On my first (vacation) trip to Zim in June 2001, I stayed at the Bronte Hotel and really enjoyed it. It is not like the Meikles at all--out of downtown, a low-rise place with a nice garden/pool. It is not luxurious and not a business hotel, but it was a fine place to stay. There is a good restaurant and bar attached. I got chatty with a 15-year expat living in Harare on the plane ride into town, and she said that it was the best hotel in town.

Of course, this was five years ago, so I have no idea what's happened to the Bronte in Zimbabwe's stunning economic decline. But it was good then.