Hotel Langholmen by Vitali Vitaliev

Even if you choose to ignore drab oblong buildings, maze-like inner courtyards and watchtowers when approaching this most unusual hotel, the set of four clocks above the Reception Desk will bring the truth pounding back: they show the current time in Sing Sing, Alcatras, Robben Island and Port Arthur. Yes, Langholmen is a converted maximum-security prison on the little island of the same name in the centre of Stockholm. Over two-and-a-half centuries of its tempestuous history (1736 - 1975) it earned itself the notoriety of one of the world's most feared penitentiaries.

In a little museum in the ground floor, I saw a blood-chilling 18th century "menu" of the "services" provided by the prison staff: 5 Dalers (old Swedish currency unit) for beheading; 2 - for chopping off one hand or both ears; 15 - for a three-course "meal" of beating up for a starter, followed by beheading as an entrée and impaling for the dessert. Among Langholmen's 19th century inmates was a certain Per Vilhelm Lundgren, nicknamed "Snuffe", who had spent 50 years there for the horrific crime of entering a public park without paying his entrance fee.

The hotel was incorporated into the existing prison structures in the late 1980s and quickly won popularity among Swedes, who didn't seem to be deterred by its history (on the contrary, they seemed to be rather attracted by it). As for the basement restaurant, it has won itself the reputation of one of the best in the area.

The rooms, still referred to as "cells", are, understandably, somewhat grim and claustrophobic. Yet they are all tidy and comfortable, with white-tiled bathrooms added after 1975. To keep things in perspective, each room or "cell" has a copy of the old inmates' daily routine on the wall. Striped black-and-white T-shirts, plastic shackles and other jail memorabilia are on sale at the Reception, located in the former prisoners' intake area.

Interestingly, this theme-park-cum-hotel has become a popular venue for business conferences: its austere interiors must be conducive to taking tough business decisions. These are often followed by hugely popular after-dinner murder-mystery games, for which one can hardly find a better location.

Despite Langholmen's long corridors, low ceilings and barred windows, a short stay there does not leave you feeling sombre and depressed. The secret is simple: the memories of the hotel's gruesome past are preserved by the staff with tact and good humour. They don't deny the place was a prison. Nor do they keep obsessively highlighting the fact. Want to know more about the penitentiary - visit the in-house museum. Want to forget about it - go down to the bar and have an akvavit!

To cap it all, every time when leaving the hotel's dreary compound to explore Stockholm and facing the beauty of the island and the nearby Lake Malaren, you get a reminder of how wonderful it is to be free…