The new accommodation at Stone Lodge represents something of a change-up. Until now the standard rooms have been in concrete villas, many of them rented or bought as holiday homes. Bradt’s Ghana fifth edition isn’t critical, but calls it “better suited to a family weekend break from Accra than to overseas tourists.”
But just recently three stilt huts have appeared in a clearing behind the site, giving guests a sense of space that makes the most of Stone Lodge’s location. It sits on the western side of a wedge-shaped expanse of savannah northwest of Accra, bordered, roughly, by the hills around Aburi and Dodowa to the west and the Kalakpa Reserve to the north, where the plains start shading into forest.
It’s land tourists often travel through rather than to, glimpsing it through a window on the way up to Akosombo – Stone is just 5km off the main Tema-Akosombo road – or over to the east coast and Volta estuary.
The huts themselves need some finishing. While the owner warned us they were very new, it seemed odd to have put in the flat-screen TV and air conditioning but left nowhere – not even a hook in the bathroom – to hang clothes or towels. And the shower screen wasn’t sitting true to the base, which meant the floor got wet during long showers.
If you can overlook that, a room out in the plains makes a change from the ‘hideaway’ feeling most forest and beach lodges have established, and allows you to go hiking from your front door. Stone also does decent Ghanaian fare, with a few European and Sierra Leonean dishes (24 hours’ notice for the latter), all served in stone huts and platforms dotted around a pleasant garden.
There’s also a clean, deep, decent-sized pool and a squash court.
In terms of attractions, Stone is spitting distance from Shai Hills reserve, giving you a good base for a two-day exploration. Also nearby – visible from the huts, in fact – is Mount Krobo, a 1,000-or-so foot lump of granite that is the area’s highest point. Makes a rewarding morning hike.
Posted on April 30, 2012
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