Manitoba Airbnb offers visitors a chance to spend a night in jail

A visit to a western Manitoba community could land you in jail without a criminal record.

A creative rental property is giving Manitobans a chance to check ‘spend a night in jail’ off their bucket lists — without having to acquire a rap sheet.

A decommissioned police station in McCreary, Man., has been turned into an Airbnb known as “The Jailhouse.” The getaway includes two original jail cells converted into bedrooms with the authentic cell bars still intact.

Other amenities include indoor parking, a coffee bar and a guard station that’s been converted into a kitchen.

“I’ve set it up to be as comfortable as possible in the 680 feet that there is,” said Rose Peloquin, owner of The Jailhouse.

“When we’re finished converting the breathalyzer fingerprinting room into a living room, we’ll have a couch in there that’ll sleep two more. At the moment, it sleeps six.”

Peloquin and her husband Harvey Jackson first went to see the property a few years ago when it was up for sale.

When looking around, Peloquin realized she and her husband could live in part of the building, while also renting out the jailhouse area to guests.

Now, Peloquin has turned her idea into reality, putting the property up on Airbnb about a month ago.

“We thought if we do an Airbnb, then we can aways block the dates when the kids are coming home or family comes to visit or there’s a reunion or bonspiel and we want to have a pile of friends over,” she said.

“We’ll always have extra accommodation, and it’ll help defer some of the costs of the renovation by renting out as an Airbnb.”

Peloquin said The Jailhouse offers a unique experience for those visiting McCreary.

She tried to maintain as much of the original detachment as possible, though some things needed to be tweaked.

“The lighting just had to be changed because there was the old fluorescent buzzing yellow lights that were in there,” she said.

“So some things just had to be upgraded. We couldn’t leave it as it was.”

As for who should stay there, Peloquin recommends the Airbnb to families, wedding guests and bachelor or bachelorette parties.

“In a small town, you either bring your camper or stay in a motel…it’s not very practical,” she said.

“But an apartment would be far more comfortable for a small family or a group of friends.”

Peloquin said so far, there’s been a lot of interest and curiosity in The Jailhouse; however, she’s still hoping to attract more guests.

“[The Jailhouse] is unique and it’s clean and McCreary is so fun much.”