Converted Prison Stays: Europe
🔒 Sleep Behind Bars… Europe Style!
At Discover the Frog, we’re always on the lookout for somewhere a little bit different to spend the night — and Europe certainly hasn’t disappointed! 🐸
What was once a place you definitely wouldn’t want to spend the night can now be the reason you book the trip. Across Europe, old prisons, jails and detention centres have been transformed into fascinating hotels and hostels, giving travellers the chance to sleep somewhere with a story to tell.
From stylish former prisons where luxury meets history, to quirky cell rooms where the original character is still very much part of the experience, these stays are anything but ordinary.
We’ve hopped across Europe to find some of the most unusual examples — so take a look, pick your favourite and discover somewhere seriously different to stay.
Because at Discover the Frog, ordinary hotels are easy to find… it’s the extraordinary ones we’re interested in. 🐸🔒
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Het Arresthuis — Roermond
A proper former prison and detention centre, now a five-star hotel. The original 105 cells were converted into 40 rooms and suites, with original cell doors and other details retained.
🇫🇮 Finland
Hotel Katajanokka — Helsinki
A former 19th-century county prison and pre-trial detention centre. The red-brick prison building has been transformed into a hotel while retaining plenty of its original character.
🇸🇪 Sweden
Långholmen Hotel — Stockholm
One of the classic European prison stays. The former Crown Prison on Långholmen has been converted into hotel/hostel accommodation, with original cells incorporated into the rooms and a prison museum on site.
Wilmina — Berlin
This is a particularly good one for the Discover the Frog site. A former women’s prison in Charlottenburg, it was abandoned for 27 years before being transformed into a boutique hotel. It currently holds a Michelin One Key.
🇨🇭 Switzerland
Barabas Hotel — Lucerne
This one is fun. The hotel occupies a former prison, with around 60 former cells incorporated into the accommodation. Some rooms retain the original bars and layout.
🇸🇮 Slovenia
Hotel Celica — Ljubljana
A former military prison turned hostel/hotel, with accommodation created from the original cells. It also offers guided visits of the cells.
🇫🇷 France
Hotel La Prison — Béziers
This is a particularly quirky recent addition. A former prison dating from 1850, closed in 2006, was converted into a hotel while retaining parts of the original prison layout, including iron walkways. It opened to guests in 2023.
🇱🇻 Latvia
Karosta Prison — Liepāja
Now this is the proper bonkers one. This isn’t a luxury conversion like Het Arresthuis — it’s a former military prison where visitors can actually stay in the old prison environment. The experience is deliberately much more authentic, including basic accommodation and prison-style activities.
🇹🇷 Beyond Europe: Türkiye
Fancy taking the prison-stay concept somewhere a little more luxurious?
The Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet occupies the former Sultanahmet Jail, a historic prison built in 1918 during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Known as Sultanahmet Cezaevi, it originally served as a prison for men and was used to house political prisoners, journalists and other detainees.
The building was later carefully restored and transformed into a luxury hotel, while retaining much of its distinctive historic architecture. Today, the former prison courtyards and imposing stone structure provide a rather remarkable setting for one of Istanbul’s most prestigious hotels.
And the location is hard to beat — right in the heart of the historic Sultanahmet district, close to the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.
From Ottoman-era prison to luxury hotel — now that’s one serious hotel transformation. 🐸✨
🐸 Make It a Journey
Why stop at one?
Imagine starting in Amsterdam, heading south into Germany, then continuing by train into Switzerland and France — with a former prison hotel forming part of the adventure in each destination.
You could begin at Het Arresthuis in Roermond, continue to Wilmina in Berlin or Alcatraz Hotel in Kaiserslautern, then travel onwards to Barabas in Lucerne before finishing in Béziers at Hotel La Prison.
Along the way, add the things that make the journey your own — city breaks, scenic rail journeys, great food, wine, culture and unforgettable experiences.
Or keep it simple and choose one extraordinary former prison as part of a wider European holiday.
At Discover the Frog, we can build the whole journey around your idea — because sometimes the best adventures start with a very unusual place to sleep. 🐸🔒✈️
