Hotel that refused to give tourist tap water acted lawfully, Italian court rules

Italy’s highest court has ruled a five-star Dolomites hotel was acting lawfully when it refused to provide tap water to a tourist.

The woman unsuccessfully argued that “water is a natural resource and a universal human right” after a waiter only offered her €7 (£6) bottled mineral water at the restaurant of the five-star Hotel Sassongher in Corvara during the 2019 ski season.

The Italian Supreme Court denied her request for €2,700 to compensate her for emotional distress and economic damage, Italian media reports.

Silvio Belardi, the lawyer representing the hotel, is quoted in the newspaper Corriere Alto Adige as saying the court held that “there is no obligation to supply tap water”.