Hotel Colors Inn

Rooms and decor

Picture a century-old Austro-Hungarian apartment building: pale cream stone walls, tall wooden windows, on a quiet street in Mejtaš that tilts up the hillside. That's the first impression Hotel Colors Inn gives you. The original structure dates to the late 19th century, from the era when the Austro-Hungarian Empire ruled Bosnia, and it's been restored into a 37-room 4-star boutique that keeps nearly all of its period character: high open ceilings, tall windows that pull in hard morning light, and stucco detail that survives around some of the door frames. Most rooms run cream-and-soft-brown, lifted with contemporary fabrics and art, with soft beds and thick duvets that more than one reviewer says they didn't want to leave. What sets this place clearly apart from other 4-star hotels in Sarajevo is the large bathroom — a genuinely wide dressing area, a tub in some rooms and a glass shower in others, hot water that stays strong, and the basics all covered. Anyone who's been let down by cramped bathrooms elsewhere in Eastern Europe will be pleasantly surprised. Some rooms open onto the Trebević hills that wrap the city's south side (green peaks in summer, snow-white in winter), a view that makes it feel like you're actually staying in the city rather than just passing through.

Food and amenities

If there's one thing reviews on every platform agree on most, it's the made-fresh breakfast in the ground-floor dining room. The warm-toned room is set up as a buffet that's more varied than you'd expect from a 37-room boutique: eggs cooked to order several ways, burek (beef or cheese pastry, Bosnian style) baked fresh each morning, warm local bread, thick Balkan yogurt, good local cheese and ham, fresh fruit, sweet pastries, and the non-negotiable Bosnian coffee (Bosanska kafa) served in a small copper cup with rahat lokum on the side. Plenty of reviewers say it keeps them full straight past lunch, and that it holds up against the breakfast spreads at some of the city's 5-star hotels. The other thing reviewers won't stop praising is the staff — a small team that many describe as feeling more like hosts than hotel clerks, asking each morning where you're headed, pointing you to a great ćevapi spot like Petica Ferhatović, the walk up to the Yellow Fortress for sunset, the alley shortcut through Mejtaš down to Baščaršija, and arranging a fair local-price taxi to the airport. It feels like staying at a friend's place that happens to be a hotel — and that's a big part of why the overall score lands at 9.2/10 on both Agoda and Booking.

Location and getting there

Hotel Colors Inn sits on Koševo street in Mejtaš, an old residential neighborhood on the hillside north of the center. This is real working-city territory (small grocers, local cafés, schoolkids passing in the morning), clearly different from the tourist-packed Baščaršija zone. It's about an 8-minute walk downhill to Sacred Heart Cathedral (Katedrala Srca Isusova), the Catholic church that's a landmark of Austro-Hungarian Sarajevo. Carry on along the Ferhadija pedestrian street, flanked on both sides by stucco-trimmed Austro-Hungarian buildings, and about 4 minutes more brings you to Baščaršija, the Ottoman Old Town with its Sebilj fountain, Coppersmith Street, and the Gazi Husrev-bey mosque built in 1531. That's roughly a 12-minute walk from the hotel to cover both eras of the city. The Latin Bridge, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, is another 5 minutes on from Baščaršija. For public transport, the Skenderija tram stop is about a 6-minute walk downhill toward the Miljacka river, and a single tram line gets you across town. From Sarajevo Airport (SJJ) it's roughly 20 minutes by car. The balance is just right — quiet local-neighborhood calm, yet every major sight within a 15-minute walk.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. The first thing to prepare for is the hill. Mejtaš climbs a fair bit, and while the walk down to Baščaršija is easy, the way back is about a 15-minute climb that can leave you winded at the end of a long sightseeing day, especially in winter snow or rain, so pack shoes with good grip. The easy fix is a taxi for around 5–7 KM (about $3) up to the door. Second, this is a 19th-century building: the historic atmosphere is genuine, but some walls don't block sound as well as newer construction, and a few reviews mention occasionally hearing footsteps on the wooden corridor or water from the next room. Ask for a top-floor room or an inner one facing the Trebević hills for the most quiet. The elevator is small by old-building standards, so a big suitcase may need hauling up the stairs — and note this is a breakfast-and-service boutique with no spa, no gym, and no pool, so anyone expecting full 5-star facilities should reset expectations. Parking is very limited; if you're driving, tell the hotel ahead. Finally, on nearby dining: Mejtaš is residential, without the restaurant strip you get on Ferhadija, so when dinner hunger hits you'll be walking downhill to the center — best to eat before heading back up.

Our take

Having read several hundred real reviews across Agoda, Booking, and TripAdvisor, Hotel Colors Inn is the pick for travelers who want to come to Sarajevo and soak up local life rather than just stop for photos. If your mental image is waking up to the Trebević peaks out the window, then going down for hot burek and Bosnian coffee in the dining room of an old Austro-Hungarian building, walking downhill past Sacred Heart Cathedral and along Ferhadija to explore Baščaršija all day, then coming back to a soft bed and a big bathroom — this is the most complete answer, from about $74 a night. It suits couples who value atmosphere and breakfast over a center-of-the-market address, solo travelers who want quiet after a full day out, and culture-minded travelers who rate staying in a genuinely historic building. But if you expect new construction with excellent soundproofing, a big elevator, and a spa-pool-gym setup, or want restaurants right outside the door, look instead at the center of Baščaršija or Ferhadija. Overall we give it 9.2/10 — one of the best-value boutiques in Sarajevo, and the best choice if the heart of your trip is sleeping in a real Austro-Hungarian building in a neighborhood where Sarajevans actually live.