STAYafrica

Five-star hotel combines scale and style

The Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra, which commands an urban oasis within the city’s business district, is an unforgettable blend of style and size. Not only does it have Accra’s biggest outdoor swimming pool, but sun-worshipping guests are served drinks by staff navigating its expanse of palm-fringed terrace on roller skates. This is a hotel where you can live large and in luxury.

Location

Set in the heart of Accra’s city centre and just seven km from the capital’s Kotoka International Airport, the five-star Ambassador is conveniently located for leisure and business travellers alike. The latter will appreciate its proximity to The Accra Financial Centre, World Trade Centre, International Conference Centre and wealth of Government ministries while tourists will have the city’s best shopping spots, a golf course and delicious eateries close by. Bustling Makola Market and the resorts of Labadi Beach are also within easy reach. However, the hotel is a haven of luxurious amenities set within its 16 acres of lush, landscaped gardens so you may be reluctant to venture far.

Style

With 260 stylish rooms and suites, The Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel Accra is the largest five-star hotel in the city. For all its size, it retains a warm, welcoming atmosphere throughout. Even the crescentshaped hotel is a nine-storey hug of a building, wrapping itself around the lagoon of a pool. Similarly, inside the stylistic touches keep the grand scale sociable. The impressive lobby is a cavernous vision of polished wood floors, copper panelling and artworks, some preserved from the original Ambassador Hotel opened in 1957 (there are 2,500 pieces of original Ghanaian art throughout the hotel). It’s a

lobby that teems with life and has become a popular place to meet for Accra’s movers and shakers. Its One2One Bar and Lobby Lounge are hip hangouts for a drink, snack or – during ‘Mövenpick Chocolate Hour’– free chocolates.

Services and facilities

Mövenpick piles on the amenities for guests at the Ambassador. For those who don’t want their fitness regime to flag on their

32 STYLISH The hotel has a luxurious look inside and out

travels there is the ToneZone gym and the hotel grounds are circumscribed by a 400-metre jogging track. The Marn-Dah Spa will soothe any aching muscles as will the lagoon-shaped pool, which has a kids’ swimming area as befits such a family-friendly establishment.

The Emporium shopping mall attached to the hotel offers retail therapy while the neighbouring Arts Centre of Ghana sells a range of traditional handicrafts such as wood carving and drums – ideal souvenirs of your visit. Business guests can take

advantage of the extensive meeting and conference facilities, which are – as is becoming a theme here – the largest in the city.

Rooms

The hotel’s superior, deluxe and executive double rooms all come with a choice of city or pool views while the top floor vantage point of the Ambassador and Presidential Suites reveals a magnificent cityscape. All the rooms are minimal and fresh in décor with an urban feel and injections of colour from African

DINING Sankofa

prints and fabrics. Each room has a large bathroom, free highspeed wi-fi, 46” flat screen TVs, laptop sized safe, individually controlled air-conditioning, a work desk and minibar.

Guests staying in one of the hotel’s suites or on the Executive Club Floor have access to the elegant Executive Lounge with its balcony overlooking the gardens and pool, evening canapés with wine and champagne and a private check-in/check-out service. It’s like staying at a hotel within a hotel.

There are a variety of dining options available. Flagship restaurant Sankofa samples cuisines from all over the world with some of the dishes prepared right before your eyes at live cooking stations. Its Sunday buffets are very popular and occasionally attract star guests. Ghanaian recording artist Adane Best was recently seen singing live to diners.

The Deli, located on the ground floor of the Emporium Shopping Arcade, offers freshly made sandwiches, light meals and signature Mövenpick ice cream to be taken away or enjoyed on the outdoor terrace.

More light bites can be had at the Lobby Lounge, which has become one of the city’s hippest hangouts to meet friends, discuss business deals and enjoy refreshments while enjoying the views out to the hotel gardens and pool.

The Pool Bar and Barbecue is where to go for the Ambassador’s most fun dining experience. Here guests can relax poolside amid the lush gardens and enjoy light summer dishes, barbecue nights and a range of ice-cool drinks, all brought to them with a flourish by a team of roller-skating waiters. Now that is cool.

GRAND The lobby

Guests can relax poolside amid the lush gardens and enjoy light dishes and a range of ice-cool drinks delivered by roller-skating waiters

An extensive drinks selection can also be enjoyed in the lobby at the One2One Bar. This chic lounge bar, which also does light meals, is the perfect spot for entertaining clients, business meetings, or unwinding after a long day at work.

Room prices from US$ 297 per night. For more information, visit movenpick-hotels.com

All public areas are wheelchair accessible and there are two specially adapted rooms suitable for wheelchair users.

CHIC The One2One bar