This hotel is rare in Lusaka in that guests can walk out under their own steam from the hotel and get a bit of Zambian life. It is set at the back of the Arcades shopping mall meaning that there are several restaurants, bars, shops a cinema and even a casino within a minute’s walk from the back entrance of the hotel.
The hotel itself is a decent 3 star hotel but unfortunately it comes in only a little lower in price than the Pamodzi which is supposed to be a 5 star, this is probably due in part to its location. Protea Hotels built a new hotel which opened in 2014 on the adjacent site, known as the Protea Towers it is run as a completely separate entity, it is priced a little higher than the original Protea Arcades.
It is important to know that when checking in if you are given a room on the first floor you might ask to be given a different room, there is a night club below and it will be easier to change rooms at the outset rather than at 3 in the morning! Rooms on all other floors do not suffer from the sound pollution but do beware!
The transfer time from the airport is about 20 minutes although this can be a little longer if you travel at rush-hour.
