Italy’s Highest Court Sides with Hotel in Long-Running Tap Water Dispute

A tourist’s quest for a glass of free tap water at a luxury hotel in the Italian Dolomites has ended with a decisive defeat in Italy’s highest court, which ruled that diners have no legal right to demand it. The case, which dragged on for years and ran up significant legal costs, began in late 2019 when a woman spent a week over Christmas and New Year’s at a five-star hotel in Corvara, a ski resort in South Tyrol. She had booked a half-board package that included evening meals but not drinks. According to Italian media reports, the woman asked repeatedly for tap water with dinner, even offering to pay. Each night, hotel staff instead placed a 0.75-liter bottle of mineral water—priced at €7—on her table. Court documents cited by local outlets say she complained of being “constantly denied the opportunity to consume tap water and forced to purchase bottled water.” She later sued the hotel, arguing that water is a universal human right and that providing a minimal amount should be part of any restaurant or hotel service—like sheets on a bed or soap in a bathroom. She sought €2,700 in damages for economic loss and emotional distress. Lower courts dismissed her claim, and the Court of Cassation, Italy’s top court, upheld those decisions. The judges found no Italian law requiring restaurants or hotels to serve tap water for free. While asking for tap water in Italian restaurants is widely seen as a breach of etiquette—especially when a server has already offered bottled options—more eateries are now offering filtered water as customers push to reduce plastic waste.