Hotel President Sarajevo

Rooms and decor

The roughly 45 rooms here run a warm cream-and-brown scheme, with dark wood furniture, beds under soft pale cotton, and thick curtains that hold off the morning light well. Standard rooms have the snug footprint of a city-centre boutique in Europe, but deluxe rooms are noticeably bigger, and many come with a small balcony — step out and you see the Old Town's red tile roofs running all the way to Trebević mountain at the edge of the city, a view that tells you straight away you're in the Balkans. Most bathrooms are clean, simple showers with good hot-water pressure, the basic amenities are all there, and free Wi-Fi and air-con come in every room. The windows are double-glazed, which takes some of the edge off the noise from the lane outside.

Food and amenities

Breakfast is the part guests bring up most — a buffet that blends European and Bosnian nicely. There's burek (a meat or cheese pie), kajmak (thick sour cream), fresh-baked bread, charcuterie, fruit, fried eggs cooked to order, and traditional Bosnian coffee. There's a bar/café in the lobby, a tour desk that can sort an airport car, and luggage storage with late checkout if your flight is later than your room. One honest note: the hotel itself has few dining options, so you'll mostly eat out in Baščaršija — which is cheaper and better anyway.

Location and getting there

This is the hotel's strongest card — a heart-of-Stari Grad spot that walks comfortably to every Old Town landmark. Step out the door and within 100 metres you hit the Latin Bridge (Latinska ćuprija), the old stone bridge where Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Gavrilo Princip on 28 June 1914 — the event that lit the fuse of World War I. Walk about 1 minute more and you're at Baščaršija square, the 15th-century Ottoman market full of copper shops, leather shops, Bosnian coffee houses and the green-domed wooden Sebilj fountain that's the city's icon. Within a 5-minute radius you also have the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque — the oldest in Bosnia — the Catholic cathedral, a Serbian Orthodox church and an old synagogue: three faiths and four cultures within a few minutes' walk, which is why Sarajevo earns the nickname the "Jerusalem of Europe." From Sarajevo airport (SJJ) it's about a 20-minute drive; the nearest tram stop, Latinska ćuprija, is an 8-minute walk.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. Because it's inside the Old Town's pedestrian zone, cars can't reach the hotel directly — you park outside and drag luggage roughly 80–150 metres over cobblestones, where the wheels can catch on the stone grooves. Arriving with big bags or with limited mobility, tell the hotel ahead so they can send someone to meet your luggage at the end of the lane. Some standard rooms run smaller than the 4-star you're used to and short on space for bags, so a couple with two big suitcases should upgrade to a deluxe, which is roomier and has a balcony. The other thing to brace for is sound — you're in the heart of the Old Town, with church bells in the morning and the azan from the mosque, which is really part of Sarajevo's charm, but light sleepers should pack earplugs or ask for a higher floor facing the inner lane.

Our take

After reading through a hundred-odd real reviews, Hotel President Sarajevo is a boutique that sells its heart-of-the-Old-Town location, warm host-style staff, genuine Bosnian breakfast, and a price that's strong for what you get. If the trip in your head is waking up to walk past the Latin Bridge, sipping Bosnian coffee in Baščaršija before the crowds arrive, then heading back to an Austro-Hungarian stone building with the city's character in every corner, this is the neat fit. If you travel mainly by car or want the convenience of a big chain that parks right at the door, this kind of location may not suit you — but if you value the Old Town's setting more than the comfort of the car, this is genuinely one of the best picks in Sarajevo. Overall we give it 9.2/10, best suited to couples, history buffs and anyone who wants to soak up Balkan culture on foot.