Italy's Top Court: Hotels Aren't Obligated to Serve Tap Water

Italian tourists who are irked by being told "bottled mineral water only" won't find the country's top court on their side. In a ruling involving the five-star Hotel Sassongher in the Dolomites, the country's Supreme Court found the hotel acted within the law when it declined a guest's requests to be served tap water at dinner and instead offered a roughly $8 bottle of mineral water. The woman, who Reuters reports stayed at the hotel over the 2020 New Year's holidays, argued that water is a human right and that tap water should be as fundamental to hotel service as clean sheets and soap. CNN adds that she had offered to pay for the tap water.

Judges disagreed, concluding that Italian law does not require restaurants or hotels to supply tap water and that the choice rests with each establishment. The BBC reports she had sued for about $3,100 in damages, citing emotional distress and economic damage.