• Hyatt will reopen the former Kingdom Hotel as Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls in late 2027 after Albwardy Investments’ US$30 million acquisition and full-scale refurbishment
• The redevelopment restores a 245-room hotel with 1,800sqm of conference space
• The shift to an owner-operator aligned model under Albwardy and Hyatt strengthens long-term investment capacity

Harare - Hyatt Hotels Corporation will reopen the former Kingdom Hotel in Victoria Falls as Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom in late 2027 after signing a management agreement with an affiliate of Dubai based Albwardy Investments, which acquired the property owner Makasa Sun for US$30 million and is funding an extensive refurbishment aimed at repositioning the dormant hotel for premium leisure, conference and business travel. 

The transaction restores one of Victoria Falls’ largest hospitality assets after three years of closure and moves it into Hyatt’s global distribution, reservations and loyalty network. The redeveloped hotel will carry 245 rooms, about 1,800 square metres of meeting and event space and three restaurants when it opens. It will become Hyatt’s second branded property in Zimbabwe after Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles. 

The hotel closed in January 2023 after African Sun and the property owners failed to agree on a new lease. African Sun had operated the Kingdom since 1997 and wanted a lease of at least ten years to justify further investment, while the owners proposed a two year extension. The disagreement left the property idle during a period when Victoria Falls tourism was rebuilding visitor traffic and attracting new accommodation investment. 

Albwardy’s acquisition changed the capital structure behind the asset. Makasa Sun had been jointly owned by First Capital Bank and the Barclays Pension Fund. The US$30 million disposal moved the property from a landlord and tenant model into the portfolio of an international hotel investor with an existing Zimbabwe presence. Albwardy had already acquired Meikles Hotel in 2019 before the property entered Hyatt’s network in 2024. 

That ownership model gives the Kingdom redevelopment a longer investment horizon. The former arrangement required the operator to commit refurbishment capital against a limited lease period. Albwardy now owns the underlying investment and has appointed Hyatt to manage the hotel, aligning the property owner, refurbishment programme and international brand under one commercial structure.

The project also expands Victoria Falls’ premium room and conference capacity. The 1,800 square metres of event space positions the hotel to compete for conferences, corporate meetings and incentive travel alongside leisure tourists visiting the waterfall and surrounding safari destinations. Conference visitors generally support weekday demand and reduce the reliance of resort hotels on seasonal leisure traffic.

The Grand Hyatt brand places the property in Hyatt’s upper tier full service portfolio, giving Victoria Falls access to corporate travel accounts, international tour operators and World of Hyatt members. The global booking platform broadens the destination’s reach and improves the hotel’s ability to sell rooms outside Zimbabwe’s traditional tourism channels. 

The commercial opportunity sits in visitor spending as much as room capacity. Premium hotels capture revenue through accommodation, dining, events, wellness services and destination activities. They also create demand for food producers, transport operators, tour companies, maintenance contractors, laundry services, technology suppliers and conference organisers. A successful reopening therefore expands the tourism supply chain beyond the hotel payroll.

Victoria Falls remains Zimbabwe’s strongest tourism investment location because it combines an internationally recognised natural attraction with airport capacity, safari access and regional connectivity. The former Kingdom property also sits within walking distance of the Victoria Falls rainforest entrance, giving the redevelopment a location advantage that new projects would struggle to replicate. 

The transaction also recycles an underused asset without requiring a completely new hotel development site. Refurbishing an existing property preserves sunk investment in the building, utilities and surrounding infrastructure while moving capital into room upgrades, conference facilities, restaurants and operating systems. The approach shortens part of the development cycle, though the extensive refurbishment still leaves execution risk around construction cost, contractor delivery and the late 2027 opening timetable.

Albwardy’s Zimbabwe exposure is becoming a multi asset hospitality strategy. The group’s ownership of Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles gives it a presence in the corporate and government travel market in Harare. Grand Hyatt Victoria Falls The Kingdom adds leisure tourism, conferences and international group travel. The two properties create a route for Hyatt customers to combine the capital city and Victoria Falls under the same hotel network.

The investment arrives as Zimbabwe seeks higher tourism receipts from each visitor. Luxury accommodation supports that objective through higher room rates, food and beverage spending, organised excursions and conference activity. The economic benefit will depend on occupancy, average daily rates, air access, service quality and the ability of local suppliers to capture a larger share of hotel procurement.

The next markers are the refurbishment budget, construction progress, recruitment, supplier contracting and the confirmed opening date. The market should also track how the additional premium capacity affects room rates, conference bookings and occupancy across Victoria Falls.

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