In previous months we’ve brought you news of hotels in airplanes, cranes and even concrete tubes. This time we turn to Ljubljana, Slovenia where a bunch of savvy developers have decided to tap in on the current vogue for Yugoslav era prison blocks.
That’s right! At the Hotel Celica, you can stay in a prison cell (the name literally means ‘cell’) without having to go to the hassle of committing a crime. Whilst some mod cons have been fitted – with guests even getting free internet access, there’s no escaping the fact that former residents here probably weren’t afforded any particular luxuries. There are even bars on the doors and windows of each cell.
After the abandonment of the prison by the Yugoslav army in 1991, it was squatted by a group of artists who claimed that it was too important to the history of Slovenia to knock down and it was finally converted into one of the world’s hippest hotels.
Each of the 20 rooms was decorated by a different artist and employs interesting design flourishes to economise on space and produce utterly unique rooms. There are no en suite rooms. Loos are communal, though anyone who has watched American History X might be pleased to hear that showers are not!