature, celebrating authentic local experiences and creating memorable experiences for our guests,” Nyazema – better known as “Doc Mati” in tourism circles – said.
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Nestled in an enclosed ancient teak forest, the eco-luxury five-star experience comprises of 18 luxury suites and one presidential villa. It offers a uniquely perfect blend of safari lodge ambience, rich cultural history and world-class hospitality.
“This honour reflects the luxury boutique hotel’s dedication to offering unparalleled guest experiences and establishing itself as a premier destination for luxury travel to Victoria Falls and to Zimbabwe,” she said. “This year 2024 alone, we have hosted guests from over 60 countries globally. Winning this award fuels our commitment to continue raising the bar.”
Doc Mati has a long tourism career which covers senior positions in destination marketing, airline management, hotel management and convention centre management, based in several African countries.
In 2000 she joined South Africa’s Tsogo Sun, first as marketing services director and later as operations director, before being appointed executive director of the Sandton Convention Centre, a position she held from 2006 to 2016.
Prior to that, she was Cresta Hospitality managing director for Southern Africa.
In real terms, a boutique hotel offers a more luxurious experience to guests compared to a regular hotel. While there are no strict guidelines on what can be considered as a boutique hotel, travel experts say, they have distinct characteristics that you could easily spot: they should be stylish and fashionable, this is usually one of their most distinctive characteristics.
They lean towards providing elegance and luxury without going overboard with their prices. According to an online blog, Les Boutique Hotels: “While boutique hotels are still technically a ‘hotel’, there are still a lot of differences when you compare it to a traditional hotel chain.
“For one, as I have mentioned, they give the utmost priority in creating their own personality and character. Unlike most hotels that don’t mind having the same style of accommodation, boutique hotels do their best to stand out and give their guests a one-of-a-kind stay. Usually resulting in eccentric and eclectic choices.”
Meanwhile, in other categories, the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge was named Best Resort Hotel for an unprecedented 26th consecutive year. The first runner-up is Palm River Hotel and Kariba Safari Lodge as the second runner-up.
Victoria Falls Safari Lodge is operated by hospitality group, Africa Albida Tourism (AAT). The group also owns the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, Victoria Falls Safari Club, Victoria Falls Safari Suites, Lokuthula Lodges, The Boma – Dinner & Drum Show and the Victoria Falls Safari Spa which are situated on the same estate.
Lokuthula Lodges secured the award for Best Self-Catering Facility for the 10th year, and Wendy Bourne, AAT sales executive, received the award for the Most Outstanding Voluntary Service to travel agents for the 12th year, in recognition of her sterling contribution to the industry.
The Brondesbury Park Hotel in Nyanga was voted the Best New Establishment while Nkosi Lodge in Victoria Falls was first runner-up followed by Tamarind Holiday and Conference Resort in Kariba as second runner-up.
Hyatt Regency Hotel (formerly Meikles Hotel in Harare) maintained pole position in the City Hotel category followed by The Bronte Garden Hotel and the Rainbow Towers Hotel and Holiday Inn Harare as second runners-up.
Budget airline FastJet is tops followed by national flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe as first runner-up and Executive Air as second runner-up. Emirates dominated the International Airlines category followed by Qatar and Ethiopian Airlines.
Avis, Impala and Europcar were in first, second and third positions respectively.
According to Azta, this year’s biggest takeaway during the awards celebration was the demonstration of unity within the industry which created a workable environment for all service providers.
