Labadi Beach Hotel is part of the Legacy chain of hotels which has South African ownership. I went to Accra, Ghana in December 2008 with a friend and decided to stay at Labadi Beach Hotel (LBH) following a friend’s advice. I had asked for the hotel to pick us up from the airport which they did. LBH is only about 10km from Kotoka International Airport and the ride to the hotel in the (air-conditioned) bus was cool although there was quite a bit of traffic to get through on the way.
Once we arrived, the driver insisted on carrying our luggage into the hotel although all we had were little suitcases we could manage and were already carrying ourselves. Carrying our suitcases was probably part of his job but it made us feel a little special all the same. At reception, while our reservations were being checked, we were greeted with cold towels and glasses of cold fruit juice which were a nice relief after the ride from the airport.
After filling out forms at reception, we were shown to our rooms. Ours was a double with two single beds. It had a bathroom ensuite, TV (with a few DStv channels and Ghanaian channels), fridge, a little sofa and my favourite thing, a little balcony with chairs on it looking onto a lawn. It was calming to sit there early in the morning or in the evening just reading or sipping drinks. The bathtub in the bathroom had red marks around the drain but apart from that, the bathroom and room were clean and attractive.
LBH has two restaurants: The Primavera Restaurant which served mostly Italian meals and the Akwaaba Restaurant which served Ghanaian and Continental meals. We always ate in The Akwaaba Restaurant because it seemed to have a wider menu: in addition to a buffet, morning, noon and night, you could choose meals from a set menu. Our reservation included free breakfast from the buffet so we generally ate there before going out. The buffet always had a mind-boggling array of food and it was always fresh. The best thing for me about LBH was the food!
LBH has a swimming pool, children’s pool (amongst other facilities) as well as a private beach. By private beach, I mean that a part of the beach was cordoned off and loungers were placed there. However to get to the sea, you had to leave the cordoned-off area. On LBH’s private beach, you could order drinks and snacks making a day at the beach feel luxurious.
LBH’s staff were always attentive and eager to help whether you were lost, couldn’t figure out how to open the door to your room or needed to know what the best bars in Accra were. LBH has a cocktail bar where in the evening, you could sit, have drinks and listen (or sing along) to the songs the pianist played. After a few drinks and a bit of makeshift karaoke, going in search of Accra’s nightclubs might seem like too much trouble.
Checking out at the end of our stay was quick and problem-free. On the whole, staying at LBH was a pleasure.
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