This heritage building served as the Old Street Magistrate’s Court and police station from 1903 until 1996 before a £40 million renovation saw it transformed into The Courthouse Hotel. Sleep in a lavish Magistrates King room, which comes kitted out with a 46-inch TV and a bathroom decked out in floor-to-ceiling marble. Guests can dine in Judge and Jury restaurant, set in the wood panelled former courtroom, surrounded by leather-bound law journals and memorabilia.

You'll sleep in a bunk, but HI-Ottawa is a hostel with a difference. It’s housed in the old Carleton County Jail, which served as Ottawa's maximum-security prison from 1862 to 1972. When the prison – which was notorious for its tiny, unsanitary cells – closed, the building was renovated. It was reopened as a hostel a year later by the Duke of Edinburgh.

Thousands of prisoners passed through Fængslet from 1853 to 2006, but the building now houses a museum, concert venue and a hotel in what was once the hospital wing. Don’t expect 5-star luxury and flat screen TVs – instead you'll find intriguing, carefully preserved detail. The cell bedrooms still feature graffiti from inmates and the original prison radios, while bathrooms are communal. 

Numerous Newport felons were locked up at the Jailhouse Inn throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, but it was notoriously insecure. One prisoner, a mason, is said to have escaped in 1859, when he removed the bricks from around his window. More recently, the building became the headquarters for the Newport Police Department, before it closed in 1986. 

Once used as a detention facility for small-time criminals awaiting trial, Het Arresthius (which means house arrest in Dutch) is now a boutique hotel. Some 105 cells have been transformed into 40 luxury rooms, but the original cell doors have been carefully preserved and white bars still shield many of the windows.

It's so elegantly luxurious, you’d be hard pushed to guess the Four Seasons at Sultanahmet was once a prison. Built by a prominent neoclassical architect in the early 20th century, the jail once housed dissident writers and poets, a controversial humourist and even a communist leader. It closed in the late 1960s, but later reopened as a 5-star hotel.

It’s hard to believe now, but back in 1724, tiny Långholmen island was home to a much-feared feared penal institution for women. The jail finally closed down in 1975, but has since reopened as a hotel and museum, swapping inmates for curious travellers eager to find out what prison life was like.

When Oxford Prison closed its gates to criminals in 1996, it was converted into Malmaison Oxford, a luxury boutique hotel. Today, the only clink you’ll hear is the sound of wine glasses, as guests enjoy an al fresco drink in what used to be the prisoners' exercise yard.

The hotel’s rooms are largely made up of cells in what used to be the prison's A-wing, with the heavy metal doors and vaulted ceilings still intact. The cells, which used to house up to three inmates, have been knocked together to create en suites, and the thick walls put paid to any echo. Visitors can enjoy roll top baths, powerful showers, speedy wi-fi and flat-screen TVs. Inspired? Read our guide to Oxford here.

The Old Mount Gambier Goal was a prison from 1866 until 1994, when the inmates were moved to a modern building out of town. Now owned by a husband-and-wife team, it has been sensitively converted into a unique hotel, dubbed “the only prison you’ll be sad to leave”. Venture inside the 15-foot-high perimeter walls and you’ll find that the cell blocks, former medical rooms and kitchens have been adapted into a mix of twin, double and family rooms.

Hand yourself in at the Alcatraz Hotel, which was a jail from 1867 to 2002. Many of the 56 rooms are ex prison cells, which still retain their iron window grills and original metal doors, complete with tiny hatches. Striped pyjamas are available should you want to get into the spirit of things, and you can even ask for your continental breakfast to be served through your hatch.

Hotel Katajanokka’s high, red perimeter walls may look imposing, but the interior will surprise you. Originally a county prison and pre-trial detention centre, the jail called time in 2002 and reopened in 2007. During renovations, the open central corridor was carefully preserved, while stylish, high-ceilinged bedrooms were constructed in the original cell blocks, complete with metre-thick walls. 

For a more authentic night behind bars, head to Latvia’s Karosta Prison. Used as a notorious Nazi and Soviet military jail throughout much of the 20th century, nobody escaped Karosta and hundreds of inmates were tragically killed here. It’s now said to be haunted, with spooky tales of cell doors opening by themselves and steps heard echoing down deserted corridors. 

It’s a lavish hotel today, but in its former incarnation The Liberty was known as The Charles Street Jail and was home to some of Boston’s most notorious criminals. Previous inmates include James Michael Curley, Boston’s ex-mayor who was imprisoned in 1904 for fraud, and even activist Malcolm X. The jail eventually closed in 1973, after prisoners protested about the inhumane living conditions.

This elegant hotel was once Luang Prabang’s lock-up, but the French colonial building has been beautifully restored into what is today the Sofitel Luang Prabang. Behind the white, fortified walls you’ll find a shimmering pool in what was once the yard, surrounded by luxurious suites and perfectly manicured lawns.