Stay

THE INTERLUDE, PENTRIDGEMelbourne, Australia

“You’ve been sentenced to a couple of nights in Pentridge,” — not something you wanted to hear between 1851 and 1997, when the tall bluestone walls of Pentridge Prison housed some of Australia’s most notorious criminals.

If you’re hearing it now though, it’s good news, given the brand-new urban wellness retreat, The Interlude, at Pentridge—a converted jail. And while you’ll walk through the same intimidating prison gates as the likes of Mark ‘Chopper’ Read, escapee Ronald Ryan and even Ned Kelly, you’re in for a slightly different experience.

There are 19 exclusive heritage suites, each created out of the original cells with vaulted brick ceilings, thick cell doors and bluestone walls. The walls they did demolish (to create more expansive bedrooms) took two weeks to break down, FYI. Meanwhile the bar features former cells converted into cosy booths and a wine cellar that was also a cell. A cell-ar, if you will. But the highlight of the entire hotel is surely found below ground, where there's a candlelit pool that took three months to dig by hand.

Such is life.

From AU$700 per night.

Click to BREAK IN

Tags: melbourne, pentridge

Get Inspired In Print

While you're here

FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND,...

Hold onto your caps and cork hats, folks, because everyone’s favourite...

Hold onto your caps and cork hats, folks, because everyone’s favourite small-group tour...

HOBART, AUSTRALIA

Alert everyone you know, Dark Mofo is set to come back on full throttle in...

Alert everyone you know, Dark Mofo is set to come back on full throttle in 2025 (did you...

ADINA APARTMENT HOTEL...

Stepping into the Adina Apartment Hotel in Chippendale is like falling into a...

Stepping into the Adina Apartment Hotel in Chippendale is like falling into a rabbit hole...

BARRETTA, TASMANIA

Only a few things can make a sauna cooler (pun very much intended); a dip in...

Only a few things can make a sauna cooler (pun very much intended); a dip in the Tasman...