Sleeping and Eating in Belgrade

Belgrade has a reasonable range of hotels and restaurants but it is not amongst the best cities in Europe for quality or choice. Most of the buildings housing the hotels were originally owned by the State and lack of maintenance has been a problem. Many hotels are now privatized but lack of funds still hampers some operations.

The city has four five-star hotels. I have not stayed in any of them and I don’t particularly recommend that you do. The Hyatt Regency and Belgrade Intercontinental appear to both be fine hotels almost side by side in New Belgrade. The public facilities that I have used are excellent and the service is probably fine. My problem with them is the location. New Belgrade is across the Sava River from Old Belgrade and it is quite a long walk to almost any of the city attractions, which are all in Old Belgrade. The third property is Hotel Slavija Lux which is located about a kilometer from the city centre, on Slavija Square. This is a business hotel run by JAT Airways.

The fourth hotel is new. Hotel Aleksandar Palace is situated just one street away from Knez Mihailova Street, the main pedestrian zone, in one of the most beautiful neo renaissance buildings in Belgrade. One of the most famous Belgrade restaurants, called "Que Passa" is located in the same building. Hotel Aleksandar Palace is a member of the "Great Hotels of the World" and has a total of 9 apartments, all differently designed. It would be worth checking out.

There are quite a few three and four-star hotels in Old Belgrade and these are my recommendations. They are not, however, to international standard so don’t expect palaces with flash service. I have stayed in three of them and report on them later in this journal.

Belgrade locals eat out quite often so the range of restaurants is good. Most locals, however, favour the distinctive local cuisine—lots of meat, few vegetables, rich sauces—so other types of food are more difficult to find. As well as ‘conventional’ restaurants, there are those with traditional music—great to visit once but probably not more often. There are also ‘boat’ restaurants—most are moored to the river bank in New Belgrade. These are popular with locals and the ambiance is nice but I have never been particularly impressed by the food.

Quick Tips:

I have never had a problem finding accommodation in Belgrade but the locals tell me that hotels do book out, so advance reservations would be a good idea.

I recommend hotels within Old Belgrade, particularly those within a half kilometer of Tereziji and Republic Square. You will find most of the sightseeing, restaurant, shopping and nightlife activities in this area.

Most hotels offer a room and breakfast rate. Breakfast is usually a buffet but the quality varies considerably and is not usually anywhere near ‘international’ standard.

Best Way To Get Around:

There are taxis from the airport but there is no organized system to get these. You will be swamped with offers as you walk out the airport door. There is a JAT bus service to the Slaija Lux Hotel. Few hotels offer airport pick-up.

If you stay in one of the recommended hotels, it is possible to walk to most places of tourist interest. The city has buses, trams and trolleys where you buy a ticket on board if you wish to travel further afield. There are no English language signs so you need to know where you are going.
Taxis are available in the city and can be booked by telephone.

This is another 3-star hotel within the central city area. It is slightly further from the center of things than the other recommended hotels but you can still easily walk. The building is very bland but the rooms are a good size and they have been recently renovated. They have all the expected amenities of this standard of hotel—air-conditioning, television, direct dial phone, minibar and hairdryer. My room was bright, modern and cheerful with parquet flooring. The bathroom was shower only but was in good condition.

There is a small traditional restaurant with a warm atmosphere serving both local and international cuisine. A buffet breakfast is served here every morning. While there was not an extensive choice, it was perfectly adequate for me and you were encouraged to take a piece of fruit with you to eat later in the day. There is also a small beer garden to the front of the hotel where, during summer, you can relax in the sun.

The lobby is small, and cozy. I found the reception staff to be welcoming and friendly. The earliest check-in is supposed to be at noon but the hotel was not full so my room was available when I arrived at 10am. That was really appreciated.

The hotel has 2 lifts, 24 hour porterage, room service from 6am to 11pm, car parking (at a cost), car rental facilities, and laundry facilities. I didn’t use any of these facilities but nevertheless I enjoyed my stay here. The hotel is relaxed and staying was pleasant. During the 3 days I was there I spent very little time in the hotel so was really using it as a bed and breakfast place. For this purpose it was fine. If you were confined to the hotel for long periods it may be a bit restrictive. There are few public areas and very limited English-language TV programming.

This 3-star hotel is in a 1970s building, overlooking a small park. It is on the main street leading to Teraziji and the pedestrian Kneza Milhailo.

My room was quite large with air-conditioning, telephone and cable TV (very little English-language programming) but it was dimly lit and drably furnished. There was no refrigerator which I found a little frustrating. The bathroom was small, but clean and modern with plentiful hot water. The bed was large but old and not particularly comfortable. There was no plug available in the room for my computer, the room was cold, and the television reception was virtually black and white. Fortunately, we were out most of the time so none of these things, apart from the heating, was a major concern to me. I was with two other companions and the heat problem was consistent in all three rooms although the other problems varied.

The hotel was full of local and foreign guests and the corridor outside my room was noisy at times but that didn’t prevent me falling asleep. The noise may not be a regular problem.

The reception staff was not very welcoming but was helpful when asked. The buffet breakfast offered a variety of tasty hot and cold foods and was plentiful. I didn’t eat any other meals at the hotel so cannot comment on that.

The location is good and the other staff that I encountered were friendly. While I have several criticisms about the hotel, they need to be put into the context of other Belgrade accommodation, much of which suffers similar problems. While this would not be my first choice, I would stay here again if need be.

This is probably the best location of the three hotels in which I have stayed. It is just a few blocks from the main pedestrian street and close to the Belgrade Orthodox Cathedral and Princess Ljubica’s Mansion. As an added bonus, there is a nice park just around the corner.

The hotel is rated four-stars but it would not get this rating in many countries. Everything works, the staff is civil, breakfast was acceptable but nothing stands out from my three-day stay.

There are 86 rooms—52 singles, 39 doubles and 15 suites. My single room was reasonably large and the bathroom was huge. I stayed mid-winter and the heater in the bedroom was providing plenty of heat but the bathroom was a bit cold. The room was equipped with a TV, mini-bar and hairdryer. There was Internet access from the room and 18-hour room service.

The hotel is in a building which was built in 1923. It was originally known for its beautiful architectural elements and many remain today. It is certainly a nice contrast to the communist-era buildings from the 1960-80s, which house some of the other hotels. The building has its own generator so power outages should not be a problem and it also has its own freezing system for making ice.

Public facilities include two restaurants, a bar, casino, exchange office, business center and garage. The Classic Restaurant is on the ground floor. This provides a self-service breakfast and lunch and à la carte dinner service. The breakfast was better than others I have had in Belgrade. The Belgrade Panorama Restaurant is on the sixth-floor. This is a high quality restaurant with music and nice atmosphere each evening.

Of the three hotels I report on, this would be my choice, however, it is also the more expensive. It really is a case of you get what you pay for. At around $50 a night, this is fair value in Belgrade.

I had seen this restaurant on a previous visit and decided that after several weeks of local food, I needed a change. It proved to be a good decision.

The Peking is the only Chinese restaurant in central Belgrade. It is just 50m off the main pedestrian street in the center of the city. It is in a nondescript building but once you are inside, you are in a different world. There are lovely wooden screens, a waterfall, lanterns, Chinese music and generally just great décor like a traditional banquet hall.

The big surprise was that the service and the food were both as good as the décor. Fortunately, the restaurant was able to provide an English menu so I could understand the full choice available to me. There were starters, soups, main dishes, vegetarian dishes, and rice and noodle choices. I was feeling hungry so I started with a seaweed salad (about 340din) then had some sour hot soup (140din) and the fried pork in hot sauce for a main dish (580din) with steamed rice (80din).

The salad was delicious but was far too big for one and the rest of the meal was excellent. I was able to get a beer (95din) to help it all go down. By Belgrade standards, these prices are fairly high, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would definitely go back again. Next time I will make sure I go with someone so we can enjoy the experience together.

I’m not really sure of the significance but since returning home I see one guidebook ranks the Peking as a 4-star restaurant (most other restaurants get no rating). The restaurant opens 11am – 11pm Monday to Saturday and 1pm – 11pm Sunday. On the evening I went, the restaurant was only about one third full so reservations are probably not necessary.

In summary, I had an excellent meal in civilized surroundings and received good service as well. I left feeling contented and happy. What else can you ask for?

I have been to a number of restaurants in Belgrade but, because I was taken by locals, and they have been out of the central area, I’m not sure exactly where most of them are and they are difficult to reach without your own transport.

Pink is in this category. I enjoyed this place very much but don’t have an address or telephone number. You would have to follow this up when you got to Belgrade. I went here for Sunday lunch and the restaurant was packed with people. It was 2pm and we had not made a reservation so we had to wait about 15 minutes to get a table despite there being several rooms of diners. There was a very happy, loud atmosphere and everyone was obviously having a good time. This was clearly not a sophisticated, formal restaurant but more a place to enjoy others company, have a couple of drinks and spend a couple of happy hours.

The food was not bad but the servings are ridiculously large. There was no way I could possibly finish my main meal. The size didn’t seem to worry some of the locals but how they could then tackle dessert, I couldn’t imagine. The cost was reasonable considering the meal size and drinks were also well priced

On another occasion, I remember sitting in the Dacha restaurant, surrounded by Serbian folklore icons and wall-hangings, eating and drinking some of the best organically produced food and drink I have ever had. The management says there is no GM or processed food here; almost everything is home-grown—and it tastes that way. With a penchant for locally smoked ham, grilled meat, stuffed vegetables, specialist breads, salads, pickles and soft Kajmak cheese, most Serbs eat enormous amounts and yet stay enviably slender. I would not be so lucky if I frequented this restaurant very often.



There are two restaurants that I enjoy in the city center. One is Restaurant Villa 69 (Tel: 344 2656) at Krunska 69. There is an air-conditioned room and a garden terrace. Lunch has several set menus while dinner is á la carte. The food is international and the standard is good. Try the Caesar salad, the fresh sea bass or a steak and I strongly recommend the chocolate fudge cake for the sweet-toothed. The other is Greka Kralijica Restaurant (Tel: 554-348) which is right on the pedestrian street at number 51. This is extremely popular at the weekend for lunch, coffee or afternoon tea. There are two sections, a restaurant (it has an English menu) and a coffee house for drinks, great cakes etc. You will find the clientele is mostly local and the food is Serbian and international.

Finally, if you are wanting a coffee, milk shake or cake in a modern setting, check out the Ice Bar (Tel: 322 2218) at Kosovska 37 just at the back of St Mark’s Church near the central city. This shows the modern side of a growing city.