Boston jail reopens as five-star hotel

One of the most notorious jails in the US has been revamped and is now open for business as a five-star hotel.

The Charles Street Jail opened in 1851 and was once dubbed "unfit for human living", according to a report from the Associated Press.

However, following a £80 million renovation, the former-correctional facility is now a haven for moneyed tourists in Boston.

Prices for the hotel, which is located in the heart of Boston's Beacon Hill area, start at £150 per night with the presidential suite pegged at a princely £3,000.

Former inmate Bill Baird, who was imprisoned for a 37-day stint in 1967 for illegally distributing contraceptives, confessed he was stunned by the transformation, dubbing the hotel a "magnificent place".

He said: "How you could take something that was so horrible and turn it into something of tremendous beauty, I don't know."

The hotel is expected to attract further visitors to Boston's burgeoning tourist industry, with visitors attracted by the chance to see the site of the Boston Tea Party, to drink in the bar in the bar from sitcom Cheers and catch a game featuring the world-famous Boston Red Sox.

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