Name: Coconut Grove Beach Resort
Address: Mmoframa Akyinim, Shama, Shama, Shama, 0000, Ghana
Rating: 8

Shopping on site

Air conditioning

24-hour reception

Currency exchange

Smoke-free property

Security guard

Newspapers

Ticket assistance

Gift shop

Garden

Television in lobby

Terrace

General

Non-smoking rooms

Room service

Fridge

Family room

Cable TV

Minibar

Shower/Bathtub

Wardrobe/Closet

Linens

Toiletries

Rooms

Accessibility features

Accessibility

Luggage storage

Laundry

Safe-deposit box

Concierge services

Dry-cleaning

Services and amenities

Breakfast

Buffet breakfast

Restaurant

Meals

Free Wi-Fi

Internet access

Internet

Shuttle

Airport transportation

Car rental

Transfer

English

French

Multi-language staff

Languages Spoken

Tour assistance

Tourist services

Barbecue grill(s)

Billiards

Mini golf

Picnic area

Barbeque

Sun Deck

Recreation

Parking

Indoor Pool

Outdoor pool

Private beach

Beach/pool towels

Next to the beach

Pool and beach

Business center

Event facilities

Fax and copy machine

Meeting and presentation facilities

Conference Hall

Business

Tennis court

Fitness facilities

Sports

Massage

Beauty and wellness

Children's playground

Children swimming pool

Family/Kid Friendly

Kids

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Personal protection equipment for guests

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

At the resort

Room amenities

Takoradi Airport

Coconut Grove Beach Resort

Shama

child-bed

child-bed-fee

external-private-bathroom

private-bathroom

shared-bathroom

10-beds

11-beds

12-beds

13-beds

14-beds

15-beds

16-beds

17-beds

18-beds

19-beds

2-beds

20-beds

21-beds

22-beds

23-beds

24-beds

25-beds

26-beds

27-beds

28-beds

29-beds

3-beds

30-beds

31-beds

32-beds

33-beds

34-beds

35-beds

36-beds

37-beds

38-beds

39-beds

4-beds

40-beds

5-beds

6-beds

7-beds

8-beds

9-beds

king-bed

queen-bed

limited-time

lounge

treatment

no-window

bay-view

bosphorus-view

canal-view

city-view

courtyard-view

garden-view

golf-view

harbour-view

inland-view

lake-view

land-view

mountain-view

ocean-front

ocean-view

oceanside

panoramic-view

park-view

partial-ocean-view

partial-sea-view

partial-view

pool-view

river-view

sea-front

sea-view

street-view

sunrise-view

sunset-view

water-view

with-view

annex

basement

main-building

1-bedroom

2-bedrooms

3-bedrooms

4-bedrooms

5-bedrooms

6-bedrooms

not-guaranteed

wired-internet-access

smoking

sauna

duplex

safe

mini-bar

breakfast-for-1

breakfast-for-2

pets-allowed

wi-fi

kitchen

Great location, but facilities are very outdated and not worth the price. Food was ok but not outstanding. The room smelled, was filthy on arrival and didn’t appear to be updated in decades.  Staff was great and helpful, but management needs to spend money to update the property. We had dinner next door at Lemon Beach resort and was very impressed and would stay there next time.

Don’t stay here, look at the Lemon Beach Resort

This was the worst hotel experience I have had in my life.

This is a very pleasant and relaxing place to stay with comfortable room, friendly staff and good food. However I found that I had to pay twice for my bill and despite raising this directly and through a family friend in Accra, I am still waiting to be reimbursed a week later. Meanwhile I regret that the management appear to have dragged their feet and to be playing every card in the delay payment playbook. This is disappointing to say the least and it is letting down the work of their staff who did their best to make our stay as enjoyable  as possible

Good place paid twice

The location on the beach was greatThe breakfast could use more options and the pina coladas were horrible

The property is wonderful.Access to the property is painful and challenging!

I write this review in the hope that the management either a) Renovates their rooms to reflect the amount they charge, or b) revises their prices significantly downwards for the room type based on their present state (see description below).

My wife, daughter & myself stayed at Coconut Grove Beach Resort in April 2023, our choice being largely based on the Resort's reputation over the years we've been coming to Ghana. We got a standard room, the price being 1850GHC at the time of writing. We did not book ahead, and credit the staff for making a room available promptly. Given CGBR's reputation in Ghana, I expected for the price paid (equivalent to $156.95 US at this time) a certain room standard that simply wasn't met. I cannot comment on the other suites, and it's possible the hotel has renovated them to a higher standard, but not the standard rooms, and my observations are based on the standard rooms.

My wife & I were quickly disappointed with the room, and mulled over the idea of relocating, but mostly on account of being tired from our day's travels, we saw the booking through, but comparing our photographs with the appraisal below, you will be able to see what we encountered. The room's front door had large gaps where you could see outside into the grounds (the front door & the door frame needing nothing short of complete replacement), and the shower door was also significantly bowed (also needing replacement), and had nasty iron nail heads visible, unbefitting a hotel boasting a fine reputation dating back to 1994. The locks were old and had been shoddily replaced before, and the locks on the shower door didn't get any better, with the original key lock replaced with a bolt style lock, which while practical, gave the impression of an ad hoc repair.

The shower had significant room for a vanity, which was curiously absent, and made the bathroom look unusually big & empty. The tiling was dated, although it was clear that parts had been re-tiled at some point to change the shower fittings. The water pressure was, however, very good, and the shower water was warm (I read another review where the reviewer couldn't understand the need for the water cistern, as they are not so common in western countries - I can, and we have a heater cistern in our townhouse in Accra, because it's how to have water heating for a shower in Ghana). However, there was mould on the tiles in a corner of the shower (and also on the roof), and both the shower curtain and the window curtains throughout the room I suspect dated from 1994 when the Resort opened. 

The toilet has a rather uninviting standing porcelain sink with a glass shelf. I feel this should only serve someone washing their hands after using the toilet only, but it's the only place to use a sink in the entire room.

The bedroom is virtually a timewarp to 1994 - I'm sure it looked great & quite modern back them, but now every stick of furniture looks dated. The windows are especially ugly now (our townhouse in Accra has exactly the type of modern windows & burglar-proofing that is urgently required here). 

The TV is a small, cheap NASCO 32" type which was not a smart TV, although I guess it wouldn't matter as the wifi was so intermittent (mostly offline) that you couldn't have watched anything for any duration online anyway. I came from a generation where we didn't have smart TVs, but these days one would expect for a hotel looking to maintain any fine reputation, a smart TV would be a requisite, so I only mention this for those looking to book at CCBR and come with the expectation of a smart TV being in the room. The TV & bar fridge were in the wrong spot, and outside of power outlets for the bedlamps, the only power outlets were those being used for the fridge & TV, disappointing when people in contemporary times arrive wanting to recharge often multiple devices (we had 2 phones & a tablet - lucky my adaptor had three USB ports). 

I feel it wouldn't take a herculean effort to upgrade these rooms to something commensurate to the room rates being charged. A walk around the grounds led me to conclude that the rooms in my part of the complex all looked of the same standard. My wife reached the point where she felt disappointed enough to complain to staff, who in turn relayed our complaint to the management. After speaking with the manager,  we reached a compromise, and eventually we were refunded 600GHC, so adjusted, the room cost us 1250GHC (adjusted roughly to around $105us by my calculations). 

While we commend the management for that decision, I would honestly appraise the room fairly based on the other options in Elmina as being worth around 700-800 GHC mark per night in it's present state if not upgraded from the current, and the room I would rate as something from a 2 star if I am being generous, but I would say I have previously stayed in 1 star hotels in past years in Ghana that are roughly of the same standard. 

On the positive side, I did sleep well, perhaps due to being tired from driving, and the matress the hotel provided for my daughter was perfectly fine for her. The restaurant was serviceable without being brilliant, as it was when my wife & I visited in 2012. CGBR has an outdoor eating area, one part being undercover, with several tables under outdoor umbrellas, and back in 2012, I recalled enjoying an outdoor meal, having a nice steak with peppercorn sauce & yam chips. I tried to order the same on my recent visit, but the waiter informed me that no meals featuring beef were available at that time, something that perhaps/hopefully was a case of bad timing. I decided to have a pizza, which was borderline ok (neither brilliant nor terrible). The chilled fresh cocounts are great (and priced the same as the streetside sellers), and it is nice to sit in the outdoor dining area and listen to the waves crash in, with a beer or a pina colada. The buffet breakfast was adequate, but unremarkable.

I did wander around the grounds extensively and took some pics - while the grounds around the rooms were quite nice, the "golf course" looks very neglected. Presumably it still functions, but I doubt you could putt anywhere on the greens and have the ball run in a straight line. I would have thought reclaimed runoff grey water from the rooms & kitchens would see the course have plenty of water for lush greens (as the hotel grounds have better surfacing than the putting greens). The basketball court appears to be in a state of near collapse. There is a nice souvenir shop attached to the reception, and I did buy a souvenir there that I found interesting. 

The staff were all friendly, and cannot be faulted. We didn't expect any refund, and were looking to leave disgruntled before my wife said something, which led to the refund we received. Also, my credit card functioned perfectly fine, which was convenient, as I would have exhausted most of the cash I had on me, and likely would have had to drive to Cape Coast to an ATM. In summmary, however, I feel this institution to Ghana is being overtaken in Elmina, and without naming names, the closest hotel west of CCBR on the map looked far more modern with a lesser price tag when comparing the standard prices.

I have uploaded over 40 photos to illustrate the above, please refer to them as a visual record to support my comments. To the management, you may not like my comments here, but you had better heed them if CCBR wants to retain the reputation I thought it had until our visit.

A Fine Reputation, But With A Litany Of Issues Which Can't Be Reconciled With Current Realities

Very disappointed.  The most child/baby unfriendly hotel I have ever been. No simple diaper changing station for babies in it restrooms. I had to change my child's diapers on the floor in the pool house because the restrooms lack diaper changing stations. Annoying of all, when lack of diaper stations in the bathroom was brought to the attention of the staff, they acted unconcerned and very dismissive. I will never recommend this hotel to mothers with babies. In short , coconut grove beach resort in Elmina, Ghana is baby unfriendly.  Hotel is over rated by modern standards. All this  hotel has to offer is the location. 

Baby Unfriendly hotel

Coconut Grove Beach Resort

Main amenities of the hotel

Location

Available rooms

Location

Description of the hotel

What other amenities are there?

Policies

Check-in terms and conditions

Paid on the spot

Payment