A stone prison complex in Australia was converted into a kind of hotel, 26 years after the last prisoner left the building, a unique hotel accepts its first guests, reports KarryOn.
According to the source, the new Adina Apartment Hotel Pentridge Melbourne officially opened on May 1, 2023.
“Far from jail time” awaits guests, according to the owners, with 106 rooms featuring a wine bar, restaurant, event space, and wellness center on the grounds of a former prison.
The over 170-year-old Pentridge Prison renovation is one of the most significant bluestone restoration projects ever undertaken in Australia and one of only 40 “prison hotel” conversions worldwide.
“We have our vision of how to use this building to make it special. Of course, it could be easily demolished and built something new. But we want to preserve the unique history of the place,” said Jesse Kornoff, general manager of the hotel.
Designers “refreshed” the prison environment with expensive and luxurious interior items. Barred doors lead to rooms that no longer resemble prison cells: upholstered furniture, luxurious bathrooms, and large beds.
“The price per night is reported here only by phone and only to interested tourists,” the source said.
“It was tough to convert the prison into a hotel. Each room is made of five cells. To combine them, we had to spend months simply breaking down the walls. They are very thick and made of blue stone,” added the CEO of the reconstructed guest house.
For almost a century and a half, the most dangerous criminals of Australia served their sentences here. In 1997 Pentridge prison was closed. They decided to put the neglected building in order, equipped a garden with walking paths for tourists, and dug out a pool. The world’s first wellness center was established in a former prison.
The general director of the newly opened institution added that the innovations were well received by residents and travelers because instead of prisoners, the facility accepts weddings and birthdays.
“We have asked for a spiritual cleansing of a place with a lot of sad and negative energy in its former life as a prison. In our view, Pentridge’s transformation has come full circle and it may officially begin a new chapter as Melbourne’s newest dining and entertainment district.” Kornoff says.