The following update information relates to chapter 8 of the Bradt Guide to Ghana:
CAPE COAST: I felt that the Mighty Victory hotel was mightily overpriced, though very nice staff and not a bad place. – We were lucky enough to take in a football game, which is definitely an experience not to be missed…Asante gold Vs the local team. We were warmly received and required to participate vociferously! Leah Dike, March 07.
ELMINA I was braced for the absolute worst from the advice in the guide but had no more bother than a girl selling oranges, it has obviously cleaned up its act! An excellent tour around the castle, with a very graphically enthusiastic guide. Hans Cottage Botel is in very poor condition nowadays, and I would definitely recommend lunch or an afternoon bird watching but not staying, it’s very poor value. But the internet place is especially friendly and nice. Leah Dike, March 07.
If i compare Cape Coast Castle to Elmina Castle I think Cape Coast is better. More information, better guide, more impressive. But maybe I’m the only one with this opinion. Sammo’s Guest House serves two kinds of Double Rooms. One for 69.000 cedi’s and one for 81.000 cedi’s. The 81.000 is a bit bigger but you don’t need that space at all. The bath room is even smaller, so the 69.000 is definitely a better choice. Roger van Loon, June 07.
Kakum – we tried to get into the park but, due to driver’s ignorance of opening and closing times (opens at 8 a.m., closes at 5 p.m. – last entry at 3.30 p.m. – bad for birding), never managed to do so. Ilse Mwanza, June 07
There is a new place in Elmina called the, “Hilands Court Hotel“. The address is Ankaful Road. It has 9 rooms all with air conditioning, tv, fridge, and hot water. While I was there the owner was in the process of building 7 chalets including one family unit. He was also finishing up a sort of “backpacker’s accommodation” that would be more of a communal living space sharing a toilet and kitchen area. This was also in a separate building behind the hotel. There is a small restaurant, which serves both local and international fare, menu prices average 5.5 cedis. The rooms are very clean, the beds the most comfortable I encountered (and I stayed at the Elmina Beach Resort, The Almond Tree, Brenu Beach Guest House, and Coconut Grove) and the room decorations were shocking for Ghana. I stayed 2 different times in 2 different rooms and both were furnished with a red velvet-feeling couch, dark red satin drapes and a bedspread to match. Just not what I was accustom to I guess. Very nice, very pretty. Outside is a bar and a seating area with beautiful gardens that are very green and a large water fountain with sculptures that light up at night. The staff were warm and friendly and the price? c55 for a standard room (of which there are currently 5 rooms) which consists of 2 twins or a double bed or c65 for a king sized bed (of which there are currently 4). Erin Janca, Sep 07.
The Mighty Victory Hotel in Cape Coast. It has spectacular views of the city from either of their upper decks. The grounds are immaculate. And the couple that run the hotel are extremely friendly and will chat with you for hours! They are native Ghanaians that lived most of their adult lives in the US in Oklahoma. They have so much to share of the local sights and the changes in Ghana. The food was great with good sized portions. (I know, I am 6’ 3” and on the large side & I had plenty to eat.) Gorham Bowler, Sep 07.
On 1 July 2007 we took over Ko-Sa beach resort in Ampenyi. We have improved all accommodations, our beach is clean and you can have a safe swim, even for children. From the resort the guests can undertake all kinds of trips, Cape Coast Castle, Elmina fort, Kakum National park, Monkey Forest, Baobab Children foundation, walks to Elmina or Komenda. We have a dedicated team, they are pleasant and give a good service, in our restaurant we serve Ghanaian or European food. The accommodations exist from 2 bungalow, 1 guesthouse and 3 traditionally built clay houses. We have also space for trucks and tents. The bungalow and the guesthouse are provide with shower and toilet, the clay houses make use of the sanitary building. In every bungalow are 2 double beds, the guesthouse have 3 separate chambers with own veranda and in every chamber 2 persons can sleep. In 1 clay house we have a family room were 4 persons can sleep, in the remaining 2 clay houses 4 chambers sit and in every chamber 2 persons can sleep. All chambers are provide with a klamboe and almost all chambers have a fan. The prices vary between 8 and the 40 euro per night for an accommodation. The responses which we get so far of our guests are: What a delicious place to stay and relax; A splendid garden; The food is great, so nice we have not yet eaten in Ghana; Incredibly how clean the beach is and what good that the children can swim here safely. From time to time we organize cultural performances and guest can take drumming lessons. Contact details – www.ko-sa.com; Kosa.beachresort@yahoo.com; +233 (0) 244375432. Nol & Annelies van de Mast; Patrick & Nicole Koolen, Feb 08.
Agona Swedru is I think the second biggest city in the Central Region and has several nice hotels–one three star–the Greenland Hotel is really nice. We didn’t stay, but enjoyed dinner there poolside several times and it was the nicest pool I saw in Ghana outside Accra. Ashley Brooks-Danso, Mar 08.
The Mighty Victory Hotel is noisy but clean and offers a dedicated section of the menu to good value vegetarian dishes. $19 a single. Oasis Beach Resort acts as a magnet for hawkers and the barman is fairly consistent in not returning with your change. It would appear Baab’s Juices by London Bridge has finished trading. Abigail Herron, Mar 08
Kakum National Park – whilst it is worth getting there for 8am to be on the first tour, be prepared to wait around for an hour or so until a fairly large number has amassed before hitting the canopy walk. Also worth noting is that even if you pay for a 2 hour ranger walk, if the rest of the group has paid for the one hour Millennium walk, you’ll just get an hours walk – with no refund. On the plus side, the rangers know more about botany than any other guides I have come across in Ghana! Abigail Herron, Mar 08
We are the proud owners of a small company in Ghana called MAJOVU Ltd. We do a little tours and most significantly we own a hotel on the beach near Cape Coast. Our homepage www.majovu.com shows a little more. Joe Vugu and Marianne Holst, Apr 09.
Much to our surprise, we found out that you have published information about our Monkey Forest Resort. We don’t know how you have received this info but it is not the truth. For good order sake: we are a sanctuary trying to save animals who otherwise would be eaten by the locals, and about the swimming pool I wish it was true so I could dip in every morning. Our website address in the book is correct and we are working on it to update it as it also mentions the swimming pool. For the future, we are planning to build an Eco Guest house and on top of our mountain we are now building the Terrace where we will serve European dishes. The View is splendid!! Tourist can visit us and see our place but we expect a donation for food for the animals. We have already a got a selection of different local animals Civets, Genets, Antelopes, turtles, chameleons, crocodiles and of course our monkeys (9 in total). The tour we give to the tourist takes about 45 minutes and we receive a lot of compliments. Annette Baanen, May 08.
I am writing regarding a suggestion for a drinking/eating spot just outside of Cape Coast. I am volunteering for an organization called Women in Progress/Global Mamas doing some work with small women owned businesses. In my time here, we have discovered a great cook that would be a great seaside spot to check out for future travellers. For travellers en route to the Elmina Castle, this spot is the perfect lunch or dinner location to get some good comfort food. The name of the place is “the Elimax Spot”. She serves a variety of Ghanaian and western cuisine at a very reasonable price (from 3.50 Ghana cedis). Some of her specialties are: a to-die-for Mac and Cheese, Grilled Sandwiches, Palava and Egg Stew (just to name a few). Her spot is also open after dinner for some easy going drinks. The directions from Cape Coast are as follows: Take a share taxi to Elmina. Drop at “Hotel Junction”, then walk straight along the road to Elmina Beach Resort and 100 meters on the right is the location. The woman who runs the spot is named Eli, and she is one of the sweetest woman I have ever met – she will make any traveller feel right at home with a friendly smile and a hug if you want it. This hidden local gem is definitely a calm oasis, with good food, good company, and good drinks. I have made many good memories there and hope that others will follow. Cleo Cheung, June 08.
Elmina Beach Resort. Generally good value for money, we found this large hotel on the coast to be a great venue to explore Elmina and Cape Coast from. The restaurant had a large and varied menu, although a lot of the dishes were not available during our stay. The food on offer was of a high standard and the views from either the inside or covered outside restaurants were fantastic. The outside swimming pool and surrounding area was well maintained and made a great spot to relax. For a charge of 4 GHC non-residents are able to use the pool. The rooms were generally well designed, although did not seem to be as well maintained as the communal areas. After alerting reception to problems with the air conditioning and TV in one room these were quickly fixed by a large team of technicians however. Charlotte Butterfield, June 08.
Hans Cottage: Whilst Hans Cottage is a great venue to see wildlife –we would echo the comments in the March 2007 e-mail update stating that the venue has become very tired. The restaurant was generally shabby, but sadly also dirty with an obvious lack of crockery! There appeared to be no chlorine in the swimming pool, which was also in need of a good clean. The accommodation was in a tired condition and would generally benefit from a through clean and maintenance. The chalet we hired was large but very basically equipped and not really good value for money –advertised as sleeping six it only contained two double beds! Sadly we would debate their claim that they have no mosquitoes. One of our party got very badly bitten in the restaurant. Charlotte Butterfield, June 08.
CAPE COAST- As expected, Hans Cottage Botel was one of the best places I’ve stayed in. Finding transport to and from the botel was very easy, as taxis are always waiting by the check-in office. It is a good launch point to Kakum National Park as well as the Cape Coast Castle, and the added transport costs are well worth it. Several of the computers at the internet cafe have USB ports, although the internet is no longer free. Melissa Vasey, July 08.
GRAMOPHONE RECORDS MUSEUM AND RESEARCH CENTRE OF GHANA
Established in 1994 by museologist Mr. Kwame Sarpong, this unique museum, the only one of its kind in the World devoted to Highlife Music, contains a vast collection of music majority of which were recorded by Ghanaian Music Recording artists and Groups. Majority of the nearly 18,000 recordings majority of which is the Ghanaian Highlife music dates as far back as 1927. Inside the archives of the Museum you can view an original copy of the Highlife Music Seminal; Yaa Amponsah, recorded on the Zonophone EZ Label by Jacob Sam and his Kumasi Trio in London in 1928 as well as those by George William Aingo, Nathaniels, Ben Simmons, Gaddiel Acquaah and Harry Quashie. The collection represents works of nearly 700 Ghanaian Recording artists on both the 78 shellac rpm records as well as the 45 and 33 1/3 Vinyl records from the early part of the 1920’s to the mid-1960’s and early 1980. In the collection are again several recordings from other African Countries, Europe and America as well as over 50 Vintage wind-up Gramophone equipments by the Victor Talking Machine of America, Gramophone Company of the UK as well as others from Switzerland and Japan.
Activities at the Museum:
In 2003, the Museum received a Grant from the Daniel Langlois Foundation for the Art, Science and Technology, a Montreal Based Not-for-Profit Organization to digitize a part of its collections. From this Grant it has already digitized 1000 of the Highlife Music from the collection. Copies of these have been deposited at the National Library and Archives of Canada as well as the Folklife Centre of the Unites States Library of Congress and can be accessed by researchers and students. Another copy has been deposited at the Archives of the Daniel Langlois Foundation for on-line presentation in late 2008.The second phase of the digitizing project involving a further 1000 songs has started with a Grant from the French Embassy in Ghana and should be finished by July 2009. As a prelude and forming part of the collections towards the establishment of a future Highlife Music Museum in Cape Coast, the Museum is collaborating with Professor Carmelle Begin, Curator Emeritus of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Canada and Alliance Franciase de Development in Ghana in developing a permanent Exhibition of over 300 digitized Ghanaian Highlife Music Album Sleeves from the late 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s scheduled for opening in October, 2008.
Getting there:
Visitors to the Museum still located inside the Central Regional Centre for National Culture Buildings and opposite the Cape Coast University on the Accra /Takoradi main Highway in Cape Coast, will now have the opportunity of listening to some of the already digitized Ghanaian Highlife Music.
The Museum is open everyday of the year from 10.00 hrs to 15.00 hrs except Sundays, Christmas, New Year and Easter Holidays. However, visitors can book for special appointments by contacting the Director/Archivist, Mr. Kwame Sarpong on the following:T elephone: 233 24 671 4517 (International) or 024 671 4517 (locally) Email: . Entrance Fees: Adultss (foreign): GhC 7.50; Adults (local) GhC 5.00; Students: GhC 2.00; Children (local): GhC 1.00; School groups: GhC 15.00 (10 per group); Children accompanied by Adults: Free. Kwame Sarpong, July 2008
Name: Jack McCarthy
Email: mccarthj@indiana.edu
Subject: Contact form message : Great spot in Elmina, Ghana
Message I’m just writing to let you know about a great spot where my friends and I eat near Elmina. I’m volunteering here with Women in Progress, an organization listed in your book in Cape Coast, and the other volunteers and I have dinner every day at Elimax Spot, just across the street from the Almond Tree Guesthouse east of Elmina. Eli, the owner, prepares a daily special for 3.50 cedis that is either Ghanaian or western with a Ghanaian twist, and we love it not only for the fact that she is an amazing cook, but also because she specially prepares food for obrunis. I’m sure you know how tough it can be to find fresh salads and certain local dishes that you know won’t be harsh on the stomach, and we love having both at Elimax. Eli also has a full bar where we hang out most nights. If I were traveling through the region, I’d want to take advantage of a great place to meet a few obruni volunteers and Ghanaians used to westerners who would be happy to make suggestions or arrange travel in the area. Jack McCarthy, Aug 08
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