Change in Hotels-Livingstone

taxare

We were just notified that the hotel in Livingstone has been changed from the Royal Livingstone to the Royal Chundu. After a quick look, the Royal Chundu seems to be very nice and comparable. Our trip begins at the end of May, 2018 and I wouldn't know if this is just for our departure or others. I am NOT complaining, and I know they do change properties to comparable properties from time to time, but they said they said the Royal Livingstone was "unable to accommodate our group". This is a bit surprising to me considering the amount of business that Tauck provides them. I have not had a chance to look at the archives to see if previous trips stayed at this property.

AlanS

WOW- this tour has only 20 people and they could't accommodate it and they know 6 months out?!?!? We aren't going until May 2019, but I sure hope we stay at the Royal Livingstone. In addition to being a nice place with fantastic grounds right on the river not far from the Falls, hotel guests get special (free) access to the park on a private trail, where you really get a good view the Falls! The Royal Chundu is a bit more remote, on the Zambezi, but 30 km upstream from Victoria Falls! That could make it a bit more difficult to engage in pre-tour activities!!

I'll be interested to hear more about this!

British

Have you tried googling to see if there is a big event or conference happening that is on the same dates as your visit that is taking up all the room space?
The grounds are not that spectacular. There is a trail from the hotel to the Falls park entrance, I did not think once you go thru the entrance that it is private, there were lots of locals hanging around there when we walked to the falls separately to the Tauck walk there.
Things like the helicopter rides and so on, they pick you up and bus you to the helipad. It's a shame but my favorite accommodation on the tour was the simplest without electricity, Camp Kalahari.

cathyandsteveg__

Please keep us informed...we don't go until sept. 2019 but i will be quite disappointed if we are not in the royal Livingston.

cb2labs

taxare

would you mind telling me what May departure you are on? I have put myself on a waitlist if space opens on the May 26 departure. But, was very much wanting to stay at the Royal Livingstone.

Thank you.

taxare

That departure is staying at the Royal Chundu.

Sealord

cb2labs wrote:

taxare

would you mind telling me what May departure you are on? I have put myself on a waitlist if space opens on the May 26 departure. But, was very much wanting to stay at the Royal Livingstone.

Thank you.

I did a trial booking and it showed no rooms available on May 26th,, nor any date close to that.

taxare

OK, I am getting frustrated and would like the input from those of you that are experienced Tauck travelers. Due to the airline award tickets I was able to obtain, I want to add three additional nights before the start of our tour. In November before getting the notice about the change in hotel in Livingstone, Tauck confirmed two nights at the Royal Livingstone but it took them over a month to get back to me, and it was then about the change to the Royal Chundu. On November 19 through my travel agent (who does a lot of business with Tauck), I requested the three nights. The same thing, they fairly quickly confirmed my two additional nights at the Royal Chundu but despite several calls by my travel agent and one by me, I still have not heard about the third night. It can't be that hard to get a yea or nay for the third night. I understand that communications in Zambia may not be as quick, but I think a month is plenty of time to get an answer. Is this unusual for Tauck? I haven't traveled with them before, but have heard and read the posts about the wonderful work on their tours, but I am not impressed with their corporate office. Thanks for your input.

AlanS

taxare wrote:

OK, I am getting frustrated and would like input from those of you that are experienced Tauck travelers. Due to the airline award tickets I was able to obtain, I want to add three additional nights before the start of our tour. In November before getting the notice about the change in hotel in Livingstone, Tauck confirmed two nights at the Royal Livingstone but it took them over a month to get back to me, and it was then about the change to the Royal Chundu. On November 19 through my travel agent (who does a lot of business with Tauck), I requested the three nights. The same thing, they fairly quickly confirmed my two additional nights at the Royal Chundu but despite several calls by my travel agent and one by me, I still have not heard about the third night. It can't be that hard to get a yea or nay for the third night. I understand that communications in Zambia may not be as quick, but I think a month is plenty of time to get an answer. Is this unusual for Tauck? I haven't traveled with them before, but have heard and read the posts about the wonderful work on their tours, but I am not impressed with their corporate office. Thanks for your input.

I've never had problems with 1 or 2 nights early, but have never requested 3 nights pre-stay. It might be hard for Tauck, maybe outside their contracted price window. Another issue is scheduling the airport pickup. All are easily handled in the US or Europe, but as our K&T TD liked to say at times like this- "Remember, this is Africa."

Remember, also, while the trip is still 5 months out, it is at the start of the busy season there and you are just one of hundreds of Tauck travelers headed to Africa between now and then. I'm not making excuses, but now is a busy time of year for Tauck and the travel industry in general. You might want to do a little research on your own, just in case- see what vacancies are available in other Livingstone area hotels- the nearby Royal Chundu Island Lodge, the Chundukwa River Lodge, etc. or places closer to Livingstone like the AVANI Victoria Falls Resort next door to the Royal Livingstone and owned by the same people. I'll be interested in how all this works out, and to see if it is something I will need to worry about for 2019 when we go.

British

Tauck 'Allows' up to three extra nights before a tour as being considered part of the tour, so that should not be a problem.
We always book directly with Tauck, never used a travel agent because in theory your contract is with your travel agent. But you say you called Tauck directly too--- what exactly did they say? If your trip was a long way off, I mean for example over a year away, I would say Tauck sometimes don't have their contracts with the hotels worked out so early so they sometimes cannot confirm extra hotels for a while, but May is too near for this to be the case.
As there is obviously some kind of event or problem with the Royal Livingstone and your trip is so near, I would again try calling Tauck yourself and find out what is going on if indeed they will help you since you are not contracted with them in theory, but at least you will get it from the horse's mouth. It's unfortunate that you are changing what was the original dates with them. As Alan says, if they cannot help, you need to find another hotel for the first night of your new dates. If you can arrange something with Tauck that they could still pick you up from the airport and get you to your different hotel, you should not have a problem getting transport to the Tauck hotel on the second day. Going so early is such a sensible way to go, it's a shame this is happening. We arrived two days early for this tour and had a wonderful helicopter ride and a massage and time in the pool and were feeling relaxed before this wonderful tour began.
We have traveled many times with Tauck. There was only one time they could not get us early into a hotel, but we knew that when we booked, there was a huge wedding at the hotel as it turns out, so no rooms. We booked another hotel and Tauck transported us there.
We regular forum people and frequent Tauck travelers want to know how this is handled going forward. We love traveling with Tauck. When we went on the Botswana tour, I think we booked it about eighteen months or more in advance, their tours get booked so quickly. We have five tours booked with them at present, taking us to September 2019

taxare

Alan S and British, thanks for your input. I actually had the third night at the Royal Livingston that I booked on my own, but prefer to stay at the same property for all three nights if available. I’m going to push a little harder next week now that the holidays are over. I have traveled extensively in India and became used to a slower response than I was used to. This lack of response beats that. I can’t emphasize enough that we are more than excited about this tour and am grateful for the many informative posts. Will keep you informed. Happy New Year to all.

taxare

cb2labs wrote:

taxare

would you mind telling me what May departure you are on? I have put myself on a waitlist if space opens on the May 26 departure. But, was very much wanting to stay at the Royal Livingstone.

Thank you.

There is now a note at the bottom of the 2018 tour dates and pricing page that says the May 26 and August 25 departures stay at the Royal Chundu.

cb2labs

Thank you for the info on dates for Royal Chundu. The Royal Chundu looks like a beautiful property and I am sure will be a great place to stay. As I said previously, I am on a waitlist in case anyone must cancel their scheduled trip with Tauck to Botswana, so not very optimistic that I will in fact be taking that trip this year. What a fabulous trip you will have.

taxare

Today, we FINALLY received confirmation of our third night. I believe Tauck was trying hard to get this confirmed for us, but the reservation personnel at this property were not as responsive as I would hope. I can now focus on getting us ready for a wonderful adventure in just four months! I guess my suggestion is if you want to stay more than two nights pre-tour ask early.