The Shangri-La...in Accra!

Okay, so I'm not sure that the Shangri-La hotel in Accra qualifies as a utopian "earthly paradise," but it certainly has its appeal as an urban, Ghanaian weekend retreat. The hotel is next to our regular (and significantly less expensive) swimming spot, the Royal Granada, and it is a pretty popular haunt for tourists and business travellers alike. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and you can almost forget that you are in the heart of dirtyville, a mere stone's throw from the international airport and the hellish Tetteh Quarshie traffic circle (where we inhale our daily dose of carbon monoxide every morning).

The hotel would probably be a good choice for someone who didn't have to compete with traffic during morning rush hour because it is close to the airport and reasonably close, by car, to the heart of Accra. It is also within view of the Accra Mall and there is a bustling collection of market stalls outside the mall where you can usually find goods and prices that rival or beat what the mall has to offer. We pass it every day on the way to and from work and school, and after a botched attempt to drive to the region north of Aburi, it became a welcome consolation prize for us and especially for the kids!

Oddly enough, the hotel is as well-known for its pizza as it is for its pool. For about 10 Ghana cedis you can get a large pizza with a few toppings. The above selections were our kid-friendly choices, but the last time we ordered, we got a Neptune that had shrimps, tuna and olives, and was pretty darn yummy. As I've mentioned before, a lot of hotels have "pizza huts" by the pool that do not feature the official corporate branding or menu of the chain, but do usually offer stone ovens that can turn the average Ghanaian cook into a pizza master. We have eaten at the Chinese restaurant found inside the hotel and while it was satisfactory, I couldn't really recommend it.

The pool, as you can see, is massive and mostly deep. There is, however, a decent sized kiddie pool but it is a little out of the way and unless you can get chairs between the kiddie pool and the large pool (which is not likely), the average parent will spend most of their time in the kiddie pool or on high alert. There is a swim up bar and restaurant service under thatched roof patio tables. The rooms look to be chalet/cottage style and are spread out around the gardens, just like the resident cats that are found "sunning" all over the place (Finn was thrilled!).

Also of note is the the small art market that is adjacent to the parking lot of the hotel. It is a very reasonably-priced and accessible one-stop-shop for the average tourist or non-local because--unlike the National Cultural Centre market--people let you browse and then give a price that you can hardly argue with. We usually just pay the price we're told and now that we're practically regulars, the prices seem to be getting even better. We have bought baskets, paintings, wood-carved products, pottery, a brass candle holder, and hand-painted cards there. Each seller is usually knowledgeable and some of them are the artists themselves, or are from the village where the goods are produced. Shopping, swimming, stone-fired pizza, and the balmy West African sun...it would be hard to complain!