• For many people, travel is about transformation and reinvention.
  • Why not also hotels, especially in an era committed to reuse and recycling? As our surroundings evolve, it’s important to know where we’ve been.
  • For every gleaming new tower that pierces tomorrow’s skyline, there’s a lesson to be learned from yesterday’s demolition.
  • We applaud the creativity that went into converting fortresses, prisons, and firehouses into attention-worthy inns.
  • Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.

Alila Fort Bishangarh

Jaipur, India

It took seven years to turn a 230-year-old hilltop fortress into a retreat in rural Rajasthan on the road between Delhi and Jaipur. Old meets new in the ancient turrets and walls that still have their openings for firearms, and in the modern offerings in 59 suites and several on-site restaurants.

Read more: There’s a $1,000 price difference for a room in the ‘world’s most luxurious hotel’ and its 5-star sister hotel next door. I stayed in both to see how they compare – and the winner was clear

If you get invited down to the former dungeon, say yes. It’s now the spa.

alilahotels.com

Off NH-8 at Manoharpur

+91 723 005 8058


The Liberty Hotel

Foto: Boston, Massachusetts, USsourceLiberty Hotel

"Liberty" is an ironic name for the luxury Beacon Hill hotel that spent its first 140 years as Beantown's prison. But the revamp is striking, as seen in the circular windows and balconies in the four-story atrium lobby, as well as dynamic, making the hotel a destination for eating and drinking (including at - har, har - Clink), shopping, and, oh yes, sleeping.

libertyhotel.com

215 Charles Street

+1 617 224 4000


1898 The Post

Foto: Ghent, BelgiumsourceZannier Hotels

Housed on the top two floors of a former post office with a striking neo-Gothic facade, the small boutique hotel is decorated with dark colors, antique furniture, and large windows overlooking the city.

Read more: Here's exactly what to do as soon as you open an Amex Platinum credit card to get up to $2,000 of value in your first year

Days start with a delicious homemade breakfast and cup of tea in The Kitchen, a relaxed open-format restaurant with cozy upholstered seating in neutral tones.

zannierhotels.com

Graslei 16

+32 9 277 09 60


Detroit Foundation Hotel

Foto: Detroit, Michigan, USsourceCarlos Osorio/AP Photo

Everybody is rooting for Detroit, and the city's revitalization is a long time coming. Until recently, it has been slim pickings for the hotel scene, until a historic fire department headquarters became a thoughtfully designed 100-room independent hotel and love letter to the city.

Local distillers, brewers, farmers, and manufacturers have been brought together to deliver an authentic Detroit experience centered around builders and makers. Inhouse restaurant The Chef's Table doubles as an incubator for the city's emerging talent.

detroitfoundationhotel.com

250 W Larned Street

+1 313 800 5500


El Cosmico

Foto: Marfa, Texas, USsourceNick Simonite

Charm abounds at this bohemian trailer park. The tiny, isolated art town of Marfa, a.k.a. the Middle of Nowhere, West Texas, has drawn overworked vagabonds time and again for a much-needed reset.

Read more: 32 of the most extravagant hotel amenities money can buy

Thirteen beautifully restored 1950s-era mobile homes are the main draw - though there are also teepees, seasonal yurts, and safari-style tents on the campground. Without the distraction of TV, telephones, or internet access (except in the lounge), you can channel your inner creative at a workshop or while away the hours talking about existential matters under vast, star-filled skies.

elcosmico.com

802 West Highland Avenue

+1 877 822 1950

Edited excerpt taken from Travel Anywhere (and avoid being a tourist) by Jeralyn Gerba and Pavia Rosati (co-founders of travel website Fathom), published by Hardie Grant Books April 2019, RRP $19.99.

Jeralyn Gerba and Pavia Rosati launched Fathom in 2011 as a women-led, design-minded, editorially driven travel website that connects passionate travelers to the world's best places, people and products.