Usually when you think about prisons, some negative images come to mind. For instance, steel bars, cold cells, nasty food that’s barely edible, and sour-faced prison guards. However, there are some prisons around the world that are a far cry from those images.
In fact, some of these ‘luxury’ prisons are nicer than hotel rooms you may have stayed at. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of those prisons, most of which you will never have heard about. To find out even more about luxury prisons, you can know more about it here. So, if you’re every convicted of breaking the law, try to do it in a place where you might be incarcerated in one of these high-end prison cells.
Pondok Bambu Prison (Indonesia)
This is a women’s facility which is equipped with everything from refrigerators and nail salons to karaoke machines and air conditioners. That means inmates have the opportunity to get a pedicure, to live in well-conditioned rooms, and to even entertain themselves with some occasional karaoke.
Recreational classes and beauty treatments are offered as well, and all these perks and amenities are meant to rehabilitate people convicted of crimes. This is a far more enlightened approach than most American prisons take, but it does seem to achieve good results. Most people who are forced to stay in this prison for any length of time, generally decide they want to surround themselves with the same type of perks and amenities back in the real world.
San Pedro Prison (Bolivia)
This prison has a unique community that makes it worthy of inclusion on our list. Leaders are all self-appointed, and there are entire neighborhoods, homes, and families set up within the prison community. It also includes a number of cafes and businesses to make up one of the most unconventional prisons in the entire world. For many of those incarcerated, it barely seems like a prison at all, just a rather confined community area.
Cebu Prison (Philippines)
Cebu Prison in the Philippines may not have all the luxuries that some other high-end prisons do, but the prison administrators are big believers in inmate recreation and encouraging creativity among inmates. At this Correctional Facility, inmates are encouraged to participate in singing and dancing, and they have a whole host of musical numbers to choose from. The inmates put on shows for other inmates as well as civilian audiences, and they have even been known to sign autographs for enthusiastic supporters of their creativity.
Halden Prison (Norway)
This prison has acquired a reputation over the years of being the most humane prison in the entire world. Part of the reason for this is all the greenery and natural light that enters the prison, to brighten up the day of inmates. In addition, all inmates have the opportunity to enjoy quarters that are very comfortable and have at least some level of privacy. The facility has a recreation room which is stocked with television shows, video games, movies, and a gym that is fully equipped. There’s also a functioning music recording facility within the prison, and this is one of the most popular features used by the inmates. Inmates also have the opportunity to avail themselves of classes that build skills, so after they’re released, they can use them in a professional capacity. Anyone sentenced to a long-term stay at Halden Prison in Norway can view it as a golden opportunity to prepare for life after prison, and build up a whole repertoire of skills in the meantime.
JVA Fuhlsbuettel Prison (Germany)
This prison is located in Hamburg, Germany, and a great many inmates serving their time there have long sentences to serve. The cells here are spacious and come equipped with comfortable beds, a sofa, a private shower, and a toilet. There’s also plenty of natural light which enters each cell room, so that inmates are not obliged to reside in darkness most of the day. Among its many welcome features, are the washing machines supplied to prisoners, so they can clean their own clothes. There’s also access to a recreation room and a conference room that’s available to all prisoners who demonstrate a need for them. It’s a somber enough place, but prison administrators do their best to allow some light into the darkness, in an effort to speed up the rehabilitation of inmates.
Champ-Dollon Prison (Switzerland)
At one time, this prison had a reputation for being dreadfully overcrowded, but those days are long gone, and the prison has now been completely refurbished to be much more spacious. The cells in this prison now are capable of handling triple occupancy, with a bathroom attached to each group. Prisoners are treated with a level of respect, in the expectation that they will work together with other inmates to rehabilitate themselves and eventually rejoin society. Prison administrators encourage employees to avoid treating inmates like miscreants, and instead to think of them more as university dorm mates who are striving together to achieve full rehabilitation.
Aranjuez Prison (Spain)
One outstanding policy that this prison is known for is its innovative approach to accommodating inmates with infant children. The facility prefers not to separate families in this way, but instead allows for infant children to live with their incarcerated parents for the first few years of life. That means on a trip through this prison, you might at any time see baby cribs, a children’s playground area, and even some Disney characters sprinkled along the walls. This prison takes a very enlightened approach to parenthood and allows inmates to experience all the joys and frustrations of it despite their incarceration. The youngsters of course, will not understand the circumstances of the incarceration, but by the time they are old enough to be aware, hopefully the parent has served their sentence and will have been released.
Otago Corrections Facility (New Zealand)
This facility certainly takes its security measures seriously, but on the other hand they also consider the comfort level of inmates. All inmates are provided with comfortable quarters and have the opportunity to attend a number of classes that will build skills for their eventual return to society. Classes are available in the areas of dairy farming, light engineering, cooking, and a number of other topics that could prove useful in the job market. This prison truly favors the rehabilitative approach to incarceration and does its best to prepare inmates for life after their sentence has been served.
Nina Smith 
Rhydian Choi