HMP Oxford was re-opened as the Malmaison Oxford boutique hotel in 2006, where guests can stay in preserved prison cells, but some social media users feel it is in bad taste
Influencers have been sharing snaps of their stay at Malmaison Oxford, which was converted in 2006Social media influencers have been criticized for flaunting their stays at a former British prison which is now a luxury hotel.
HMP Oxford, which was an active prison for over 100 years, was closed in 1996. It was re-opened in 2006 by the Malmaison Oxford hotel chain.
The majority of the cells at the former castle facility have been refurbished into boutique hotel rooms but several have been left as they were “with genuine doors and bars”, according to Hotel Management Network.
Multiple influencers have posted photos of their stays at the £325-a-night hotel, though some commenters slammed the concept, with one suggesting holidaying at a place of such “pain and suffering” is in bad taste.
This week, Twitter user Anna Seregina shared a series of snaps posted by others posing in the converted jail, with the caption: “Found a prison that has been converted to an influencer hotel.”
The post has been liked more than 19,500 times with many saying the site is inappropriate for such trips.
“This is one of the worst things I’ve seen,” one person tweeted, while another said: “Oh this is extremely gross.”
A third added: “How can you vacation there? The amount of pain and suffering that is trapped within those walls…”
Some people even compared those who held wedding photoshoots there to couples who tied the knot at former slave plantations.
The hotel’s website states: “Malmaison Oxford’s 95 rooms and suites were once your average basic cell.
“But they’ve done their time and are now reformed as luxurious locations to lay your head, thanks to super-fast wifi, super-comfy beds, and powerful drench showers you’ll want to surrender to.
“These are simply the most stunning and original hotel rooms in Oxford, meaning they’re now on the most wanted list.”
The former prison is a listed building which means it is of “special architectural or historic interest considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting,” according to Historic England.
According to Nuria Travels, a blogger who stayed in the hotel, preservation is key.
“The old prison is a preserved building, it’s listed and in my opinion, the hotel has done a great job in renovating but still preserving the building,” She spoke to Newsweek.
“In many countries like mine, they have demolished historical buildings or let them fall in parts. I am of the opinion [that we should] preserve historical buildings.”