Joy Family Lodge — Hotel in Greater Accra Region

Recently stayed at Joy Family Lodge after booking it based on a map that showed it was actually in the heart of Accra. Found out after the fact that Joy Family Lodge is actually an hour away from my original desired location. I've been doing research in another part of Ghana for some months but was also running the Accra International Marathon in Accra so I needed to book a reliable, clean hotel where I could prepare for and wind down after the race.||||Despite the hotel being quite far from where I was hoping to be, which is Labadi Beach, it was very easy to communicate with the staff. They were able to assist in my transport via bus from another region; the bus (OA Company) driver was uncooperative and dropped me off too early (in Ghana, you can request to be dropped off a bit early or before a stop as long as it's one that's recognizable, e.g., particular junction). Luckily I had been in communication with both the hotel owner and one of the staff, James, through the bus ride so I was able to get picked up. ||||They also let me check in early, which I really appreciated considering I was both sleep deprived and attempting to prep for the race. Philomena also assisted me in how to use the local buses "trotros" to navigate through the city to get to where I needed to be. They cost just a few cents. (Warning: it's not for those who prefer executive limo rides, lots of personal space, or leg room). ||||Throughout the weekend, the staff again was very accommodating, helpful, willing to answer all of my silly questions and were able to provide other random things. The room itself was clean and spacious. Not all of the electrical outlets worked and the desk was tiny. But it was enough space so I could work; wifi was spotty but that's just Ghana. I would highly recommend a stay here as long as you're OK with long rides...

BEWARE!||||Stayed here for nearly 2 weeks with a youth group while doing volunteer work outside of Nsawam. Manager Belinda was pleasant but fairly incompetent and showed a real lack of effort with food prep, supplies in rooms and resolved issues such as theft by housekeeping staff, towels, lack of water and plugged and/or overflowing toilets. ||||Our group included 23. 19 teenagers, ages 17-18. Small amounts of cash, snacks, sunglasses and clothing were stolen for many consecutive days before realizing it was the hotel staff. We even planted a $10 bill under some clothes to verify and sure enough it was gone when we returned later that day. ||||We had laundry done midway through the trip. Everyone’s clothes were thrown together in the wash. It took almost a week to get all our clothing back and they still managed to lose several pieces. ||||We set up a budget for the hotel to feed he group breakfast and dinners. Seemed like Belinda tried to do the minimum and pocket the difference rather than give us best quality and variety. Daily breakfast was Milo, mango or watermelon, white bread and sometimes 1 egg per person. Dinner was rice and chicken for 2 weeks straight. ||||Bathrooms were a disaster. Toilets barely work and showers had no water flow most of the time. We had to do small bucket showers daily after getting back from the worksite very hot and sweaty. Some of the kids didn’t hang their towel daily. Staff didn’t like that and took away the towels for the rest of the stay. ||||We didn’t expect US standards necessarily but we did expect honesty and basic facilities to function. ||||I would never stay again or recommend Joy Family Lodge to anyone headed to...

From the first day I arrived at the lodge I can tell that this was a perfect choice. The staff were so friendly and hospitable and treated me like one of the family. Being an American I didn't know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised with the cleanliness of the rooms , western style toilet and the best tasting Talapia I have ever had. After being there for 3 weeks it started to feel like a home away from home. The lodge is in a town called Pokuase and is about an hour from the main city of Accra but if you are just looking for a nice place to stay while you are doing some volunteer or mission work this is the place to be. If you forgot to bring something from home, don't worry, they will...