After our exhausting trip of 10.5 hours from Gonarezhou National Park, we were very glad to finally make it to Bulawayo. After spending the first night with a friend, we were excited to be booking into the famous Bulawayo Club. The club is located in the heart of the city on the Corner of 8th Avenue and Fort Street. The building itself is historical, originally built in 1895, with the foundation stone laid by Prince George, who later became King George VI of Great Britain. It was easy enough to find and once we let reception know who we were, they buzzed us into the secure building and we were shown to the back where we were able to leave our vehicle safely in the secure parking on the premises.
After following all the COVID protocols we were escorted up to our room on the 2nd floor by Joseph travelling by means of a vintage elevator. I have to admit that I was a little nervous of this, but apparently they have had no issues and it still regularly gets serviced by the appropriate company. Although a little small, it worked like a charm. Our room was very clean and tidy, with the typically old fashioned bath still in place in the en-suite, which we loved. Each room has its own balcony, giving us a great view of the city and the hustle and bustle of people coming and going.
We had arrived after lunch and entertained ourselves over the course of the afternoon by exploring the whole building, which just oozes history. I lost count of the different rooms we went into, each one is unique and has marvellous old photos on the walls, which have been wonderfully preserved. Woody was in his element as he loves historical artefacts. I eventually had to leave him be, otherwise I’d have been there all night! I set up in the glorious old themed bar, with a nice cold gin and tonic, from their very impressively stocked bar. When Woody found his way down a little while later I delighted in pointing out the pair of elephant feet umbrella holders still standing at the door!
After watching the sunset from our private balcony, we headed for dinner in the majestic dining room on the 2nd floor. We had been out for dinner the previous evening with our friends to a well-known restaurant in the suburbs, but I have to say that the meal at The Bulawayo Club nearly knocked the socks off the previous night’s meal! The menu had a good variety of meals on offer and we settled on peri-peri chicken liver starters and then I had the chicken cordon bleu, while Woody of course had the ox-tail and we ended with a shared waffles, syrup and ice-cream. My, oh my – what a feast! Everything was done to perfection and we asked our dedicated waiter Nkosi if we could please meet the chef Killian who has been working at the club for many years. The big smile he gave us showed how much he appreciated the compliments (we don’t think enough people do this now days).
After we practically rolled out of the dining room after dinner we had a pleasant night’s sleep before having to depart the next morning. Mosquitos can be a problem in Bulawayo, but the club staff ensure each room has a mosquito net, fan and each guest is given a can of repellent to spray in their rooms. We found that once we had sprayed the room and went for dinner, we had no issues the rest of the night.
Both the premises itself, as well as the dedicated staff make The Bulawayo Club a must stay stop over if you have a spare night in Bulawayo.
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