Photo of Victoria Falls by Jäger on Unsplash.

IHG Hotels & Resorts’ newest brand, Vignette Collection, celebrated its first anniversary with a debut signing in the Middle East and Africa region.

House of Chinhara – Vignette Collection will open in January 2026 in the city of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Leisure and business

The brand’s 10th signing is a management agreement with HOC Hospitality Investments Ltd. The newbuild will offer an urban resort hospitality option to the national park’s over 250,000 annual visitors.

Furthermore, following the recent designation of Victoria Falls as a financial services Special Economic Zone and the creation of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, the area is expected to see a significant increase in corporate and MICE demand as well.

Complementary site

House of Chinhara is made up of 99 keys and includes two F&B outlets, and three bars/cafes on site. Guests can also make use of its health club and 800 sq m of spa and retail space. Also catering to corporate demand, the hotel will include four meeting rooms comprising 620 sq m, with the largest room hosting up to 360 people in a theatre style layout.

The hotel will complement Six Senses Victoria Falls, which is also being developed by HOC Hospitality Investments Ltd as the brand’s first riverside game lodge resort in the Victoria Falls National Park buffer zone, a UNESCO Protected Area. The property will have 54 rooms and three food and beverage outlets including an all-day dining, a specialty dining, and a signature dining and sundowner bar, as well as a spa, integrated retail and concept store.

Key destination

Haitham Mattar, MD, India, Middle East and Africa (IMEA), IHG said: “The signing of this 10th Vignette hotel is a key milestone, as the brand is fast gaining strength across the world and enabling the expansion of our luxury and lifestyle offering worldwide. Following the pandemic, we expect that luxury guests will continue to make more considered travel choices and seek more customised experiences and personal enrichment with community engagement and sustainability at the heart.

“Luxury meets purpose at Vignette Collection hotels and an integral part of creating an authentic guest experience is the opportunity to engage with the local community in a positive way. Victoria Falls is a key destination for international travellers, across both tourism and business segments, and we’re pleased to partner with HOC Hospitality Investments to bring a new hotel to the region that allows our guests to experience the varied wonders of this magnificent destination.”

Aaron Chinhara of HOC Hospitality Investments Ltd added: “We are pleased to partner with IHG on bringing both Six Senses and a Vignette collection brand to Zimbabwe creating a truly world class destination for international visitors, whilst creating a positive impact on the surroundings and local communities.”

Global plans

IHG’s Vignette Collection gives independent hotel owners the opportunity to retain their identity, while benefiting from global scale and luxury and lifestyle expertise. The latest signing joins existing Vignette properties across countries including Portugal, Austria, Thailand and Australia, but House of Chinhara marks the brand’s first foray into the IMEA region.

Other upcoming newbuild Vignette Collection sites include El Gran Encomendero in Valladolid, Mexico, bringing 83 rooms online in Q3 2025 and the 234-key Vignette Collection Aquatique Pattaya in Thailand, delivering in 2024.

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