A few weeks ago, a ghastly fire raged across a number of the rooms at Maaha Beach Resort, the beautiful sprawling coastal lodge and recreational playground set near the Atuabo Gas plant along the Atlantic shores at Anokyi, in the Ellembele District of the Western Region.
No casualties or injuries were recorded. However, the fire gutted a row of some 18 rooms in an entire building causing much commotion. Along with the resort’s own emergency responders and community members, firefighters called in managed to control, and eventually contained the fire after several hours, by which time the story had made its way onto social media, with inaccuracies, causing panic.
Management responded swiftly, affirming that all guests and personnel present were promptly and efficiently evacuated to safety after the necessary emergency protocols were kicked into action. Now, with about 180 rooms currently available, operations remain unaffected.
Maaha is open for business, they insist, and vacationers may continue to take advantage of the on-going ‘slashed rates promo’ which expires at the end of June 2025. Always a vibe to stay at, and delighted Maaha is still in operation, PaJohn Dadson reminisces his last visit there a couple of years ago.
Two hundred cozy chambers, 5 conference and function venues, a spa, gym, 30-seater cinema, kids play pool, two other swimming pools, a beach bar, restaurant, party bus, boat ride to Maaha village & recreational grounds. When Maaha launched in 2016, it was a marvel of a destination.
Whereas the skyline of many resorts may be of high rise buildings, here, it was, and still is, a charming kaleidoscope of crisscrossing palm trees in elegant elevation, motioning to each other in whispers.
Built with a bamboo and raffia palm finish, materials naturally native to this area, the structures are a testament of the Nzema vernacular architecture that’s been fused into the remarkable topography here provided by the Atlantic shore.
The landscape simply presents a spectacular backdrop for this stunning resort, which is a perfect getaway. A destination that provides equally for leisure and recreation, as much a unique setting for meetings and incentives.
It’s location within the rich oil and gas hub of Ghana, sharing a border with neighboring Cote D’Ivoire situates it in proximity to a diverse range of cultural exchanges that gives this region its unique history and identity.
The friendly staff here complement the serene environment. And, in spite of the distance one has to travel all the way from Accra, this place is almost always top of mind. Rooms with balconies facing the beach or garden views are very popular, and come very highly recommended.
I remember people I’ve recommended Maaha to often complaining about their rates, saying it is too high. However, once they make the visit, they agree it was all worth it!
The Maaha village experience with all the water sports activities and games, and sometimes brass band parade, is the perfect hub for group bonding and team building activities! No wonder it is really such a popular place for many corporate organizations.
Perhaps, only one activity here beats the boat trip on the Amazule River through New Bakanta, with the beautiful scenery of the estuary, exotic birds and nature, enroute to the Maaha Village where the resort’s offsite recreational grounds is. That would be the Friday night live band session at the main resort. It is one such Friday evening I arrive with a group the last time I visited.
It was a Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday weekend, which has become a default date for a pilgrimage to his home region, the Western Region of Ghana in which vicinity Maaha is.
I’d put out an itinerary to go west to explore and experience Maaha and Nzulezu, and got a sizable group to take along. So that we can have a full day to embark on the activities on the itinerary, we set off an hour after midnight from Accra. It is a slow drive, and like clockwork, an hour later, we are negotiating the Winneba roundabout.
Yet an hour later, here we are, exiting at the Mankesim roundabout, having driven around the statues of Oburumankoma, Osoun and Odapagyan – the three gallant men fabled to have found the Fante state.
Another hour passed, and we have just gone over the bridge at Beposo, the town at the bank of the Pra River, which ushers you into the Western Region from the Central Region.
Having just zoomed through the bypass at Agona Nkwanta, we make the left turn at Apimayim onto the Elubo stretch of the N1 reroute to Axim. We drive past Asiama, and the other towns, which are all still sleeping, with only a trickle of people about. Dawn is fast cracking through the night sky, and the yellow hues breaking through the clouds are beginning to form some pretty aesthetics.
There’s a buzz from the back of the bus now. People are waking up from their sleep. There are about 30 of us altogether, many of whom I met for the first time a few hours ago as we boarded this bus for this journey – a three-day road trip dubbed Western Odyssey – a WangoWango trip by Native Adventures.
Some complaints from the back asked that the temperature of the air conditioning be increased as the bus was getting too cold. As one of the organisers of the trip, the plan was to serve hot beverages and fried eggs and bread with some sausages, for breakfast, at the car park at Fort San Antonio, after which we would stretch and hopefully, it would be time for the fort to open so we tick off the first item on our itinerary.
That’s what we do on WangoWango. Take the kitchen along and prepare food, usually grills and such, fresh and have an alfresco set up.
Built by the Portuguese in 1515 near the town of Axim, Fort San Antonio was captured in 1642 by the Dutch who subsequently made it part of the Dutch Gold Coast before selling it to the British when they settled to colonise the Gold Coast.
Charles, the tour guide here, tells a mean story about the fort and the shenanigans of its European occupants over the centuries. How they “stored” captured natives brought in there, and how they stole them away in ships on the trans-Atlantic slave trade to be sold into slavery.
It’s not a pretty feeling you get after hearing the story of slavery on this side. You must visit Axim, and do the ‘castle tour’ for an intimate narrative of what went down in the ancient town only a couple of centuries ago.
That done, we drove further on to Beyin, past Anokyi, to catch a canoe ride for an expedition to Nzulezu. Fred and I quickly set up camp and made the fire for grilling meat we brought along which we had previously marinaded and frozen.
Leaving it out to thaw, our colleague, Edem, arranged and took the gang off on the expedition on a canoe ride through mangrove on Lake Tandane, all the way to Nzulezu, the village on stilts.
Lunch was a fantastic experience! The jollof we brought along was still warm and the hot grills we serve it with is really scrumptious, a rollicking experience. And It is 3pm now, and having successfully embarked on the two key activities on our agenda, it’s time to move to the hotel, Maaha Beach Resort.
By the time we are checked in and refreshed for dinner, it is a colorfully illuminated with several outdoor lights, giving the ambience of a fabulous Bali-like paradise. outdoor buffet spread we come to, complete with a live band whose rhythms has everyone feeling jolly Once we were done eating, we joined the many others who were already on the dance floor jiggling around with abandon!
We cruised out to the Maaha Village for some frolics the following day and had another fill of exhaustive fun. Then on day 3, after a spread of a fabulous variety of breakfast, we set off back to Accra. The excitement from the group, all of whom resided in Accra, was animated enough to make us organisers feel all the hard work putting this tour together was well worth it.
Thank goodness the fire incident which resulted in one row out of their 25 structures being razed down has not curtailed operations at the resort and that this kind of itinerary can still be planned at Maaha. I was excited to hear that the resort’s management remains committed to serving “guests with the same high standard of care and safety.”
