HIDDEN GUEST: Hotel Holywood Sarajevo

LOCATION
It was at the beginning of the year 2000 that the Hotel Hollywood complex began its growth in the centre of Sarajevo’s Ilidža. In 2003, Hotel Hollywood B joined the three-star hotel, which gave it the first conference hall for 120 persons. Then in 2007 its capacity was significantly increased and what was the most modern convention centre in Sarajevo was upgraded. The overall development was completed in 2010 with the opening of the Hotel Hollywood D and the last extension undertaken in 2013, which now forms a whole with the rest of the hotel. Through all of this new development, Ilidža has acquired a genuine congress hotel that is now the venue for many important events.

ACCESSIBILITY
Hotel Hollywood is located near the green district of Ilidža in Sarajevo, just 2 km from the international airport. Sarajevo is slowly increasing its frequency of international flights and is now much better connected with the rest of the world. An alternative to arriving by plane is to get there by the rather wild Bosnian roads or railways. Once there, however, you can ride from Ilidža to the city by tram or by taxi, which is among the cheapest in the region. Access to the hotel is otherwise straightforward and well-marked, if perhaps a tad chaotic. To the guests deciding to arrive by car a garage and an outdoor car park with over 300 parking spaces is available.

COLD APPETIZER – Architecture and Aesthetics
Given the different development phases of the hotel one might expect quite an incoherent architecture. However, the external image appears to be a unified albeit quite rational architecture. With the acquisition of the Thermal Riviera Ilidža, the hotel has also acquired numerous green spaces that will satisfy the amenity list with some beautiful landscaping. A much bigger reception inside the hotel would be a key improvement, as the current one is barely adequate in terms of size and functional design. The congress centre is architecturally well designed.

WARM APPETIZER – Personnel and cuisine
Focusing their time on guest satisfaction are 126 eager employees. The hotel is very busy and excellently occupied, but despite the crowd and buzz we were given a friendly and professional service. From its rich and diverse facilities it has become a centre of events and therefore occasional overcrowding at the reception area can be expected. The pension breakfast is tailored for international guests (but it would be useful if pension dishes were labelled clearly) and the food is also very well catered for Muslim travellers, as this is the first hotel in Sarajevo to receive Halal certification. The rest of the gastronomic offer is fairly average and adapted to the needs of the majority of the visitors (tourist groups).

MAIN DISH – The hotel’s congress service
At the first stages of construction, we complained about the quality of the rooms and both the internal and external design. After the last renovation, however, there can be no questions about the quality – the rooms are spacious and very well equipped. The bed is comfortable and everything else is solid. The 64 new rooms are therefore categorized with 5 stars, while the remaining 354 are categorized with 4 stars. We were especially impressed by the focus on cleanliness and catering – if you are organising an event here, the best choice is the traditional Bosnian catering.

The Congress Centre includes 18 rooms, the largest accommodating up to 3,000 participants. This is currently the largest hotel conference hall in the city.

DESSERT – Extras
Sports and recreation centre for the preparation and organisation of incentive events.

FLOP – NEGATIVE SURPRISES
The public areas of the hotel are inadequate in terms of area/space and don’t reflect the rapid expansion of the complex. Also, if you find smoking in the public area of the hotel bothersome, then this hotel will not be the right choice for you.

TOP – POSITIVE SURPRISES
Value for money and friendly staff.

OVERALL IMPRESSION AND CREDIBILITY
Hotel Hollywood is a common choice for rational meeting organisers who appreciate its comfort, spaciousness and affordability. A final deciding factor may be how important the hotel brand is to you compared with the city competition. If you appreciate the diversity of offer, which includes the largest hotel congress centre and a wide range of accommodation facilities, then Hollywood is an excellent choice.