The hype around this year’s Independence Day was extremely high with many Ghanaians wondering about the source of the buzz. Online chatter was pretty much centered around some Ghanaian cultural events and the sudden interest in the sale & purchase of Ghana jerseys. Overpriced jerseys, by the way.

Personally, I was looking forward to a day of family time prefarably inside the cool waters of a pool with good food and outrageously cold drinks to cancel out the Otsokirikiri (March in Ga language) weather. My bestie and I booked our day and I managed to convince my Mom to come along.

As I drove on the shambles of a road from South Labadi towards Labadi Beach Hotel, I noticed a snail-crawling traffic ahead of me. It struck me just how always choked the Labadi stretch is during Independence Day, every Ghanaian would be hitting the La Pleasure beach and Laboma beach and people with intellect would be parking by the roadside just to stroll on the heated dunes or splash in the plastic-infested sea to cool down. I quickly called bestie and made a U-Turn towards Lancaster Hotel. I was not in the mood to drive through unnecessary traffic in the evening after a lovely day of pool waves and family time. I hadn’t also been to the former Golden Tulip Hotel since management was changed during the highs of COVID. I missed that ambiance.

Thankfully, the parking lot at Lancaster still had some free parking space, and we excitedly entered the hotel. That is when I noticed something “off”. A lady was right at the entrance shouting out to another lady at the reception lounge about 50 metres away! It was pretty disconcerting! The airconditioning wasn’t at that chill point where your body calms down knowing it’s entered a place of rest. I could feel a few swirls of heat on my skin with dapples of chill.

We descended down to the restaurant area, and it was literally empty. When we got to the poolside, it was vastly empty save for two young men in the water. I did a double-take. It’s Independence Day, where’s everyone?? A lone speaker with poor-quality sound was playing Nigerian afrobeats; there were no decorations to even mark the national holiday. No kente, no Ghana flags, nothing! My mind couldn’t wrap around what I was seeing.

I got to the bar, and a lady behind the till was busily chewing on a toothpick whilst attending to a couple in front of me. It got to my turn, no smiles, just a curt answer to the rate for swimming. The nonchalance was killing me! Adults swimming rate is Ghc150 and Ghc 130 for children. I asked for a waiter to attend to my Mom and changed to swim. The heat of the day was 32°C and change. I had never swam in this pool, and I was totally looking forward to a relaxing experience. After 20 minutes of swimming, I went to check on my Mom, and she hadn’t been served or seen to! I went back to the bar, and the same nonchalant lady called another person to attend to her. My Mom finally got a drink after a 30-minute wait!

My bestie and her family arrived about an hour later, by then my body had acclimatized to the depth and shape of the pool. The pool was divine! The sun had done a great job at heating the water to be at the perfect temperature of not too warm, not too cold! It was clean at the bottom, and the depth was perfect for my daughter, who I initially thought would be apprehensive of a new pool. Kids, eh! A few hotel pools have green algae covering the tiled surface below, and I was glad this pool wasn’t like that. The price for swimming was a bit on the high side for the type of service we got. I had to ask for a towel at one point, whilst other hotels would ensure a towel is immediately presented to you after payment. I had to ask the lifeguard to open the umbrella too, ei!

We had a great swimming experience but the service was UGH! 🥴 A few people turned up at the poolside but we were the only persons who ordered a meal for wings and fries. It was almost an hour before we got served and even by then the elderly women in our group had started complaining! Like my Mom was suggesting we just do takeaway instead of waiting. It was completely upsetting! The wings were spicy (our kids suffered eating them) and we had to request more side plates because the server didn’t check on our numbers. I would have completely understood if it was a packed day but it wasn’t!

I honestly don’t know who owns or manages Lancaster Hotel but whatever they’re doing there is not working! My suggestions to them if they ever get to read this article are as follows:

It’s best to ask guests if they want spicy or regular wings especially when there are elderly and young persons with them.
Decorate the reception & poolside for the aesthetics. I mean this is a no-brainer
If service is being delayed for any reason, communicate this to the guests and don’t leave them questioning & wondering what is going on.
Music at the poolside should be surround sound and not audible from one far end of the pool but also kept at a respectful volume.
Ensure the playground is maintained. My daughter and her playdate kept complaining of spiders and ants on the the slides and obstacle course.

It might take me a long time to go back there again but I know for sure that i’ll not be ordering food or drinks if ever I do want to use the poolside. I might die from hunger and thirst. 😭