Ramada Resort Accra

After 2 weeks on the road, this was an absolute oasis of comfort and peace. The Ramada is not actually in Accra. That's the best thing. After hot, sweaty, and noisy Accra - you can get away. The Ramada is set on a natural beach, is absolutely quiet and you can lounge around the pool and have a few drinks. They have a pizzeria using real wood to provide some tasty snacks. They also have a nice open-air restaurant in the complex. The best part for me was my nice fluffy bed. Absolutely perfect. Lots of pillows, comfortable mattress and nice sheets. Excellent. The rest of the bedroom was good, great mini-bar (ice cold) and plenty of storage space. The only disappointing this was the bathroom. It was very small and not well laid out. I was a bit surprised by this. It caused a few inconveniences and really only allows one person at a time inside. So no shaving while someone else showers.

The staff ran from friendly (entertainment people, reception) to a few less than helpful ones behind the bar. The pizza man makes a well made pizza with lots of toppings, but it does take a while to make from scratch.

I only ate in the restaurant late one night and it was poor. I know I was late, but there should be no reason to serve bad food ever. To be fair, the food earlier in the evening and day looked nice.

The central point of the hotel is the large pool. This was very refreshing and there were plenty of deck chairs at all times. You can get as much sun as you wish. There are also many ‘statues’ across the pool area and general hotel compound. To be honest, most are strange or even concerning. Weird is probably the best description, but no harm done.

The hotel sits right on the beach and you can jump right into the surf. The beach does have a few plastic bags washing around, but is reasonable. You may find the Shell Man and even horse riding during low tides.

There is a night club, bars and local restaurants nearby. I walked about 300 meters up the road to get really cheap cold beers to take back to my room fridge. Just remember to take the bottles back!

I also had a chance to speak with local people in the area about life, Ghana, Africa, you name it. The local community is quite nice actually. It really is worth going out of the hotel and turning right. Just walk until you get to a T-Junction. Along the way and in this area you will meet local folks and have a good chat, maybe even share a beer.

Please note, this hotel is about 4 miles from Accra. You can probably haggle with a taxi and pay less than or around $10. Having said that – this could take 1 hour during heavy traffic times. The free airport shuttle advertised on their website didn’t exist when I was there.

Unique Quality:

• Large pool and open air complex, beside the beach
• Kids (under 17) stay for free
• Air-conditioned and nicely decorated bedrooms
• Quiet, even the music at the bar/pool stops early
• Ice cold room refrigerator
• Coffee/tea facilities in the room
• Full length mirror (6 ft tall)
• Full restaurant and a pizzeria
• Away from Accra
• Business meeting rooms and services
• Secure
• Quiet local area
• Across the street from a nightclub