I’m sure there are people reading this who feel they’ve probably been on every summer vacation possible and long to experience something new and different. For such people all I can say is fear not because the travel industry can provide you with a rather unique accommodations experience. How would you like to spend your vacation in a prison? I’m not referring to an actual prison with armed guards filled with criminals. I’m talking about renovated prisons where people pay their hard-earned money to stay. What a concept.
“I just stayed at the Shangri-La Prison and I got a good deal.”
“How good?”
“The several days my family and I stayed there only cost us a few hundred.”
“I actually stayed at the Shangri-La Prison for free.”
“How?”
“I was a prisoner.”
“Oh.”
If you find the idea of staying in a prison and not having an actual prison experience upsetting then all you need is to travel to Liepaja, Latvia. There the Karosta Prison has been renovated into a hotel. It was a place that housed dissenters, rebels and enemies of Stalin. The place was so harsh most prisoners only survived an average of three days. It was active from 1900 to 1997. Today there are visitors who actually pay to be arrested outside of the prison turned hotel and brought back for a sparse lunch in the prison’s canteen. In a strange way it reminds me of staying with some relatives I know.
In Tylors Falls, Minnesota there is a four-cell jail that has been converted into a bed and breakfast. It served as the town’s lockup from 1884 until 1923. In 1981 it became Minnesota’s first licensed Bed and Breakfast. Today it provides great food and all guests have a beautiful view of the St. Croix River. It has the original iron door and bars on the windows inside it. I wonder if shackles can be provided upon request.
If you would like to stay at a refurbished prison that still maintains some of that prison charm then the Mount Gambier Goal in Australia may be the place for you. The rooms still have some of the same looks as when it was a prison. They’ve even restored a cell where three prisoners spent their final hours before they were hanged in the 1800s. The old prison’s chapel is now a library and lounge and a three bed dorm is in the former jailer’s residence. If you refuse to pay I wonder if they’ll just lock you in your room for a period of time.
At Kaiserslauten, Germany there is a place called The Alcatraz Hotel. This is a place that turned a 56 cell prison into a luxury hotel. Because there are many traveling people who must have the incarceration experience they provide something called “The cell rooms.” These rooms all have a toilet and a sink just like a jail, and for these rooms there are separated men and women community showers located at the end of each floor. When those rooms are booked you’ll have to settle for a very nice suite. At this hotel you can experience their Japanese garden and have access to a concierge. Unfortunately they do not provide the prison matron of your choice.
The Liberty Hotel in Boston, MA was at one time a jail so bad it was declared unfit and in violation of inmates’ constitutional rights. It housed inmates for 120 years. In 1990 prisoners were sent to another prison and the property was then turned into a luxury hotel. Requests of inmates to return to the former prison to serve their sentence have probably been denied.
The liberty hotel uses its former prison status to its benefit. Among places they provide hotel patrons to eat in the Clink, Catwalk and Alibi which was previously the prison’s drunk tank. It also provides some special packages such as the Guilty Pleasures Romance Package and the Big House Breakfast Package.
“Where do you want to go for our anniversary?”
“A former prison.”
“Why a former prison?”
“Because it’s now a lavish hotel and I think all my comments about the ball and chain won’t matter.”
“Don’t count on it. You could still be sent to solitary confinement.”
“Oh.”
In Stockholm Sweden there is a hotel that was a former penal colony for women until 1975. (A penal colony for women. I’m not going there). It’s very well designed and even has a few rooms for multiple occupants they call hostel rooms. It provides it’s patrons with fine accommodations, beautiful views of surrounding gardens and even a tiny prison museum.
I can honestly say it would probably be pretty neat to stay in one of these prisons turned hotel. If anything it’s be something to share with your friends. Sure they stayed at the Wynn but did they have the option of being arrested and put into their hotel? I hope people who visit these places don’t get confused and realize an actual penitentiary probably won’t come with room service or a concierge.
IF YOU LIKE MY HUMOR YOU'LL LOVE MY BOOKS. $2.99 KINDLE VERSIONS AVAILABLE
No comments:
Post a Comment