The hotel belongs to Dr. Michael Koll, a lawyer by profession, who bought the abandoned prison from the state in 2005. “Those who come here to stay can truly experience what prison feels like." The "Alcatraz" hotel opened its doors exactly ten years ago, in September 2008. It was the first hotel of its kind in Germany, that is, a penitentiary institution converted into a hotel. The prison was founded in 1877 by the Bavarian royal government and was closed by district authorities in the fall of 2002. It used to hold up to 150 inmates.

On one of the bastions of Norderney Island, the building of the women's prison Het Spinhuis was constructed in 1739, now known as the hotel-restaurant 'De Librije'. The building served as a prison from 1740 to 2006.

The Helsinki District Prison in the Katajanokka district of the city of Helsinki was a prison that operated from 1749 to 2002. After construction was completed, the prison had 12 cells, two rooms for guards, and a prayer room, which has been preserved to this day.

The Old Mount Gambier Gaol (Gaol in Old English means prison) is a former prison listed as a cultural heritage site, now converted into residential premises and an event venue in Mount Gambier, South Australia. It is listed on the South Australian Heritage Register.

Hostel Celica (pronounced "kelika," which means "Cell" in Slovenian) is located in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. It emerged as a result of an art experiment involving more than 80 artists from around the world. They managed to transform 20 dull prison cells into modern rooms that could be exhibited in a museum as a vivid example of contemporary art and design.

The Ottawa Jail Hostel was the Carleton County Jail, better known as the Nicholas Street Jail or the Ottawa Jail. The Nicholas Street Jail was Ottawa's main prison for over a century. This building was constructed in 1862 next to the courthouse and connected to it by a tunnel.

The Charles Street Jail housed notorious criminals and political prisoners, including the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti (remember the pencils from the factory named after them?). In 1973, the inmates rioted, deciding that the prison's overcrowding violated their constitutional rights. Today, they would not recognize their former refuge with the telling name Liberty, which has become a four-star hotel with 300 rooms.

Longholmen Prison, officially the Central Prison of Longholmen (Långholmens centralfängelse), was historically one of the largest prison institutions in Sweden with more than 500 cells, located on the island of Longholmen in Stockholm. It was built between 1874 and 1880 as Sweden's central prison and was temporarily closed from 1972 to 1975.

Built by Baron Robert d'Oilly the Elder in 1073, Oxford Castle was originally a wooden fortress. By the 13th century, most of the castle's structures had been rebuilt in stone. It played a key role in defending the city against Saxon invaders and was significant during the Anarchy, serving as the base for Empress Matilda's campaign from 1141 to 1142. Despite its advantageous location, Oxford Castle never became a royal residence for Henry I, who built the more regal Beaumont Palace nearby. By the time of Henry III, part of the castle had already been converted into a prison due to the Norman medieval castle's redundancy and impracticality for military use. Like all prisons of that era, conditions were harsh, and prisoners were often hanged. Most inmates were poorer members of society driven to crimes such as theft and fraud out of desperation. The castle had been used as a prison since the 1200s but only became an official prison in the 16th century.

Karosta served as a military base for most of its existence, first built in 1890 for use by the Russian fleet under Tsar Alexander III. During the upheavals of the 20th century, the base passed first into the hands of independent Latvia, then to the USSR and the invading German army during World War II, again to the USSR for most of the 20th century, until Latvia’s independence was restored in 1991 (although Russian soldiers only left it in 1994). The authorities changed, but the purpose of the facility remained the same: to hold prisoners, including revolutionaries, sailors and non-commissioned officers of the Russian Imperial Army, German deserters, enemies of the people during the Stalin era, as well as soldiers of the Soviet and Latvian armies.

Sultanahmet Prison (Sultanahmet Cezaevi) is a former Turkish prison in Istanbul. It is now a luxury hotel, the Four Seasons, located in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of the Fatih district on the historic peninsula.

The Addington Prison building, designed in the Neo-Gothic Revival style, was constructed in 1874 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Criminals ruled here until 1999. Now, it is an award-winning prison-themed playground and hostel.

Originally built around 1850, the Arretheis prison building was actively used, renovated, and expanded until the end of the 20th century. This monumental former prison complex occupies almost an entire city block in the historic center of Roermond. When the prison was closed in 2007, the buildings remained vacant, providing an opportunity for a complete redevelopment of this part of the city, with the main idea being to preserve the original historic buildings and demolish the rest.