The reason I bought this model was that it is the only one I've found that has a covered top so we don't have to look at the actual water bottle (with huge advertisement for the spring water company on it).

I did discover that the top cover does not fit on the discount priced spring water bottles that I could buy at my popular warehouse chain; the only brand the warehouse store sells comes in a rectangle shaped bottle. In order to use the Addico Milano's top cover we had to get home delivery of a different brand of spring water.

We love this cooler and have no complaints. The only problem that our guests have is that they dislike the colors of the handles, black is for cold water and white is for room temperature. It seems most people prefer blue to indicate cold and red to indicate room temperature (or hot). Oh, well. It was not hard for my own family to learn which is which!

I believe Amazon has a great bargain with this cooler, especially due to the free shipping.

Note that this comes in two colors: white and black.

"HORRIBLE COMPANY TO DEAL WITH!!!", Pray that you don't receive a defective cooler like mine which leaked and cause water/floor damage. This is a Canandian based company and when I called them to find out who to speak with, they gave me the runaround (eg., would not divulge names...etc.)

Don't buy from them! CAVEAT EMPTOR!

Plus, it's cheaply made. If you look at the back of the unit, the water well is surrounded by styrofoam. Go to Home Depot and buy a GE model for only $130 or order a water cooler from Office Depot or Staples. Free shipping!

"Highly Recommended", January 2002: I have read the other reviews, and frankly I was surprised at the negative comments. I have been using my cooler now for a few months and have had no problems. It looks really, really cool (pun definitely intended). I bought the black. The water in the cold tap is VERY cold (and this in the year-long heat of the Caribbean sun). The water in the cool tap is cool - just as advertised. It takes up surprisingly little space.

I feel sorry for those who may have gotten a defective machine, but mine is working just fine.

Add to all this the convenience of not having all those bottles in the fridge - I DEFINITELY recommend.

One last thing ... you don't get a bottle with it though I think the presentation ...gives you that impression. That bottle shown is apparently to show the customer the non-drip valve cover (which works very well by the way).

December 2002: I wanted to add one more thing ... if the water begins to freeze in your compartment (mine did for some inexplicable reason nine months into use), the thermostat that the extremely brief instructions talk about is that screw that you see on the INSIDE of the grid. It is a little hard to get at, but once you do, it does what it's supposed to do. I STILL love this cooler after 15 months.

March 2004: This Cooler is operating as well as it ever did and it looks as good as it did when I received it. I have never regretted this buy.