Britain’s newest luxury hotel has a storied past – it was a building where check-ins happened, but where you could not checkout on your own because it was not your choice to make. Bodmin Jail may be a swanky, posh hotel now, but, back in the day, it was exactly what its name implied: a jail.

The footprint of a jail, of course, is ideal for a hotel, but it was only in the 1990s when this trend kickstarted, arguably via the Four Seasons in Istanbul which commandeered the elaborate, neoclassical Sultanahmet Prison which had closed in 1969, and transformed it into an ultra-luxury hotel.

Bodmin Jail Hotel exterior — **Bodmin Jail was literally that – a jail. Image courtesy of Robb Report**

The Liberty in Boston followed in 2001, and five years later, Malmaison walked in its footsteps. Now, Bodmin Jail has followed suite.

The four-story, 70-room luxury property was initially built in 1779 during the reign of George III. It was a cutting-edge design statement back then, with hot water, and well-ventilated living quarters for the inmates, who ranged from petty criminals to a special section reserved for sailors convicted of crimes. It wasn’t a soft option, though: 55 hangings took place on the gibbets here.

The bar/restaurant at the hotel — **The bar-restaurant was the former chapel. Image courtesy of Robb Report**

This £50 million, six-year makeover was a mammoth undertaking by London-based firm Twelve Architects, as the property had fallen into ruin after the jail closed in the 1920s. Attempts to demolish it with dynamite had failed – so thick were the walls – but the roof had collapsed and interior features had fallen away. It was up to Matt Cartwright, the lead architect, to reimagine the rubble-strewn site as a luxury hotel. For each suite-style room, he combined three cells, even though cutting through the interior walls was difficult.

Interior of the Bodmin Jail Hotel — **Its walls are so thick that it was difficult to break through. Image courtesy of Robb Report**

“They’re 60cm (around 24”) thick, and filled with loose rubble, so as soon as you cut a hole in one, the rubble falls out,” he explains, “And there were so many bats, which you couldn’t remove without a permit for certain months of the year, otherwise they might have been mating.”

Cartwright deliberately retained much of the rough-hewn textures of these walls and other historic details during the luxury fit out, keen to evoke their past for voluntary overnighters. He turned the onsite chapel into the main bar-restaurant: the upper level, where there’s now a grand piano, was where the wardens and staff used to sit for worship, looking down over their inmates.

The room at Bodmin Jail hotel combines three cells together — **The Suites are a combination of three cells. Image courtesy of Robb Report**

As for the condemned cell, where those 50 plus prisoners would have spent the last night before their execution and received their last rites? It’s located in the prison’s former office wing, the sole part of the site that had remained in use and so was in superior condition. “It’s the only cell that hasn’t been converted into a bedroom,” he says, mutedly.

Bodmin Jail hotel is located in one of the most appealing parts of the UK—Cornwall, which defies the maxims about dreary British weather with its reliably sunny days. Rates for each of the suites start at £200 (around $283) including breakfast. The property is also available on a full buyout basis (POA).

Source: Robb Report