Hotel Hollywood

We were a group of seven, so we picked this large hotel with lots of amenities. But I found the quality and cleanliness lacking. It's also quite far from the city center, and next time I'd choose somewhere on the other side of town.

I stayed five days, and the hotel looked quite different from the pictures. There was a sewage smell when we arrived and again when we left. The food was excellent, but the service was poor. Reception staff were very rude, while the cleaner was lovely and polite. The room was clean, though several things were broken: the minibar shelf and the bathroom shelf. There was no glass on the shower, so water leaked everywhere. Don't come to this hotel.

We stayed from 27-29 December last year. When we booked that afternoon, the receptionist gave us two rooms next door to each other, as I'd requested because of the children. But one room was clearly occupied, with someone's panties and bags on the floor. I went to reception, they apologized and moved us, but the replacement rooms were at opposite ends of the floor. I asked if we could be closer, but they couldn't arrange it. That evening we waited exactly an hour for a terrible meal. The meat was burned. My child thought theirs was okay, but the rest was very bad. When paying, the waitress had the nerve to ask for a tip. The rooms also weren't well maintained. I asked the cleaner in the hall for a softer pillow; she said she'd bring one but never did. We called reception for extra towels the next evening, and none arrived. We felt unwelcome all three days. Both women at reception were cold, and one nearly rolled her eyes when I asked a question. At checkout, the receptionist wouldn't look at me or say anything unless I thanked her first. The male receptionist was polite and smiling despite being busy, and the cleaner who showed me to another room was nice. At the wellness desk, a woman told our children impolitely that they couldn't use the sauna. We came at 20:30, and she said it was closing, though the stated hours ran until 21:00. I love Sarajevo and this was my third visit, but I won't stay at this hotel again. I don't understand how it has four stars with staff this unpleasant.

It's a huge, busy hotel, with lots of food at breakfast and lunch, though the quality is decent rather than great. There are many sports teams, children, and young people around, so it can get noisy. There's a pool, but I didn't use it. It seemed busy with children coming from outside the hotel to learn to swim. The restaurant is pretty good. I ate there once and paid about 6 euros for the traditional ćevapi, though I'm not sure that's spelled right.