I will be spending one night in HRE in June and would like advice on where to stay. From the little I can find on sites like Tripadvisor, the hotels are iffy and going down fast. Even venerable institutions like the Meikles Hotel - which has yet to respond to a query I made on their site a month ago.

People from Zim say to avoid the hotels and stay in a lodge or B&B. But I haven't found anyone with first hand knowledge of the places. Anyone with recent experience they would care to share, please?

Well it really depends on what you are doing in Harare - if it is a simple overnight then the best place would probably be the Cresta Lodge - http://www.cresta-hospitality.com/lodges/harare.htm.

If you are there on business one of the downtown hotels might suit you better - Meikles is still an excellent hotel, but you will pay accordingly. The Crowne Plaza Monomatapa is also good. I'd avoid what used to be the Sheraton, as this is a government owned hotel. There is a Holiday Inn which should be OK, it has a Spur restaurant attached.

There are a number of smaller hotels around the city centre but I have no idea how these have held up.

The lodges and B&B's you are referring to tend to be in the Northern Suburbs. Imba Matombo is excellent, and I have heard good reports about York Lodge. These are probably the most comfortable places to stay if you don't want the traditional hotel thing.

As I'm sure you're aware, Zimbabwe is facing tremendous economic problems, and this affects almost all walks of life, including hotels, so you need to be cautious when booking at some of the smaller establishments. They may not still be in business in June!

I recentley stayed at York Lodge. It was a great Lodge, with good food, beautiful rooms, and excellent service. They can be contacted at [email protected] or www.yorklodge.com

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.

Thank you, kind people.

Contacts in Harare have mentioned these lodges (as have you in some cases):
- Amanzi Lodge
- York Lodge
- Imba Matombo
- Pangolin Lodge
All look great on the web. I will leave it up to the folks we are visiting to suggest one that is most conveniently located.