To stay at Clarion hotel Bilan in Karlstad is a nice and interesting experience. The hotel is an old prison, built 1847. The architecture is inspired by buildings from Greece and Italy. In the 91 cells in the building thousands of prisoners have served their sentence during the 121 years the prison was active as the county prison for Värmland. The prison was closed in 1968. The cells are rebuilt to 68 nice hotel rooms and there is a museum in the basement, where you can learn more about the history of the prison. As a hotel guest you have free parking, afternoon coffee and breakfast buffet.

Second time at this hotel that is placed ca. 5 minutes walk from the rail station.
the truth is that the hotel itself is more 3 stars hotel and not 4 stars,that due to the rooms!
the best part of it is the great service that will make you fill at home,plus that the hotel itself
was an old prison! and that makes it very attractive and very exotic for all visitors.
The hotel has own parking place(extra), and best of all is that you get a dinner incl. in the
price! Both breakfast and dinner are fine!
The rooms are clean.
The only minus is that the hotel price is too high.as an example i can get 2 nights in Malmö
at 4 star hotels for the same price in Karlstad for one night...
one more thing is that the madrases was too soft for my and my wife taste,i don't think that they were old,just too soft.

Lousy service staff, don't even have basics like slippers, asked for an extra duvet and got a dirty blanket in return.

Although the hotel had an earlier life as a prison, Only artifacts remain, with an abundance of pictures and framed documents. There is also a small Prison museum in the basement. In the basement, you can also find a small sauna and a cold dipping pool. The hotel has been renovated into a charming property with friendly and well trained staff. Included in the price of the room is free internet, breakfast, afternoon cake and coffee, and a light dinner buffet. The hot dish changes daily and there is a nice selection of salads, meats, cheese, vegtables and bread. The breakfast was equally generous and well presented. The guestrooms are a reasonable size, with a chair and lamp for reading or TV if that is your preference. There is a well designed bathroom and good closet space. We appreciated the free parking, as this allowed us to leave the car and explore. The hotel is within walking distance of the train and bus stations and excellent downtown shopping. The city of Karlstad is charming and well worth a visit.