The 192-room hotel incorporates a remodelled pre-existing building and a newly built tower block. Elements referring to Sarajevo’s spirit - architecture, history, craft - are used as much as possible, to present the unique atmosphere of a city where Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, and Orthodoxy meet; where traces of wartime destruction can still be found in the streets; where oriental cafés and craftsmen’s workshops exist alongside trendy boutiques and clubs. Exposed installations and raw concrete walls in the corridors and lobby are combined with warm-toned wooden panelling and locally woven wool carpets. A constellation of locally hand-forged metal trays adorns a wall in the restaurant. Room numbers are handmade kilims, furniture is by Bosnian craftsmen, and bedrooms look deliberately unfinished, again with areas of bare concrete, reflecting the Sarajevo process and will of life. Also widely featured are nostalgic references to the 1984 Winter Olympics, a pre-war symbol of peace and happiness.

Source: Aga Khan Trust for Culture