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The Bodmin Jail Hotel has announced that it is now taking bookings ahead of its February 2021 opening.
The historic Cornwall site was transformed from a former jail dating back to 1774, following a £50m project by Mallino Developments Limited that has taken over two years to complete.
The restoration “blends heritage and luxury” and honours the building’s historic role. The 70 bedrooms have been created by combining three cells, for example, and retain many original features, such as weathered stone walls and jail cell doors.
The four-star site also features a restaurant, bistro, an alfresco dining area and a cocktail and gin bar.
It will be the biggest wedding, conference, meetings and events venue in Cornwall, with space for up to 300 people.
Historical tours of the hotel will also be available to guests.
The redevelopment has created around 144 new jobs in Bodmin and over 1,800 jobs in the supply chain across Cornwall.
The project employed London-based Twelve Architects & Masterplanners for the design and C Field Construction as the main contractor, along with engineers from ARUP Group.
Rajesh Joshi, resort CEO for The Bodmin Jail Hotel, said: “The opening of The Bodmin Jail Hotel is a proud moment for Cornwall tourism, and is also about celebrating Cornwall’s history.
“Through painstaking restoration and preservation, we are returning a national heritage asset to its former glory and creating a cultural showpiece that will attract guests from across the world.”
He added: “Over 90% of the former jail is now within the hotel and its grounds; this is luxury accommodation in a truly unique venue – there is nowhere else quite like it.”
As part of a separate £8.5m investment, the Bodmin Jail Attraction, which is located on the same site but operated independently to the hotel, opened in October 2020.
It features a Dark Walk experience that “combines the latest technology and theatrical effects” to provide a “truly immersive and interactive discovery of life within the walls of the 18th Century prison and Cornwall’s most haunting histories”.
