In eastern Ghana, sitting in the valley of the Akuapem Mountains is Accra’s world-class, eco-friendly animal resort. It is the first of its kind, securing the CEO’s reputation in Ghana’s hospitality industry. Safari Valley Resort is every animal’s dream location and every holidaymaker’s fantasy destination. The reserve features a vast species of both local and introduced plant life and animals to create an eco-balance in the environment.
The resort center is a habitat for over 60 species of indigenous and foreign birds, including wallabies, silk chickens, and emos, making it an ideal location for bird-watching and excursions. Apart from the variety of animals and plants present here, the estate is filled with recreational and sightseeing experiences for visitors, all in grand style.
About the Founder
In 2015, forest scientist Samuel Afari was looking for land to use for a rubber plantation. On getting to this choice piece of land, his intentions changed. Safari Valley Resort was born. It was established to create a luxury environment for tourists and locals, bringing them closer to nature in an environmentally friendly and sustainable ecosystem with impeccable hospitality. People are moved around in this resort in electric carts. They are eco-friendly and non-carbon-emitting vehicles that are not harmful to plants, animals, or humans.
Safari Valley is very unique. Every structure on the property has a designated meaning and is named for sentimental value. The buildings on the reserve are equally remarkable, having further style statements due to the unusual architecture. The entire setting was specially curated to take you away from the noisy, polluted urban lifestyle into serene and therapeutic surroundings.
Features on Safari Valley Resort
Steven Ndukwu explored the various structures on the resort, giving us a tour of the interior of these buildings and asking the necessary questions for tourists looking to visit this rare reserve. His experiences and comments are documented below.
The Welcome Center
The welcome center, or what they call the front of the house, was designed to resemble a turned-over leaf from the aerial view, complete with the leaf veins and stalk. Here, you will find the manager and be received with a warm greeting at the exquisite resort. You will also get a tour guide to take you around the premises and show you what you can find on the reserve.
Recreational Centre
Every major game, including football, tennis, basketball, and local games, can be played here. The recreational center features horseback riding, a well-equipped gym, a 13.5 m long swimming pool, whose deepest end is 53 feet deep, and a vast 9-hole golf course that attracts numerous corporate groups who enjoy golf tournaments and individual golf enthusiasts who love the game.
Personally, Steven Ndukwu acknowledged that the loaded-up gymnasium was rare in resorts but necessary for people who would be staying over for more than a day or two. “It’s nice to see a well-equipped gym in a resort,” he said.
The Conference Center
This modern and beautiful architectural building, designed to have that African decor, was built to have two giant local drums on the roof. The conference center is named Busamasi after a neighboring city, as the resort always tries to pay homage to Africa and culture.
The hall can hold about 35-50 people and is fully air-conditioned with three projecting screens. The Busamasi Conference Center also has an upper deck, which Steven Ndukwu did not document in his video tour.
Mamfe Chapel
For smaller events and more tightly-knit relationship circles, Manfe Chapel is your go-to venue. Mamfe is a neighboring town on top of a mountain, and this chapel was named after her. This is the venue not only for religious purposes but also for small events; naming ceremonies, baby christenings, private weddings, the exchange of vows, and the like. The venue allows for a more intimate relationship between attendees, holding up to 10 people at once. But with the wide lawns outside, to the left and right of the building, more than a hundred guests can be entertained after the major event.
Accommodation
In Safari Valley, Steven Ndukwu explored the two main accommodation options on the resort; the single chalet and the 3-bedroom chalet. In each of these accommodation options, you get a butler service system. In other words, trained personnel are assigned to your stay to help you arrange for massages, meals, and room service when needed.
Safari Valley Resort has 32 single chalets. They feature lots of spaces, an outdoor dining area, a pool (in case you want to use something other than the general one), outdoor shower options, and very creative furniture and upholstery items. These items were eye-catching, Steven Ndukwu complimented their clever design, as the bedside lamps were made out of mechanical parts and the bathtub was made of glossy wood, unlike anything you will find in any other resort.
If you are concerned about the heat in Ghana, each room has a standing AC unit and a split unit system for a proper room cooling effect. There are also other appliances like coffee makers, fridges, and a television. Booking one of these spaces will cost you about $1000.
The three-bedroom chalet costs about $3000 with added features such as a wider pool, 3 ft deep, and a fountain. The living room is also more expansive, while the house seems to be covered with a glass facade so that you can spot animals even from inside the chalets. This setting is ideal for a family visiting the resort.
The Canals
For an extra experience on the resort, you can have your dinner or breakfast by any of the smaller or bigger canals. Steven Ndukuwu was served a lavish plate of shrimp, while he watched the ducks and swans paddle through the canal.
Guests visit either of the canals to enjoy a bonfire with music, or to quietly meditate with the sound of water pointing from the fountain, and the gentle, cool breeze.
Sea Bar Restaurant
Every food served in this getaway destination, whether by the canal or in the chalets is cooked here by top-class chefs who make anything and everything African. From Ghanaian delicacies to Nigerian dishes and other African foods the kitchen staff are experts in culinary art, ready to offer customers a burst of flavour and experience. Don’t worry; you can also enjoy foreign recipes in this restaurant. The idea is they make 80% local dishes and 20% continental foods.
Apart from eating in other locations, visitors can pop in to have a light snack or be served their breakfast, lunch, or dinner in the restaurant.
One interesting thing about this kitchen is that the farm produce used in each recipe is grown on their exclusive organic farm on the resort. Vegetables, fruits, you name it, are locally sourced from their backyard.
Asenema Waterfall
Before leaving the resort, Steven Ndukwu was treated to an additional waterfall sightseeing adventure. The breathtaking magnificence of the Asenema waterfall, with the therapeutic sound of rushing water, is an optional experience at the resort.
Visitors can go forest bathing while taking social media-worthy pictures at the local gem site of the Safari Valley Resort.
You have come to the end of this article. To get the correct mental picture of this location, find all the places spelled out in this article during Steven Ndukwu’s visit in his YouTube video. You can catch the live videos and experience of the Safari Valley Resort, Adukrom, Ghana. Finally, check out other videos on Steven Ndukwu’s YouTube channel, where you can find other luxurious destinations and neighborhoods all around Africa