Quirky News
Notorious prison turns posh hotel
People are paying good money to stay in one of Holland's most feared prisons - after it was transformed into a luxury hotel.
The 105 cells at Het Arresthuis have been converted into 40 spacious rooms, featuring modern furnishings and chic interior design, reports the Daily Mail.
All of the rooms are equipped with air conditioning, a flat screen TV, free WiFi, and a personal coffee and tea machine.
The hotel also features a sauna, fitness centre, central patio with olive trees, and an organic herb garden.
It is voted the best hotel in the Dutch town of Roermond and one of the best in all of Holland by users of the Trip Advisor website.
Het Arresthuis - which means The Judgement House - opened its doors in 1862 and quickly established a reputation as an intimidating jail.
After being abandoned for a number of years, the jail reopened in 2002. But in mid 2007 it closed permanently after which construction of the hotel began.
Het Arresthuis is not the only former prison which has been transformed into a hotel.
The former Oxford Prison was transformed into a Malmaison hotel after closing in 1996.
what do you think?
newclasstraitor
Ha! Funny but not original. Brussels has for a looooong time had the 5-star "Hotel Amigo" in a converted prison from the Spanish era. To this day "in den Amigo gegooid" means "thrown into jail" in Belgian Dutch slang. Capetown also has a somewhat less upmarket hotel (the Breakwater Lodge) that used to be a prison.
wickhampatrick
2:49pm on 26/2/2013
That's just like the prisons in the UK. Convicts want for nothing!