By Daniel Chigundu
KINGDOM Hotel is not only closest to the Victoria Falls which is arguably the world’s largest water curtain but is also ideal for hosting large conferences for both the local and international delegates.
Zimbabwe is in the process of promoting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) business and availability of conference facilities is going to play a major role.
Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) chief executive Dr Karikoga Kaseke is on record saying the tourism sector is going to record a huge boom following the confidence that has been brought up by the new dispensation.
The ZTA boss went even further to encourage players in the tourism sector to consider building large conference facilities that are also easily convertible in anticipation of that great boom.
However, The Kingdom in Victoria Falls appears to be ready for the boom and has meaningful infrastructure catering for the conference and bedding for the delegates.
During the inspection of the facility, The Kingdom Hotel guest relations manager Denise Muchemenyi took Sanganai/Hlanganani buyers around showing them the conference rooms, bedrooms and various restaurants.
According to Muchemenyi, the hotel is equipped with two main conference rooms, the Leambe with a capacity of 50 to 60 people depending on the type of setup.
Leambe has about three side-rooms that can be used as for such things as breakaways sessions or even hired for use as boardrooms or meeting rooms among others.
The bigger conference room at the hotel is called the Great Enclosure Conference room with a carrying capacity of 250 but can go as far as 300 depending on the setup of when push comes to shove.
Just like with the Leambe Conference room, the Great Enclosure is also supported by about four rooms that can work for breakaway sessions.
The Great Enclosure is built in such a way that when they do set up for conferences, there is always room for translator booths and it has twin lobbies that can be used for teas by delegates just to decongest the area.
During lunch, delegates have an option to either eat lunch in the main restaurant that accommodates about 300 people at one go or they can they can choose to order from the bar. The main restaurant is also used for serving breakfast and dinner.
The Kingdom Hotel has 294 rooms combined although some were enhanced to cater for various types of guests, for example, those coming with family, or the VIPs, and even the paraplegic they are all catered for.
However, if you want to get your money’s worth you can try booking in the Kings Club, the VIP wing of the hotel, guests that side get a hostess to help them up, their room fridges are filled on a daily basis, the rooms and beds are spacious fit for a king and according to Muchemenyi the hotel also has about four Presidential suites.
For the protection of guests and their security, the hotel was built using the model of the Great Zimbabwe which had only one entrance and there were always warriors manning that entrance monitoring activity.
According to ZTA, Zimbabwe has about 6 483 rooms and 12 772 beds of that figure, Victoria Falls accounts for 1126 rooms and 2463 beds.-
