I liked everything! Heidi was so helpful in giving me tips on which mountains to visit with my Swiss travel pass, the location is a 10-min walk from the train station + a few with the Lucerne museum, the 6 bedroom dorm was not full, and there was a lot of space to open our baggage. Interesting story - it used to be a jail and there is a gallery inside telling the history. My room mate and I enjoyed watching the snow by our window on Dec 22🤗🥶

Nothing big to comment! Our female dorm was right in front of offices across the street (I think) so, to be sure, we always have to have our curtains closed.

This quaint converted-prison as a hotel room was interesting, convenient and comfortable. We booked it for the proximity to the train station. It was an easy 5-7 minute walk. The room was modest. Bed was comfortable and clean. Suitable for two people to stay for a short while. There are no extra amenities (like a coffee maker, or kettle, or indeed anything else). An in-house restaurant and neighborhood eateries make up for this, though. We enjoyed spicy Indian dishes at a delicious restaurant next door to this property.

Some idiot violated the rules and smoked inside one of the rooms, setting off the fire alarm at 6:30 AM. The hosts quickly evaluated it, found the cause, and calmed down guests.

The location was prime. It was a little difficult to find, but it was dark when we arrived. We have never stayed in prison before so it was a unique experience. We stayed in the prison library room. There were all of the original prison library books, mostly in German but a few in English. One prisoner had written his life goals "to buy a home in London" and "to get his wife back from the devil". It was a very unique experience, and I would stay again and recommend it. The bed was comfortable.

I wish there was a true queen bed instead of two twins pushed together, but this is common in Europe and nothing against the hotel. Charged excessive prices for a bottle of water.

The property is a 10 minute walk from Lucerne railway station. The property is clean and is a comfortable stay. The cleanliness of the property is good. The bathroom is clean. The property allows us to store luggage for free if there is a late or early check in or check out. They do give out the Luzern guest card for all guests which book their property which is useful for museums and public transport.

Water bottle provisions should be made in the rooms. There should be fans in the room. We had a very small table fan in the entire room, which isn’t adequate. Provisions should be made for fans in the rooms.

The uniqueness of the hotel experience was one of the things we like about this property. The rooms are small because I doubt that the prisoners at the time it was still a working prison enjoyed a suite sized accommodations. But as you lay in bed in your room at night, it will really make you wonder how it feels like to be in a prison cell. Truly, a proper lighting, room color, a minimalist design will leave an impression that the room is bigger than it actually is. The room is very basic but the beds are comfortable the room is clean, the private bathroom though small is clean and have soap and shampoo dispensers so you can shampoo generously! We also love the original heavy wooden prison doors! It really adds a real prison cell feel! It is definitely a story to tell everyone back home!

well, it was quite noisy at night as the tiny window faces the courtyard and people are hanging out there until late at night, so the sound reaches the room at night and you just so tempted to yell at them to go somewhere else because they are noisy. But we didn't do that, and prayed that they just leave and they eventually did. Another thing is there Is no air-conditioning in the room . Im not sure what the weather in Luzern is year round but I figure when it gets hot maybe a few days in a year, then the rooms will be hot as there is only a very tiny window maybe a 12in 24in window which can be reached by climbing the small ledge that acts as your side table in the room. But we came in June and with the open, it was very pleasant in the room with fresh cool air coming in.

The location was very convenient. The hotel was at walkable distances to the train station and other modes of public transport, to a few places of tourist attractions, such as the lion monument, the chapel bridge, the lake lucerne and the promenade, and to a variety of eateries. The receptionists were courteous and friendly in responding to any query. Although, being a basic hotel (as explained by one of the receptionists), glasses (for drinking water) were not provided in the room, those were promptly made available by one of the receptionists when requested for. The prison theme (with the instruction near the lift), the ambience inside the room, and the display shelf on the second floor were innovative. Overall our two-night stay was good.

This hotel was so cool! It used to be a jail. The very first jail in the city! But, it closed some years ago, because the only secure parts were the cells; there were no secure common areas for meals, exercise, etc. Anyway, it is really nice now! The location was perfect; so central to shopping, restaurants, and attractions. We paid extra for the breakfast and really enjoyed it. The hotel is very authentic and Swiss; a great place to stay if you’re looking to enjoy Swiss culture.

The only thing we didn’t love is in our room (4 single beds), there was no private area outside of the shower. The toilet has a door; the shower has a door; and the sink is just in the room. I was traveling with my elderly parents, and just went for a walk while they were showering and getting dressed to give them some privacy. Also, as of July 2024, there is major construction on a neighboring building. There is scaffolding and construction dumpsters in the street directly outside of Barabas Luzern, so this made the street less pleasant. No noise that we noticed; just construction zone views instead of quaint street views.

This is an excellent option on budget in Luzern. Pretty well located (less than 10 min away from main station) and very good price. Although it was an old jail, it has been very well redisegned and converted in a very good place for guests. Common zones are big, personnel was very helpful and the self service process is great. They also provided local transport card.

I did not have any problem at all but do want to let people know that rooms are small (since they use to be cells) and the bathroom has a blurry wall that can be akward for some

Position is perfect in the old town. Barabas is a disused & repurposed prison. The accommodation rooms are former prison cells. En-suite bathrooms have been installed and the whole experience is handled in a playful & humorous way. Staff were very helpful, and gave us good suggestions for seeing the town. Beds were comfortable. Room was too warm for sleeping but we opened the window and that was taken care of. We opted not to take the 13CHF breakfast so can’t comment on that.

This is a really out of the ordinary experience. The room was very very small, as is expected from a prison cell :-) However, the bathroom and shower were nice, modern and clean and fully functional. Note that we were a couple and had separate single beds. We were however able to push them together side by side to make a double bed. Make no mistake, this is a small room! We we only there for two nights, and that was all for us. The location is perfect and for the price, it's hard to beat. We were a little disappointed with the breakfast. Since it was not included in our reservation, we decided to pay and add the breakfast. Everything was good and fresh, but the selection was not what we expected for the extra price. Overall, great location, great value.

Breakfast was a little disappointing for the extra we paid for. If it's included in the roome price, then it's ok.