Hotel le Lac, Abgodrafo: Hotel le Lac, Peace and Quiet at Lac Togo
by Proveres
Spent 3 mid-week days at Hotel le Lac, Agbodrafo, on the edge of Lac Togo. For all three days, we were the only guests in the Hotel.
The accomodation is in rooms arranged along the edge of the Lake overlooking the clear waters. The room we stayed in was spotlessly clean with good A/C, but a shower that wasn't perfect.
However, the room was on the whole worth the CFA 44000. Strangely, there is a cheaper rate at weekends (when the Hotel reportedly gets much busier). This seems counter-intuitive and someone hasn't got the supply/demand equation quite right.
You can hire pedalos and jet skis from the Hotel, and these are apparently very popular at weekends. As the only guests, and with pirogues passing from the village to Togoville, the use of anything motorised and loud would have felt completely wrong. The Hotel can, on the other hand, arrange a trip to Togoville in their own pirogue (see my tip in things to do).
The restaurant was not massively impressive, with many items not available (not surprising in view of the lack of guests), but we did feel a bit like we were imposing on the staff sometimes who clearly couldn't wait to finish work and get home. The cost of food and drink is unsurprisingly expensive.
Another positive, however, is the good, clean swimming pool.
It's a short walk into Agbodrafo where you can visit the local attractions, the beach and other hotels. There's good access to shared taxis at the main cross roads near the Customs Post. As usual where shared taxis are often picked up there are also good street stalls selling everything you might need for a journey such as essi water, peanuts, fried plantain crisps etc.
In order to get away from the expensive prices in the Hotel, the Titanic Bar on the road from Agbodrafo to the Hotel (near the crossroads) provides good African ambiance and proper pricing! See separate tip.
Unique for its spectacular lakeside location. Stay on Togoville's market day to watch the constant stream of pirogues passing. It's worth a bit of expense for some luxury.