Between lawsuits and appeals, six years have passed since a curious story involving a tourist in Corvara in Badia, in the province of Bolzano. A simple week of Christmas holidays in the Dolomites turned into a dispute that lasted all the way to the Supreme Court, with a conclusion that caused quite a few surprises: tap water in the restaurant of a luxury hotel is not a right, and if the establishment decided not to serve it, it would not violate any rules.
The case: 5,700 euros and no carafe
For the aforementioned Christmas holidays, between 26 December 2019 and 3 January 2020, the customer had chosen a stay at the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara in Badia, with a half-board package and the “drinks not included” formula. During meals he had asked several times for drinking water to be supplied directly from the water supply, always receiving the same answer, namely that only bottled water would be served at the table, at 10 euros per litre.
The woman had also declared herself willing to pay it as an additional item on the account, but there had still been nothing to be done. The customer doesn’t agree and decides to sue the hotel asking for compensation of 2,763 euros, arguing that drinking drinking water should be a minimum service, especially in a luxury facility.
Three degrees, one answer
The first decision, in 2024, had already proved the hotelier right. In the face of rejection even in the second instance, the matter ended with Ordinance no. 11827 of 29 April 2026 of the Civil Court of Cassation, Section III. Another rejection, with the appellant condemned to pay the costs of the legitimacy proceedings.
The principle established by the Supreme Court is clear: there is no legal obligation on the part of the manager of a public establishment or hotel facility to supply mains drinking water to the customer, as this is a choice left to the organizational and commercial autonomy of the facility, in the absence of a different contractual agreement.
How it works in other countries
On a comparative level, the Italian position is unique and the comparison with the main European countries is anything but flattering. In Spain the obligation has been law since 10 April 2022, when Ley 7/2022 de Residuos y Suelos Contaminados para una Economía Circular came into force, which states that every restaurant and hotel establishment must offer free non-bottled water to anyone who consumes it on site, without the possibility of refusal. In England and Wales the law is even older, we are talking about the Licensing Act 2003 and the subsequent mandatory licensing conditions which require all establishments authorized to sell alcohol to provide free drinking water on request, under penalty of fines of up to twenty thousand pounds and the revision of the license itself. In France, from 1 January 2022, article 77 of the AGEC law (Loi n°2020-105 du 10 février 2020 relative à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l’économie circulaire) obliges restaurants and bars to visibly indicate on the card the possibility of requesting free drinking water, and to provide it at no additional cost to every customer who orders at least one drink.
