It's one thing to build a shiny new hotel from scratch, but quite another to convert an old building that was once used for something completely different. The former is a blank canvas, the latter an entirely different art – about working with the limitations and using the heritage to bring through a distinctive character. This year, a wave of such properties have opened, offering stays in everything from prison guards' cottages to Unesco World Heritage-listed forts. David Whitley picks out some of the most intriguing examples.
Brown Beach House
Trogir, Croatia
Once a tobacco shipment station and now set upon by Amsterdam-based designer Saar Zafrir, the Brown Beach House, a 25-room property, has gone for a playful 1950s-resort-style vibe. In heritage-packed harbour town Trogir, near Split, the star is the retro black-and-white-tiled pool area, which overlooks the Adriatic Sea. White marble bathrooms and calming rooms with lots of clean lines are backed up by a high-end seafood restaurant, private beach access and a spa. Rooms cost from €302 (Dh1,177). For more information, visit www.brownhotels.com/croatia
Fremantle Colonial Cottages
Fremantle, Australia
The World Heritage-listed Fremantle Prison had already undergone a dramatic refurb, with part of it now used as a hostel. But in April, a new addition was added for those who prefer more luxury.
Just outside the 19th-century prison walls are three self-contained cottages, which were formerly used to house the guards, now set up for families and groups. The Unesco-listing meant not even a nail could be hammered into a wall without government permission.
Each cottage has two fairly basic bedrooms and a combined kitchen/ dining/ lounge room. But the private patio and veranda outside are perfect for enjoying a sunset. The cottages cost from 250 Australian dollars (Dh687) a night. For more information, visit www.fremantlecottages.com.au
Como The Treasury
Perth, Australia
The landmark project in Perth this year was the State Buildings being turned into Como The Treasury. The buildings have a 140-year-old history that includes being used as public offices, a police court and cell block, the state treasury, survey department and main post office.
Now there are 48 rooms spread across four floors, keeping the 19th-century heritage where possible and introducing modern glass and steel where not. The restoration included reinstalling dormer windows and Victorian roofs with copper trimmings; 60,000 slate tiles were imported from a North Wales quarry to replace the roof like-for-like.
A new addition is the spa, ostentatiously branded as the Como Shambhala Urban Escape, which provides Pilates and yoga classes plus a 20-metre cantilevered pool. Rooms cost from 495 Australian dollars (Dh1,361) a night. For more information, visit www.comohotels.com/thetreasury
Ahn Luh Zhujiajiao
Shanghai, China
Fifty kilometres outside Beijing, the Ahn Lhu Zhujiajiao makes remarkable use of a 600-year-old courthouse, turning the traditional Ming dynasty building into a lobby with a proper wow factor. The core of the building is provided by a theatre from the same era, and around it are several top-end villas. Each of them has a private courtyard and garden, while four are blessed with a private pool as well. Within the complex, a tapas bar and cigar lounge have been installed – but it's that temple-like wooden facade that truly turns back the centuries. Villas cost from 3,600 yuan (Dh1,916). For more information, visit www.ahnluh.com
The Langford
Miami, United States
Miami’s historic hotels tend to be art-deco affairs on South Beach, but now downtown has its first. The Langford is beaux-arts style rather than art deco – it was built in 1925 before the art-deco movement really swept the city, and is inside what was formerly the Miami National Bank. Original details and architectural features have been kept where possible, there’s panelling all over the walls and the furnishing has an elegantly classic, masculine vibe. It’s designed to feel residential rather than ultra-hip, but gains cool points by having hot local restaurant group Pubbelly run the restaurant. Double rooms cost from US$169 (Dh621). For more information, visit
J W Marriott Resort & Spa
Venice, Italy
In a 1920s sanatorium on an island in the middle of the Venetian lagoon, the Marriott has considerably spiffed up the standard of accommodation. It's not the best bet for exploring Venice – the necessity of booking boat transfers sees to that – but the Isola delle Rose makes a fine spot for a break. Matteo Thun-designed rooms are coolly minimalist, but it's the prodigious landscaped gardens, events space in a deconsecrated church and pools that provide the atmospherics. Rooms cost from €245 (Dh955). For more information, visit www.marriott.com
The Courthouse Hotel Shoreditch
London, England
Once the Old Street Magistrates’ Court and police station, this new hotel in the East End of London is the result of a big-money revamp that has seen the installation of a swimming pool, subterranean bowling alley, cinema and 128 snazzily kitted-out rooms.
The baroque-style building is heritage-listed, so many of the original features, such as the central dome, magistrates' court sign and chunky stone exterior, remain. And inside are several nods to the past – such as the massive street-art-esque picture of the Mona Lisa behind bars. Rooms cost from £229 (Dh1,068). For more information, visit www.shoreditch.courthouse-hotel.com
Coming soon…
A few other impressive conversion hotels are on the way next year, including The Silo in Cape Town, South Africa. Being fitted into the grain-lift section of a massive grain-silo complex near the V&A Waterfront, the conversion is being undertaken by Thomas Heatherwick, designer of the 2012 Olympic torch. The new Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa will be part of the same complex, with the 28-room hotel perching on top. It's due to open in March, with rooms costing from 12,000 South African rand (Dh3,203). For more information, visit www.theroyalportfolio.com In India, meanwhile, the Alila Fort Bishangarh, near Jaipur, will see a stone hilltop fort kitted out with 59 suites, two restaurants and a spa. It's due to open next year, but room prices have not yet been set. For more information, visit www.alilahotels.com/fortbishangarh
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