Accra Beach Hotel & Spa

First impressions weren't great. We got a pool view room, when we expected an ocean view room, but you could just about see the sea...... On going down to the beach bar, we were surrounded by wasps... sat down and saw two large rats run out from the shrubs nearby. Thse were seen several times during the stay. Covid 19 reared its head during the weeks stay, so I suppose the miserable faces on most of the staff was to be expected. There was a few exceptions to this, notably Everton, on duty in the breakfast buffet, Yvonne at the evening restaurant, and Paul working behind the bars. Then the hotel decided to renew the drains to the swimming pool overflow system, so the swimming pool was shut for the last 2 days of our stay. (why not wait until the hotel was closed ??) Add to that a very confusing all inclusive system, where we had to sign for all meals and drinks despite wearing the all inclusive arms bands. I'm very glad we didn't have to pay the prices quoted for some basic meals, E.G over £100 for a bbq meal, and the same for a buffet curry meal. (for two)

The location of the hotel and the beach are great but the hotel needs refreshing. Very nice pool and lounge area with plenty of loungers. Plenty of loungers and umbrellas on the beach. The restaurants were just ok.

The true strength of this hotel is that of it's staff. They couldn't do enough for us. Everyone was helpful and cheerful and we had the best service in the shop whether the Bars (including the fantastic Swim-up Bar), to the Restaurant Service, Reception or Domestic Room service. The hotel is sited in the middle of a picturesque bay with spectacular views of the sea and Caribbean beach. While we were there the Sand Bar was closed for refurbishment (for which we received a reduction in the price) and the hotel was downgraded half a point to three and a half stars instead of four star but there was so much going on that we didn't notice the loss. We chose H.B and ate in the hotel restaurants. The standard of food was very high and I can't understand why some folks preferred to eat at one of the many fast-food diners that surround the hotel complex. The restaurants held a variety of themed food nights which we enjoyed a great deal (particularly Thai Night) which had a large number of Thai speciality dishes but also included a number of Sushi style dishes. There are two swimming pools one of which has a small shallow paddling section for the little ones. There is also anther pool (Adults only) which we found to be quieter than the main pool. In addition to this there is a fantastic Caribbean white sand beach accessed via the hotel garden. The sunbeds and parasols in the garden are free but there is a small charge for sunbeds and parasols on the beach. But be warned the sea is strong and some of the rollers are powerful and easily knock a full-grown man off his feet (I was one) it took my sunnies as well so they are at the bottom of the Caribbean somewhere. Our room 110 was a fair size with a balcony and a view of the pool. The room was very clean but has sliding screens across the window which gave the impression of it being a bit dated. The good sized bathroom/toilet had a walk-in shower. I personally prefer the hand-held style shower so that I can reach the parts that the sun never sees but it was more than adequate and the room Aircon was the best that I have ever had in a hotel room. One trip not to be missed is the snorkel cruise on a catamaran that takes you out on the west facing coast to swim and snorkel with the turtles. You then visit the reef where there is an old wreck and view some beautiful fish. We have snorkelled on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and whilst this was not comparable to that it was still beautiful and well-worth the experience. This trip also is an unofficial guided tour of the wealthy homes and clubs and expensive hotels where a large number of celebs stay. We have a great lunch and ongoing drinks from a well-stocked little bar (including rum). The trip concluded with an Ocean Swim and then it is back in time for a shower and a fortifying rest to prepare for dinner and the evening events. What was bad? We made the mistake of going with TUI. They forgot about customers wanting accurate information about changes to their holiday. In our case They crossed out the Tees downgraded the Isss and forgot about Us in the middle. The day before we were due to fly out from Birmingham we received a text from them telling us that our "CRUISE" had been cancelled because of Coronavirus so our flight was cancelled. I checked on the Flight Departures at Birmingham and our Flight was still there.. It took me "Two" hours of anxiety trying to get through to them that I had not "booked" a Cruise with them. I was then told that their text message only applied to people on their Marella Cruises their text message did not make that clear and that our holiday was still on. I asked the TUI operator to pass on our comments to their management. She must have done so because an hour later we received a clarifying text. Then three days before our departure from the hotel we had an erroneous letter shoved under our door telling us that we may not be on our existing flight and that we may not even be going back to the same home airport. There was no other information given so right up till our departure time on our last day we did not know what was happening. This caused us "more" anxiety because we had an airport taxi booked and paid for from Birmingham Airport. For all that we found that "No Changes" had actually been made and we found we were on the original flight number. TUI then crowned their lack of professionalism by delaying our aircraft by two hours with not as much as an apology in sight. My wife and I stayed in March 2020.. My own personal advice is go to this lovely friendly hotel in Barbados but if I went again I would go with a different operator. Not TUI...