Mutare is Zimbabwe's eastern gateway, a green border city ringed by mountains and the natural base for the Eastern Highlands. For most travellers the question is not only where to stay in the town itself, but how far up into the hills to go, because some of Manicaland's best beds are not in Mutare at all but in the Vumba and along the road in from Odzi.
This guide covers both. We have kept it honest about geography: the town hotels are in Mutare, the mountain lodges are clearly placed in the highlands around it, and the carousel at the end widens to stays elsewhere in the country for anyone building a longer Zimbabwean trip.
In Mutare town
The town itself has the practical end of the market covered, which is what most border and business travellers need. Holiday Inn Mutare is the full-service landmark, the reliable mid-range chain hotel for meetings and an easy overnight. Gordon's on 125 First Street is a central guest-house option in the heart of town, and the Wise Owl Motel is the long-standing roadside standby on the way in. For backpackers and overlanders, Ann Bruce's Backpackers is the budget and self-catering choice.
Into the Eastern Highlands
The reason many people come to Manicaland is the mountains, and the lodges in them are a different kind of stay altogether: cool air, pine and msasa, mist in the mornings. These sit around Mutare rather than in it, and a car helps.
Musangano Lodge is the gateway property, set in hilly woodland at Odzi off the main Harare to Mutare road, a comfortable base whether you are arriving from the capital or heading up into the hills. Higher and greener, Eden Lodge Vumba puts you in the Bvumba mountains south of the city, the cloud-forest country of botanical gardens and long views into Mozambique, and the Eastern Highlands Retreat continues that mountain-lodge theme for travellers who want to wake up in the hills rather than the town.
For a Manicaland trip, the usual pattern is a night in Mutare on arrival and the rest of the stay up in the Vumba. Compare current availability on the properties above, along with options elsewhere in Zimbabwe, in the carousel below.
