Africa - Hotel in Accra

Hi,

I'll be staying in Accra for a week end of Aug/early Sep. Which hotel is a good base to explore the city and surrounding areas?

I like my hotels safe, secure, clean, and preferably modern. Which would your bet be?

1. Fiesta Royale – Very popular business hotel. Used by Emirates, Air Nigeria and Air Namibia crews. Located 15 mins drive from airport, 5 mins from Accra Mall, 20-30 mins from beach. Airport shuttle available. (http://www.fiestaroyalehotel.com/)

2. Holiday Inn – Obama’s choice (he took over the entire building). Horrendously overpriced - you’d pay about $75-100 for similar quality in the USA rather than the $300+ they rip you off for here. KLM crew stay here. Located at the airport, 10 mins from Accra Mall, 20 mins from beach. Airport shuttle available. (http://www.holidayinn.com/hotels/us/en/accra/accra/hoteldetail)

3. African Regent – Nice newer property owned by the son of the former president and popular among the Accra political set. British Airways crew stay here. 10 minutes from airport, across the street from Accra Mall, 20 mins from beach. Airport shuttle available. (http://www.african-regent-hotel.com/)

4. Golden Tulip – Another property popular among the Accra political set. Hosted Moammar Gadaffi when he attended the AU conference here a few years ago by draining the swimming pool and pitching his tent there. Recently renovated with a casino on property. Egyptair and MEA crew stay here. 5 minutes from airport, 10 minutes from Accra Mall, 20 mins from beach. Airport shuttle available. (http://www.goldentulipaccra.com/)

5. M-Plaza – High security hotel designed for visiting heads of state. Very depressing property in general due to the stifling security, but if you have safety concerns you can’t do much more than this. Shares a wall with the Indian Embassy. 10 minutes from airport, 10 minutes from Accra Mall, 25 mins from beach. (http://www.mplaza-hotel.com/)

6. La Palm Royal Beach Resort – Excellent resort located right on the beach. Some excellent restaurants. 20 minutes from airport, 30 minutes from Accra Mall. (http://www.gbhghana.net/la-palm)

7. Labadi Beach Hotel – Another resort with a private beach, located right next door to La Palm. Recently renovated. Kenya Airways crew stay here. 20 minutes from airport, 30 minutes from Accra Mall. (http://labadi.legacyhotels.co.za/)

8. Novotel – Business hotel located downtown. Older property that is being renovated since last year. Delta crew stay here. 20 minutes from airport, 30 minutes from Accra Mall, 10 mins from beach. (http://www.novotel.com/gb/hotel-1021-novotel-accra-city-centre/index.shtml)

9. Movenpick – Brand new hotel (opened last month!). Located right next to the Novotel and beside the new Accra World Trade Center. 20 minutes from airport, 30 minutes from Accra Mall, 10 mins from beach. (http://www.moevenpick-hotels.com/en/pub/your_hotels/worldmap/accra/overview.cfm)

I stayed at the Afia African Village (http://www.afiavillage.com/) on my trip last August. It is hardly luxe but it is cheap and clean. Restaurant on-site was good enough and the grassy area overlooking the beach was nice for relaxing with a large beer at the end of the day. Reasonably convenient from the airport (<30 minutes) and some shopping and sights in town.

Some of my views from that lounging area are here: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewanderingaramean/2010/08/soccer-on-the-shore-in-accra/.

A couple more photos, including one of the meal, here: http://boardingarea.com/blogs/thewanderingaramean/2010/08/i-really-dont-think-i-need-air-conditioning-in-africa/.

I think I paid something like $60/night for a room with air conditioning. The car pickup from the airport was $14.

I'm posting this message from la palm. Nice hotel with great pool and comfortable lobby. I visited labadi beach. It is definitely more modern, but also more expensive. New holiday inn by the airport (don't know anything about it other than it's new). Don't worry about which part of Accra you are in. Taxis are dirt cheap. You can get a private driver for about 30 dollars/day.

Don't go stay at the Blue Royal. It's crap. Paloma was OK.

Depends on how much you want to spend and where you want to be, but the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel is located near the Beach Road, Makola Market, and the Art Market. It's quite expensive, but it's very modern and very nice. It's hands down the best hotel in Accra.

Hi, thanks for all the feedback. After contemplating to stay on the beach, I ended up booking the Mövenpick, because it was cheaper for the days than either the Labadi or La Palm.

Didn't book a room with access to the Club Lounge though, those struck me as a bit of a rip-off.

I am looking for a cheap hotel to stay in Accra this December, so I am glad to find this thread. It seems like Afia is close to what I want as far as style of the hotel and price. Anyone has other recommendations?

If you're a bit more specific on what you want, we can give you a better rec. Cheap can mean different things to different people...

If you're a bit more specific on what you want, we can give you a better rec. Cheap can mean different things to different people...

Anything around Afia's price will be great, so under ~$80

I've stayed at both La Palm and Movenpick for similarly priced stays. Movenpick is significantly nicer due to it's newness although when I was there it was not completely open and subject to construction noise and internet outages. Great gym with the latest treadmills, freeweights, trainers etc. The rooms, however, were somewhat humid and it seemed that even with the AC on things seemed "damp". La Palm is at the beach, which was nice and also has a nice but slightly smaller pool, horrible gym when I was there in 2008. When my sister was in the Peace Corps, she and her friends would occasionally visit La Palm for it's ice cream shoppe and great mochas.