Terms, Privacy
& Cookie Policy

Terms & Conditions

These terms and conditions govern all reservations and stays at The Duchess of Puglia S.r.l., registered in Bari, Italy, with property located in Polignano a Mare (BA), Italy. By completing a reservation, you agree to be bound by these terms.

Reservations & Payment

• Reservations require a valid credit card. Pre-authorisation may occur prior to arrival.
• Payments may be collected at check-in or check-out depending on rate type. Some rates are fully prepaid and non-refundable.
• Room rates are quoted in Euro (€). Local city tax (tassa di soggiorno) is not included in the room rate and must be paid on site, in accordance with municipal regulations.
• Guests are responsible for any damage to hotel property, loss, or excessive cleaning costs incurred during their stay.

Check-In & Check-Out

• Check-in is from 16:00. Check-out is by 11:00.
• Early check-in and late check-out are subject to availability and may incur an additional fee.
• Valid government-issued photo ID is required at check-in. In accordance with Italian law (T.U.L.P.S. art. 109), guest identity data is recorded and transmitted to the relevant authorities.
• The Duchess of Puglia is an adults-only property (18+). Maximum room occupancy must be respected at all times. Unauthorised visitors are not permitted on the premises.

Guest Conduct & Liability

• Disruptive, abusive, or damaging behaviour may result in immediate termination of stay without refund.
• The hotel is not liable for loss or theft of personal belongings during your stay.
• Facilities may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, safety requirements, weather, or force majeure events.

Applicable Law

These terms and conditions are governed by Italian law. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Bari, Italy.

Cancellation Policy

Please always check the specific cancellation terms attached to your confirmed reservation, as these vary by rate type and booking channel.

Standard Rate

Cancellations are permitted up to 7 days prior to arrival unless otherwise stated at the time of booking. Late cancellations, no-shows, or early departures may incur the full charge for the reserved stay.

Non-Refundable Rate

Reservations made at a non-refundable rate cannot be cancelled or modified. The full amount is charged at the time of booking and is not eligible for refund under any circumstances.

City Tax

Local city tax (tassa di soggiorno) is not included in the room rate and is payable on site, in accordance with municipal regulations.

Payment Policy

A valid credit card is required to guarantee all reservations. The hotel reserves the right to pre-authorise the card prior to arrival.

Payment Terms by Rate

• Flexible rates: Payment is due at check-in or check-out.
• Non-refundable or promotional rates: Full payment is charged at the time of booking.

Cancellation Charges

In the event of a late cancellation, no-show, or early departure, the applicable cancellation charges will be applied to the credit card on file.

City Tax

Local city tax is not included in the room rate and must be paid on site, in accordance with municipal regulations.

Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

The data controller for personal information collected through this website and during your stay is The Duchess of Puglia S.r.l., registered in Bari, Italy, with property in Polignano a Mare (BA). For all privacy-related enquiries, please contact us at [email protected].

2. What Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following circumstances:

• Reservations: Name, email address, phone number, payment card details (handled via our authorised payment processor), nationality, and identification document data as required by Italian law.
• Website use: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time and date of visit, and cookies (see Cookie Policy below).
• Communications: Any information you provide when contacting us by email, WhatsApp, or telephone.
• Stay data: Information relevant to your preferences, requests, and stay history, used to personalise your experience.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under GDPR Article 6:

• Contract performance: Processing necessary to fulfil your reservation and provide the services you have requested.
• Legal obligation: Processing required by Italian law, including guest registration requirements under T.U.L.P.S.
• Legitimate interests: Processing for fraud prevention, security, and improving our services, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent: Processing for marketing communications and non-essential cookies, where you have given explicit consent.

4. How We Use Your Data

• To process and manage your reservation
• To communicate with you about your stay
• To comply with legal obligations (guest registration, tax records)
• To send marketing communications, where you have opted in
• To improve our website and services through analytics
• To prevent fraud and ensure the security of our systems

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with the following categories of third parties, strictly for the purposes described above:

• Payment processors (for secure transaction handling)
• Booking platforms through which your reservation was made
• Italian law enforcement and government authorities as required by law
• IT service providers and cloud hosting providers, under appropriate data processing agreements
• Marketing and analytics platforms, where you have consented to their use

6. Data Retention

We retain personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, subject to any longer retention periods required by law. The following periods apply:

• Booking and accounting data is retained for 10 years, in accordance with Italian tax and accounting regulations.
• Marketing data is retained until you withdraw your consent.
• CCTV recordings are retained for 24 to 72 hours, unless relevant to a reported incident, in which case they may be retained for longer.

For any questions about retention periods applicable to your specific data, please contact us at [email protected].

7. International Transfers

Where your data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, or transfers to countries recognised as providing an adequate level of data protection.

Cookie Policy

What Are Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website when you visit it. They are widely used to make websites function efficiently and to provide analytical and marketing information to website operators. We use cookies on this website in accordance with this policy and applicable EU ePrivacy and GDPR requirements.

Categories of Cookies We Use

Managing Your Cookie Preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences at any time using the cookie settings panel on this website (accessible via the banner shown on first visit, or the "Cookie Settings" link in the footer). You may withdraw your consent at any time; this will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

You may also control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of this website. Please refer to your browser's help documentation for instructions on managing cookies.

Third-Party Cookies

Some cookies on this site are set by third-party services, including analytics providers and booking platform integrations. These third parties have their own privacy policies, which we recommend you review. We do not control third-party cookies and are not responsible for the content of third-party privacy policies.

Cookie Consent Storage

Your cookie preferences are stored locally in your browser using localStorage under the key dop_cookie_prefs. This preference record does not contain any personally identifiable information and is not transmitted to our servers. It is used solely to remember your preferences and avoid showing you the consent banner on every visit.

Your GDPR Rights

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and applicable Italian data protection law, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

• Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• Right to erasure: You have the right to request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legal obligations to retain certain records.
• Right to restrict processing: You have the right to request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract, you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and to processing for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to all legitimate requests within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian data protection authority, the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, at www.garanteprivacy.it, if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.

Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to these policies or your personal data, please contact us through one of the following channels:

• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: +39 080 962 4803
• Post: The Duchess of Puglia S.r.l., Polignano a Mare (BA), Italy

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 2 business days. For formal data subject access requests, please allow up to 30 calendar days for a full response as permitted under GDPR.