This historic jail was transformed into a luxury hotel

A former jail in Boston is now housing people who actually want to be there, and it’s doing so in superior style.

The Charles Street Jail in Boston has been transformed into the luxurious Liberty Hotel with nearly 300 rooms and suites with views of the nearby Charles River. It’s a national historic landmark designed by prison reformer Rev. Louis Dwight and Girdley James Fox Bryant, Boston’s most accomplished architect at the time. The historic jail was built between 1848-1851.

Some guests will see the Boston skyline from their rooms:

Liberty Hotel

And if it’s history a guest is interested in, The Liberty Hotel offers tours. The hotel has the region’s history in mind throughout — even the carpets recall old-fashioned New England crewel work (a type of embroidery).

The Boston Preservation Alliance says that the building, from the Boston Granite School of architecture, was a model of prison architecture after it was built. However, it closed in 1990 after being declared unfit for prisoners and was subsequently obtained by nearby Massachusetts General Hospital.

In 2000, the hospital hired a firm to turn the complex into a luxury hotel. It has been fully restored — minus an 18-foot prison wall that hid the place from the public.

Guests can stroll on the interior catwalks:

Liberty Hotel

It’s also really close to lots of shopping and options for dining.

The cost to stay at the hotel varies — a single room is around $250 to $630 per night, depending on the events or holidays taking place.

Here’s what you’ll see if you visit the jail-turned-luxury hotel: A rebuilt cupola based on Bryant’s original design, four circular wood “ocular windows” and four radiating wings, arched windows that are three stories tall, American colonial fabrics throughout — and much more.

It’s gorgeous!

Liberty Hotel

The building has a granite exterior on the cruciform-shaped building. The jail’s central atrium is now the hotel’s core — it’s 90 feet tall.

What was formerly “The Yard” now serves as a private courtyard. People even have weddings there, as evidenced by the post below from the hotel’s Instagram account:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1JhrAAAOqS/

One of the suites at the Liberty Hotel — the Ebersol Suite — has a 270-degree panoramic view of Boston. The view spans the State House in the east to Charlestown in the north.

Liberty Hotel

The suite includes an entry foyer, a bedroom with a king-size bed, a master bath and dressing room, living room, dining room, butler pantry, a library (yes, a library!), half bath and an outdoor balcony. The Ebersol suite is 2,200 square feet, and it has floor-to-ceiling windows.

Guests also have the option of booking a Charles River suite. These one-bedroom options offer a king bed, one-and-a-half bathrooms and a separate living room/dining area featuring panoramic direct views of the Boston skyline, including Beacon Hill and the Charles River.

This amazing place to stay in Boston offers other fun stuff for guests, too. It offers weekend yoga classes, bike and kayak rentals, jogging maps — and it even has a seasonal running concierge. You can also get your shoes shined here!

Oh! And there are free apples in the lobby. To top it off, Liberty Hotel is dog-friendly!

Liberty Hotel

Would you stay at this unique hotel next time you visit Boston?

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