Rocco Forte Hotels has launched a pre-flight testing service in partnership with UK-based company Blue Horizon, in response to Italy’s tighter entry restrictions.
The ‘Fit to Travel’ service comes after news that the UK has been added to Italy’s Covid at-risk list. Travellers from the UK will now be required to present a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel, or agree to be tested on arrival in Italy.
The service is entirely bookable online, and Blue Horizon will arrange for self-test kits to be couriered to and from people’s homes. The courier will then deliver the sample to the laboratory and a test certificate will be sent directly to the customer’s email address in the form of a PDF attachment within 72 hours of travel.
The test would normally cost £169 but Rocco Forte Hotels has provided guests with an exclusive discount code, meaning that they will only have to pay £129 if they have reserved a stay at one of its hotels.
The group’s Italian locations currently include three Rome properties – Rocco Forte House, Hotel de Russie and Hotel de la Ville, as well as Masseria Torre Maizza in Puglia, Villa Igea in Palermo, Hotel Savoy in Florence, and Verdura Resort in Sicily which we reviewed here. The group is also set to open a property in Milan in 2023.
Testing is also available on arrival at Verdura Resort in Sicily, and Hotel de la Ville and Hotel de Russie in Rome, with results available within 48 hours.
Sir Rocco Forte commented on the service:
“These are trying times but I am keen to do anything which will enhance travel and allow our customers to holiday and enjoy themselves. Testing in the UK before travelling to Italy reduces much of the hassle and helps make the trip as seamless as possible. Upon arrival guests will find our usual hospitality and service.”
The hotel group advises guests to order the kit a week in advance of travel to ensure that enough time is left to receive the result. Blue Horizon has created a chart to clarify the timings (pictured below).
