Ever wished your holiday would never end? Want to take your next trip to the maxi-mum? Looking for a spot for a cell-abration? Dreaming of a great escape? By order of the court, check into the swankiest of sneezers. A bevy of adaptive reuse projects around the world has led to a surprising luxury travel trend: a growing number of stunning new hotels where you’d least expect to find them—in prisons. One recent unprepossessing pokey to get the Cinderella treatment is in Australia —a country that knows a thing or two about convicts.
After a $1 billion dollar revamp, the defunct HM Prison Pentridge in Melbourne—which housed famed Down Under criminals like Ned Kelly and Mark “Chopper” Read —has reopened its gates as the 5-star Interlude . With just 19 suites, a subterranean heated pool, an award-winning restaurant and a wine bar, it’s a sumptuous slammer à la mode. “Pentridge from the time it was established, operated under oppressive rules, it housed some of Victoria’s most hardened criminals and over time,” said Dennis Bear, a former officer at the prison, who now acts as a tour guide.
“The preservation of Pentridge is invaluable as it offers a wealth of knowledge and history. One has to admire the transformation of the complex. It has really rejuvenated the area.
It’s a sanctuary for me now.” The draw for hotel developers is obvious: Prisons are often large heritage buildings with compelling back stories. Despite occasional backlash and even if tho.
