U n i t 9 Malmaison

Starter
1 What do you know about prisons? The rooms (cells)? The beds? The food?

2 What do you know about luxury hotels? The facilities? The services?

Vocabulary
3 Match each sentence with a meaning of open.
a In 2006 the prison re-opened. 1 push or pull to go through
b The door is always open. 2 went into business
c The guests can open the doors. 3 not locked

Video check
4 Watch the video and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F).
a Malmaison was a luxury prison before 1996. T F
c The video shows a cell with three beds. T F
c The hotel rooms have a computer in them. T F
d Guests have to eat meals in their rooms. T F
e There are café tables and chairs in front of the hotel. T F

Speaking
5 Would you like to stay at Malmaison, Oxford? Why or why not?

6 What is the most interesting hotel you have stayed at? Describe it.

7 When you choose a hotel, which is the most important? Which is the least important?
a low price
b location
c hotel services and facilities
d luxury
e size of hotel
f type of building (old, modern, converted, etc.)

8 Choose one of the following topics. Use the Internet to find some interesting facts
about it.
a other prisons that have re-opened as hotels
b other unusual hotels
c the world’s most luxurious hotels
d famous prisons you can visit as a tourist

International Express ⋅ Elementary ⋅ Classroom DVD ⋅ Worksheets ⋅ © Oxford University Press

 Video details
This video clip links to the Malmaison text and activities on page 78.
Total running time: 3 minutes, 32 seconds.

Video script
This is Oxford in England ... and this is Oxford prison.
It was a prison from 1878 until 1996.
In 2006 the prison re-opened.
The prison is now Malmaison Oxford, a luxury hotel.
So what has changed? The outside looks almost the same. But now there’s a front
door that’s always open.
Inside you can still see the old hall, stair, and doors, but the chairs and carpets are new.
The prison cells were very small. Sometimes there were three people in one cell. The
beds weren’t very comfortable.
The hotel rooms and beds are much bigger. The rooms are comfortable and have
satellite TV and Internet access. Room service is much better too. And you don’t have
to share the bathroom.
In the hotel you can eat and drink in a selection of restaurants and bars. And you
don’t have to eat with all the other guests.
You can also go outside to eat.
Of course, you have to pay these days, but you can leave any time you like.

Worksheet answer key

1 Possible answers: prison cells are small and uncomfortable; prison beds are hard;
prison food is bad.
2 Luxury hotels have swimming pools, restaurants, bars, gyms, etc. They also
have room service, assistance with business matters, and can arrange all kinds of
transport, entertainment, etc.
3 a 2 b 3 c 1
4 a F b T c F d F e F
5 Students’ own answers
6 Students’ own answers
7 Students’ own answers
8 Some examples:
a Four Seasons Istanbul; Jail Hotel Loewengraben Lucerne; Hotel Katajanokka
Helsinki
b Thornbury Castle, England; Les Hautes Roches, France; Controversy Tram
Hotel, Netherlands
c Longitude 131, Ayers Rock, Australia; Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Canada;
Peninsula, Hong Kong
d Alcatraz, San Francisco; the Clink, London; Doge’s prison and the Bridge of
Sighs, Venice

International Express ⋅ Elementary ⋅ Classroom DVD ⋅ Worksheets ⋅ © Oxford University Press