The Venetian Hotel

Very good

The Zambian staff were very nice and helpful.

I needed to leave the hotel at 07.30 to get to a business meeting at 08.00 but was told that the chef didn't arrive until 07.30 so it wouldn't be possible to get breakfast before I left. Some processed cheese, bread, cereal fruit and yoghurt was delivered to my room the night before as an alternative which was something at least but no cutlery or crockery was provided. Everything, including all the menus and TV was in Chinese. Even the plug sockets were not international Zambian ones. I wasn't able to use the TV or order any food. The phone lines did not work. There is no housekeeping unless you specifically request your room to be cleaned. But with no phones working this was not possible. The lack of housekeeping means the tea/coffee station is not topped up and no washing up or bed making is done. In addition the hotel tried to add 16% VAT on to my bill when I asked to pay by card, saying I could only have the booking price if I paid cash, even though my booking confirmation had VAT included. In the end they agreed to let me pay by card but I did not receive a tax invoice. The $100 cash required is bizarre and I've never had this in a hotel before. I suggested they take a card guarantee but they insisted on $100 cash.