Holiday Inn Accra Review
The hotel marketplace in Accra isn't an easy one. There are beach hotels, downtown hotels like Kempinski and Mövenpick and a number of hotels at the airport (which is just 15 minutes from downtown). Rates for most hotels hovered around $250 - $350 per night. The Holiday Inn Accra looks like your typical airport hotel but has a gorgeous pool and almost a resort-like vibe despite its location near the airfield and a number of construction sites.
Check-in was friendly and somewhat orderly. I arrived at 8AM and as a Platinum was able to check-in right away with no extra charges. I asked for an upgrade and was upgraded to an executive floor.
The room was old but well-maintained.
The bathroom must have been updated in the last few years.; it was appointed well and I liked the dark theme.
Since I hadn't slept too much, I took a nap as I noticed that the curtains worked well and the AC (while on the loud side) was cooling down the room. Later I noticed that the building itself is cooled so well (and the insulation's that good) that I could sleep even without the AC - lovely!
Each room has its own internet router; while I needed to reset it every day, it would come back after that and would redeem itself with consistent speeds of up to 20 Mbit upload and download. That's easily one of the fastest hotel internets I've ever used!
The shower was brand new and the pressure was excellent, with enough hot water.
The pool and pool area at the hotel are gorgeous and made it feel more like a resort than an airport hotel. I found it very relaxing to stay for several hours and to take in some sun rays. The service staff there were friendly and always ready to help out.
The hotel includes free breakfast and I really liked it. There were many sweet and savory options and I got to love the freshly-made crepes every morning. There was also a Nespresso espresso maker that made lovely coffee each morning.
I also liked that the buffet was only slowly removed after 10.30AM during weekdays and 11AM at the weekend, which was much different to the 10AM surge at the Hampton by Hilton Barranquilla.
All the hotel staff were very friendly during my stay and calls were always responded to. Nevertheless, sometimes staff seemed confused by my requests (e.g. to give me a new room key or allow me to go to the gym).
In sum, this hotel is shockingly expensive for an airport hotel when using cash, but it certainly is more than just an airport hotel. It scores highly for its super-friendly staff, delicious breakfast and gorgeous pool. It would only be $80 in Bangkok, but Accra is just not as competitive as the Thai capital.