We have stayed twice at the Holiday Inn, Lusaka, the second time with several high school football teams, and really, really wanted to try another place. I read the reviews here, and with trepidation booked through Robin Pope Safaris at the Taj. Our experience was GREAT. The staff was courteous, efficient and professional. The place was CLEAN, the lobby artistic, the bar and restaurant were warm and welcoming. Breakfast, included in the price of the room, was great. Check out was fast and easy, and we had a very nice surprise - the rooms were cheaper than we had anticipated, even with the dropping dollar. Our entire experience at the Taj Pamodzi exceeded every expectation.

The female staff think they are models or small Gods. They have no manners or education on how to treat guests. They are rude and ignore you pretending to be on the phone.They flirt with male guests, its horrible. lack of sanity I guess. The rooms are worn and old looking, you better off staying at the intercontinental hotel which is not all that also. I would recommend lilayi lodge or chaminuka if you up for the drive. I am yet to get over the room service that was very cold and they tried to charge me twice. Check out is very very slow.

There are really only two up-market hotels in Lusaka, the Taj Pamodzi and the Intercontinental. I've stayed in both several times and find the Taj much better in every category. The rooms are comfortable and have a nice little balcony. Staff are friendly and helpful throughout, but service in the main (inside) restaurant can take a while. The outside (grill) restaurant is expensive, but the food is very nice and the service excellent. Overall, the variety of food choices is welcome during a long stay at the hotel. Check-in is fast (I do not understand why other reviewers complain about an "informal" check-in procedure; I prefer to receive my room key in a friendly, casual manner). Check-out can take some time since the cashier's counter seems not well managed. There is a large, nice, 24 hours gym and a pleasant pool. Overall, no great luxuries and perhaps no bargain for what it offers, but a reliable and comfortable hotel unmatched by any other in Lusaka.

No hesitation in recommending this hotel. Stayed here two nights in February 2008. Clean, comfortable rooms. Friendly and numerous staff. Everything is a little bit worn out and not quite as spotless as in a real luxury hotel but not enough to be a problem. Good value for money by European standards, leaning toward the expensive by African standards but still very reasonable for what you get. Be warned: Check-out as mentioned by others is very slow for some reason. Try not to check out at the same time as most other travelers do or not at the last minute on your way to the airport and you should be ok. Go for it. No serious problem here!

We arrived at the hotel on a friday night to find our online reservation (via the hotel website) had not made it from central reservations for the global chain to the actual hotel. I had to pay to print off my email confirmation from their business centre, and for some time was still met with a blank face that there were no rooms available. I felt that nobody took responsibility for this problem. Finally they found us a room which was actually cheaper than we had booked (as walk in is cheaper than online apparently). The room was fine, but nothing special, and the bar does lovely cocktails. At reception we booked to eat in the grill restaurant, but they failed to tell us we had to turn up within the hour (instead telling us we didn't need to specify a time). The restaurant is in a lovely setting. It was a shame that my order for 'medium' lamb came as rare, then took over 40minutes to be replaced; needless to say the rest of my party had finished eating by this time and I didn't pay for my own meal. Frustrating to splash out on the supposedly 'best' hotel in Lusaka for a last night in Zambia, and to feel so unwelcome.