Four Seasons:

For the journalists and intellectual dissidents sentenced to a prison term in this building, a period of incarceration was something to brag about -- and it still is, albeit for different reasons.

After a long period of neglect, this Turkish neoclassical building located in the heart of Sultanahmet was converted from a prison into a five-star hotel, with much of the original marble and tile recycled into its present-day, elegant design. The saffron exterior is a bit severe, but the contrast within couldn't be greater.