The Liberty Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel

You’d never think that people would be clamoring to get into a Boston prison, but the Charles Street Jail — now converted into The Liberty, A Luxury Collection Hotel — is one of the city’s hottest spots. Of course, the 1851 penitentiary has seen some upgrades since The Liberty opened in 2007. But the hotel cleverly embraced the vestiges its former life for a one-of-a-kind experience. On the first floor, the jail’s original cells were transformed into Alibi, where a young see-and-be-seen crowd files in to enjoy cocktails against barred windows and brick walls with celebrity mugshots, even on weeknights. The restaurants have cheeky lock-up-inspired names like Clink and Scampo (Italian for “escape”). And while the rooms don’t feel like cells, design touches like a safe that serves as a bedside table, a do-not-disturb sign that says “Solitary,” scales of justice on the wood desk and a cream throw pillow bearing tally marks to record days of incarceration lend a jailhouse-chic vibe.