EcotoneHR

Introduction I stayed 2 night at this lovely Novotel Hotel, which is situated halfway between Sarajevo airport and the city centre. The overall experience was excellent, with some minor hiccups, which I'll explain in detail later.One important note: this is a halal certified hotel (as are all the Accor properties in Sarajevo), meaning there is no alcohol in the hotel and no porc. I expect this is because the principal investors are Al-Shiddi Group from Saudi Arabia, but this is just an assumption. Bosnia and Herzegovina is not normally a dry country.The lobby is quite grand and very spacious. Check In Check-in was smooth with a very friendly receptionist. All members of the staff are without exception wonderful, friendly and very genuine people. Room I had booked a superior room (the lowest category) and, as a Gold member, was upgraded to a Deluxe room, which is the next category. The room was very nice, although the furniture is starting to show its age. There was a kettle with instant coffee and tea, but no Nespresso machine. The bathroom was spacious, elegant, with a huge mirror, a great bathtub and even a bidet, which you don't see that often anymore. All the toiletries were there and there were lots of nice, fluffy, high quality towels. Everything very clean. The view from the room was very nice too, with snowy mountains in the background. The bed was very comfortable, but the pillows were terrible! It's like they're filled with air and the moment you lay your head on them, it sinks right down to the mattress. Unfortunately, it's not the first time I encountered such pillows. Welcome amenity At the check-in the receptionist told us that someone would bring us some hot chocolate and refreshments to the room shortly. When we got to the room, there was a plate with two macarons and a chocolate bonbon, but very soon there was a knock on the door and the waiter brought a tray with chocolate fondue, dried fruit and more macarons and chocolates. A wonderful welcome amenity, I thought. Having eaten all of it in a blink of an eye, I realised that I hadn't been given any welcome drink vouchers. So as we were going out, I asked the receptionist about the welcome drink and she told me that the chocolate fondue and the rest was in place of welcome drinks, that they thought it more fitting. I didn't mind it because it really was very good, but still, the hotel should probably let the guests decide themselves how they want to use their vouchers. Or maybe they just wanted to avoid an akward situation if I tried to order a beer or wine. (I wouldn't have because I knew they don't serve alcohol, but who knows, maybe they had problems with other guests?) Service Service was mostly good. Since the hotel doesn't offer the possibility of an online check-in, I wrote to the hotel one day before arrival to ask for a twin room and was told it wouldn't be a problem. During check-in the receptionist recognised my name and confirmed that she had instructed the housekeeping to separate the beds in the room. But if they weren't separated, I should contact her and she will send someone to do it immediately. I'm sure you know the rest. Got to the room – there was a double bed. However, it wasn't a big deal for us so we didn't mention it.As we were going out, I asked the receptionist to send bathrobes and slippers to the room. Got back to the room that night – no bathrobes, no slippers.I will even that by saying that the next morning I asked another receptionist for the bathrobes and slippers and told him that we hadn't received them the day before and he was very apologetic and sorted it right away. So it pretty much depends on who you talk to. This young man was especially polite and helpful and escorted us personally to the spa to show us around, which was very nice of him. Dining I only had breakfast at the hotel and it was very good. There is the usual fare (cereals, eggs, mushrooms, sausages, cheese etc). I did miss bacon, but was pleasantly surprised to find some Middle Eastern dishes, such as shakshuka, tabbouleh, baba ghanoush, hummus etc. There were also traditional Bosnian cakes and pastries and very nice Turkish tea. Spa The spa is great! There is a large pool heated to 31 degrees Celsius with atmospheric lights which change colour. Very nice and pleasant. There is also a small gym, a sauna and you can get a massage, but I didn't try that. Location The location is OK. You can walk to the city centre, which will take about 30 minutes, or you can take the number 3 tram to the centre. There are two tram stops near the hotel. And you can always get a taxi, but the trams served me just fine. Overall The overall experience was very good. I would happily stay here again, especially since it's much cheaper than the recently opened Swissotel and it really is value for money.