Bed and Breakfast in Italy
what to expect?

Definition and Amenities


The idea of "Bed and Breakfast" as kind of accommodation in Italy is born in the year 2000, with the Jubilee of Rome, based on the example of the British B&Bs where a resident individual or family rents out guest bedrooms in their house.

During the Jubilee, it was a good way to increase the hospitality to host all the pilgrims coming in Rome for the Holy Year 2000. Now, since the Italian B&Bs are ruled by regional laws, there aren't unique standards for a complete definition of the complex reality of Italian "Bed and Breakfasts".

To better understand what the Bed and Breakfast in Italy are in the present days, and what to expect from a stay there, at first we should mention which kinds of service or amenities are not usually provided in a Bed and Breakfast in Italy and where they differ from the Hotels:

Rooms - A Bed and Breakfast has very few rooms (usually up to five or little more), and for this reason cannot hosts groups, expecially large groups.

Bathrooms - The rooms can have private ensuite bathrooms, but in the Bed and Breakfast there can also be rooms without bathrooms: in this case, the guests without ensuite bathroom in the rooms will share the same bathroom(s) in the Hall.

Private House - An Italian Bed and Breakfast is often operated within the owner's own home: you'll be received in a private house, usually in a flat (and not in a dedicated building, such as the Hotels), where you have one room at your full disposal. Of course, there's no room service.

Keys - The owners can live inside the same house, or cannot. If they don't live there, they will take an appointment with the guests, be present for the check in and the acceptance, and then they will give the keys to the guests in order for them to move freely. To avoid any problem, it is always a good idea before the check-in (2 or more days before, for example) to get in touch (by phone, or email, as you prefer) with the owner to manage an appointment.

Breakfast - The Breakfast is usually served inside the Bed and Breakfast, but sometimes the B&B will give you a ticket to have the breakfast directly at a bar in the neighborhoods.

Italian Breakfast - An Italian Bed and Breakfast usually offers accommodation and a daily breakfast: the breakfast is a classical Italian Breakfast (and not a Continental Breakfast) and for this reason you could find it very poor, without eggs or marmelade or other: just milk, coffe, cappuccino and brioche. Also, some Regions deny to B&Bs the possibility of serve cooked meals for sanitary reasons.

Common Places - Being in a private house, the common places can be very limited: no banquet or meeting facilities (lounge room, bar, dining room, kitchen) are provided.

Cleanings - Daily cleaning service is not guaranteed. Each Bed and Breakfast defines its policy about cleanings: cleanings and changing of the towels is usually provided every three days.

Basic or Deluxe? - Given those general definitions, we shall add that there aren't standards regarding the service and the amenities you can find in a Bed and Breakfast in Italy: some house can have a very high standard (Jacuzzi, private parking, Flat TV, Continental breakfast, wireless Internet access, ...) and some other B&Bs can be very basic and very cheap.