Hilton signs first Zimbabwe hotel with Terrace Africa

Hilton has signed an agreement with Terrace Africa for its first hotel in Zimbabwe, with Hilton Garden Inn Harare Highlands expected to open in early 2029. Announced on 27 August 2026 at the ZimReal property investment forum in Harare, the project will introduce the group’s upscale focused-service brand to the country.

The hotel will have 140 rooms and suites within Highlands Precinct, a mixed-use development by Terrace Africa. The signing extends Hilton’s African development programme into a new country while placing the property alongside commercial, residential and conferencing uses, rather than as a standalone hotel development.

Hotel to form part of Highlands Precinct

The site is in an established residential and diplomatic district of Harare, approximately 20 to 25 kilometres from Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport. Hilton said the location would give guests access to the city’s commercial, diplomatic and cultural destinations.

Terrace Africa’s plans for the wider precinct combine office space and homes with shops, dining venues, hotels and conference facilities. The Hilton Garden Inn property is intended to accommodate both business travellers and leisure visitors within that setting.

Planned hotel facilities include a restaurant serving meals throughout the day, with an adjoining terrace, as well as a café and bar in the lobby. Meeting rooms, a gym and a swimming pool with a terrace are also included, giving guests places to work, exercise and dine on site.

Brett Abrahamse, director of Terrace Africa, said the precinct had been conceived as a connected urban development responding to Harare’s growth and changing lifestyle requirements. He described the Hilton partnership as a milestone for the project and said it supported the developer’s aim of serving residents, businesses and visitors within mixed-use environments.

Zimbabwe signing extends African expansion

Hilton said its African estate currently comprises more than 70 operating hotels, with over 100 further properties in its development pipeline. More than half of those pipeline hotels are in Sub-Saharan Africa, placing the Zimbabwe signing within a broader regional expansion programme.

Carlos Khneisser, Hilton’s chief development officer for the Middle East & Africa, said the move reflected confidence in Zimbabwe’s long-term hospitality prospects. He cited more than 1.7 million international arrivals in 2025 and pointed to Harare’s commercial, diplomatic and regional gateway roles as reasons for entering the market.

Khneisser also said Hilton saw growing demand from both business and leisure travellers as an opportunity for Hilton Garden Inn. The planned early 2029 opening would establish both the brand and Hilton itself in Zimbabwe through the Terrace Africa partnership.