The Abidah by Accra

The hot food was lukewarm as the lids were left open! Service very haphazard and slow.

Breakfast was also a buffet, however it was very hit and miss as to what was available. We managed to have a coffee rarely. Staff were conspicuous often, by their absence, so not available to ask. On the last morning we arrived at 8.30am for breakfast, there were no cereals, no bowls, no glasses for juice, no butter or jam. We eventually, managed to, locate a staff member who told us they were trying to find cereal??? The standard of the cooked breakfast was so poor we did not touch it all week.

•The Bar - it was rare to be able to have a favourite cocktail, as they regularly didn't have an ingredient eg. Cranberry juice, coconut milk. They even ran out of the local beer. •We were advised to ask the hotel to organise Covid testing prior to our return home. I made the enquiry and was told they would get a doctor to come to the hotel. On enquiring about the cost, I was shocked as the receptionist told me it could 200 dollars each. I declined that offer and spoke to a guest who recommended The Crane hotel, were the cost was 49 dollars each, we decided book and attend for our test. On our return, we learned we could have been tested in our own hotel for 50 dollars. We were furious, after having travelled to The Crane!!

We were under curfew which was no fault of the hotel. However, this meant the TV was an important source of entertainment. We had 6 channels, none, of which provided us with any pleasure, they were American news and American sports. The TV in the bar however, did show English football, we requested more channels be made available in our rooms. However, no one cared. In fact no one appeared to care about anything, from the manager to the restaurant staff. The security men and room cleaners were the most helpful people

Information guests are entitled to know was not volunteered to new arrivals - e.g. it wasn't until the last full day of our holiday we learned we were entitled to sun beds on the beach and drinks from the hotel bar! We had initially walked some distance, in the heat, to hire sunbeds on beaches further up the coast and then decided to hire a car as there was nothing to do within walking distance of the hotel. In conclusion, it felt that many things that a guest would normally take for granted, were very difficult to achieve without constant badgering. Please do not subject anyone else to the awful service we and many other guests endured,

Thankfully he, (Suresh), followed through with what he said and he had a chat with his team of staff. Below are the pros and the cons of our stay:

PROS:

• The General Manager, Suresh, is very attentive to his guests. Very pleasant and very responsive to his guests needs. He is the reason that we came to this hotel.
• beautiful rooms with exquisite view. We were in room #302. Two balcony's (ocean-view) and hot tub. Worth every penny!
• Miami Beach is right there within 2 minute walk. Just be careful as the waves are quite strong
• There is a section in front of the hotel across the street with comfortable chairs and a side-table where you can relax. The bonus is that "wifi" is accessible all the way over there. Amazing!
• The security man, that works over-night (I forget his name), is so sweet. He is friendly, personable and just a gentle soul
• The pool are is lovely
• The bar tender "Neal Rodney" is absolutely amazing. Fantastic attitude, works harder than any other staff member on the premises and always has such a beautiful demeanor
• Welcome drink while checking in

CONS:

• air conditioner in rooms broke down frequently
• the elevator is currently out of service for the duration of our vacation and so we had to use the stairs which was ok for my partner and me but if you are a senior or have any medical issues, you might want to ask for a room on the lower levels
• After the General Manager spoke with the team, one employee named Michelle, took offence and then chose to ignore us for the balance of our stay there. Very immature!
• Most of the staff are fairly young and quite nice, but they still need some training and coaching on good customer service. Very inconsistent service and information from the staff
• Front desk did not do a very good job (at time of check-in), explaining this that we should know. We had to learn as we went along
• On September 01st (day before we left), we went out all day and got back at 2:30pm and our room had not been cleaned yet. We were scheduled to go out for dinner and so I had a nap. The maid that cleans, rang our doorbell about 15 minutes after we got into the room (around 2:45pm). We asked her if she could come back in 1 hour as we simply needed a nap before we go out again. She told us that she finishes at 4pm. By now, we knew that the maids generally work until 6pm. So, we did not get our room cleaned. We woke up, got dressed and left our room at 5pm. Guess who was still cleaning?? and .... she was cleaning the room right across from ours. So disappointing!

Overall, I would def stay there again, mainly because the General Manager is very responsive to feedback and guest needs. This is important!