Air Conditioning in Italy
 

Does anyone know when the A/C in Italy is allowed to be turned on in the Spring? According to our tour company there are certain times in the Spring & Fall by Italian law when the A/C can be turned on. We'll be there from 5/5/12 to 5/15/12 & would like to be prepared for the worst.

I find the availability of AC in Italy to be quite random. In upscale hotels, it seems to be available anytime you want. In small B&B's it might not be until summer. Many only work while you are in the room (a place to insert your keycard for electricity/ac). Some hotels turn the AC off at night. It really depends on where you are staying.

First of all, many places in Italy do not have AC at all. This includes modest hotels, restauants and shops and obviouly churches, museums and historial sites.

Second, often the AC is not what you would expect in the US - that is keeping the temp about 75. It may be set just to cool the outside temp somewhat - but not the 20 degrees you may sometimes need.

Third, when you are going is not the height of summer. You may not need AC - and even if you think you need it the proprietor of a hotel, restaurnt or shop may not agree.

I am not aware of any Italian laws concerning providing AC at certain dates - since so many places don;t have it at all.

The tour company may simply be telling you that you can't expect to get AC in May. (We had trouble getting AC in Venice in late June until we caused a major scene in the hotel - which listed AC as being provided - that was one of the reasons we selected it.)

If having AC is really important to you I don;t think you shuold take a tour - but should pick your own hotels and confirm directly with them that they will have it on when you are there.

This reminds me of an incident I had about 20 years ago in Lucerne at Hotel Waldstaetterhof. I called the desk and told the clerk that something was wrong with our heat. I was trying to take a shower and was freezing. He came up and pretended to check it and just told me he would report it. The next morning I told the lady at the desk and she replied that the heat had been turned off for the season. This was in May. We laughed so hard about this. I had never heard of it, but since, I know it is common.

scatcat: I had to laugh about your experience. The same happend to us in Cortina d'Ampezzo, except it was September and not yet the time for the hotel to turn on the heat. Fortunately, we were on our honeymoon.

The air conditioning law comes into action in May so you will probably be OK. Italians loathe air conditioning, they just see it as a needless expense and hotel staff can be brutal about it. Five star hotels yes....smaller hotels.... be prepared to stand up for your rights and wrestle about it!

Open the windows and let the fresh air in. The climate is Ok at that time of year...again if air conditioning is absolutely essential for you , you will have to shell out for a four to five star experience. Good luck and keep your cool!

Francoise

The Italians would be more open to A/C if the Romans invented it. Many Spaniards are the same way about A/C.

I find it rather odd that "Italians loathe A/C"
yet in upscale hotels they somehow have gotten way over that supposed loathing.

As to tours, it may depend, totally, on the accommodations your tour company actually uses. So i disagree with the recommendation of not taking a tour.

Thousands of Italian B&Bs and small hotels have air conditioning. It is not necessary to book a 4 or 5 hotel to get it. And I disagree with the broad advice to open the windows at night. Too many mosquitoes, too much noise.

Now that I live in Italy and become acclimatized, I have found myself much more sensitive to drafts and wear warmer clothes longer than I normally would if I were still living in the Northeastern US. When you live year round in a hotter climate like Italy or Spain, you just get more alert to cold air blowing on you and its potential to make you feel unwell.

A lot of Italian air conditioning is by necessity a box that blows colder air into a room, rather than a duct system inside the building that is a central cooling system. It does feel unhealthy to sit in a draft.

It is not surprising that Italian hotels that cater to foreigners sleep put in AC while Italians stay in places that don't have it, or turn it off in their rooms.

Odd, what you find?

It's either going to be rather sticky, or perhaps they've got things the wrong way round....

In accordance with national/local laws, air conditioning will not be available from 15 June 2012 to 31 August 2012.

http://www.venere.com/vacation-renta...illa-dei-pini/

In accordance with national/local laws, air conditioning will not be available from 15 June 2012 to 11 September 2012.

http://www.venere.com/hotels/portofe...lla-padulella/

Peter

Echoing the advice by Zeppole about not opening non-screened windows! I looked like I had chicken pox after doing so my first night in a small hotel in Florence. I wish I had taken a photo!

Ask for mosquito coils (if you do not fear the chemicals emitted!) or those electronic mosquito-repelling devices if you plan to open the windows. Certainly a seasonal thing and not relevant in many places.

In many smaller hotels and B&Bs, the a/c unit is high on the wall and controlled by a remote device. You may have to ask for this at the front desk. And do not expect to be chilled like in the US, even at many upscale hotels.

The problem with a tour is that they tell you the hotels they PLAN to use. Thes plans may change after you ahve bought the tour and you culd be put in a completely different hotel (which may or may not have AC). And even if they have it - they may or may not have it turned on.

If any sort of heat is a problem for you - I would only do hotels that I knew had real (as in American) AC.

As I mentioned the 4* hotel we were staying at in Venice did have AC - which they turned on during the day for employees. They then turned it off at 9 pm and not back on until about 7 am - so we sweltered at night. The first night I called to complain and was told it was on. But there was no cold air. We were so exhausted we spend one really awful sweaty night. Went to the desk the next am and was assured that the AC was "repaired". Same problem the next night. We went down to get the duty manager and explained VERY clearly that either we have the AC turned on or we were moving to another hotel and not paying for this one. While we were having this - by now loud - conversation another american couple came down with the same problem. He finally gave in and turned the AC back on. After that we went to the desk each night before we retired to confirm that the AC was on - or we were leaving. Don't know what they did after we left.

Thanks for all the input. I now plan on taking OFF bug spray & hope for the best.