6 Most Luxurious Prisons In The World

Countries around the world take vastly different approaches to how they deal with members of society who have broken the law. Some believe that building huge uncomfortable prisons will act as a deterrent to potential offenders while containing those who have already been convicted. While other countries do the opposite and build facilities that are far more comfortable and have a much larger focus on rehabilitation rather than punishment. So get ready to be surprised at the privileges some prisoners are afforded as we take a tour around the 6 most luxurious prisons on earth.

Number 6 Cebu Prison

One of the biggest challenges facing prison authorities is how to provide enough entertainment for the inmates while keeping things safe and under control and various institutions have different approaches to doing this. There’s no doubt though that the Cebu Prison in the Philippines is the most unusual in this respect and while the facility itself may not be the most luxurious for day-to-day life. 

The prisoners being kept there certainly have one of the best activities to pass the time. That’s because each of the maximum security prison inmates has to take part in Cebu’s world-famous daily choreographed dance routines. Which are not only designed to provide them with exercise but also to learn teamwork, to follow instructions, and to take them out of their comfort zones.

Often these are filmed and broadcast online but the prisoners have developed legions of fans since the first was released in 2006. Now they’re so well known that the prisoners even sign autographs after some performances and they virtually become celebrities in their own right.

Number 5 Pondok Bambu Prison

The experience in prison in Indonesia varies wildly depending on which facility you’re sent to. With most of them being notorious for squalid conditions and terrible treatment of inmates. Some wardens however have found ways to profit from their positions by offering luxury accommodation to certain prisoners as long as they can afford it. Pondok Bambu Prison is a women’s penitentiary in Jakarta that made headlines in 2010 following an investigation by a local TV News Network. 

They had detailed the case of an inmate who had been sentenced to five years there for bribing a prosecutor with six hundred thousand dollars to drop a case against her. But she needn’t have worried because her wealth gained access to luxuries very few have on the outside. She reportedly had access to a huge cell with a flat-screen TV, a king-sized bed, a private bathroom, and even an adjoining karaoke suite. All the while she was served by maids who kept her room clean and had unlimited visits by beauty therapists for a wide variety of treatments. 

This was however against the principles of the system in Indonesia and when it was discovered she was moved to the general population of the prison. But apparently, it’s quite commonplace for similar privileges to exist with reports of luxurious accommodations being available in most of the country’s prisons.

Number 4 Alexander Maconochie Center

The Alexander Maconochie Center is a prison facility in Canberra, Australia that houses maximum security and minimum security inmates. It’s said to be the first in the country that was built to Human Rights principles and is described as being an open campus-style facility with no bars on any window. 

So they give views out across the surrounding landscape and even self-contained cottage accommodations for the best-behaved prisoners. The focus here is on treating every prisoner with respect with the idea that by doing so they won’t become institutionalized and when they’re released they’re far less likely to commit another offense. Despite the appearance of it being open and friendly though the people in charge of the prison have been clear that it’s still a maximum security facility that’s continuously being watched by hundreds of cameras around the site and that there’s still no way, an inmate would be able to reach the perimeter without the guards knowing about it. 

It’s been a controversial decision to build a place like this in Australia. But as with many other prisons that take a more respectful approach. The initial signs have been that reoffending rates are much lower than with prisoners who have been kept elsewhere and the behavior of those being kept in the Alexander Maconochie Center is far better as well.

 Number 3 JVA Fuhlsbuettel Prison

The Fuhlsbuettel Prison in Hamburg, Germany is used to accommodating a wide range of prisoners from the city with sentences ranging from just a few months to many years. It’s been designed to constantly be interesting and stimulating for them so they don’t get bored. 

The theory is that this encourages better behavior is good for their well-being and ultimately means they’re more likely to return to society and fit back in with a much lower chance of reoffending. It’s been criticized for being too comfortable with soft beds, chairs, TVs, and a huge amount of space in each cell and offers spacious recreational areas and a number of courses that inmates can enroll in. access to outdoor spaces during daylight hours. 

One of the most surprising things is that the interior of the prison is completely redecorated at regular intervals every year or so rather than being to keep it clean and fresh. This is actually done for the inmates who are going to be there for long sentences. So their environment changes around them and is kept interesting. 

Number 2 Otago Corrections Facility

Found in Milton on the lower South Island of New Zealand. The Otago Corrections Facility was built between 2005 and 2007 and provides accommodation for 335 inmates, designed for prisoners with short sentences. It aims to help them learn skills that’ll allow them to get a job in the outside world when they’re released. And have often been referred to as the five-star hotel of Prisons with two prisoners per cell in which they have TVs, radios, and coffee machines.

They’re able to decorate them however they want and even have a wide range of books they can borrow from the prison library. Surprisingly the entire facility has underfloor heating to keep them warm in the often freezing climate. The inmates have access to a fully equipped gym, a spacious outdoor, recreational yard, and regular movie nights. What’s particularly special about this facility compared to others in New Zealand though is the wide range of educational courses that are available. 

So along with the usual drug and alcohol therapy sessions, there’s a drama school and the opportunity to learn engineering skills, cookery, and farm work. When it opened it represented a new design for New Zealand’s correction system and it’s generally been seen as a complete success with all future prisons planned to replicate it.

Number 1 Bastoy Prison

Originally opened as a prison colony for young boys located around 46 miles from Oslo and Norway. Bastoy Prison is one of the most unusual correctional facilities on the planet. Rather than keeping inmates locked in cells and behind bars, it’s trying to become the first ecological prison in the world, and to do this it’s doing things very differently. It’s located on an island that can only be accessed by ferry and inmates live in small wooden cottages around 115 prisoners are held there at any one time.

And they’re watched over by 70 Prison employees only five of whom stay there overnight. Inmates have to apply to be transferred to Bastoy from other prisons in Norway. When the population is made up of people who have committed a wide range of crimes from theft to murder their day is made up of mainly working on the prison farm. But during their free time, they have access to activities that people in other prisons could only dream of. 

They can for example learn how to ride a horse, go fishing or make use of the on-site tennis courts and even compete against one another in cross-country skiing before relaxing in a sauna. It’s a tough transition for some prisoners who are so used to having every minute of every day planned out for them and in the best way they found themselves relying on each other for entertainment and to provide resources for themselves. Amazingly though the approach has been a resounding success whereby the reoffending rate of prisoners who have spent part of their sentence there has dropped from the European average of 70 percent to just 16 percent.

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