Station Thermale d'Avène — Local services in Béziers

At Avene hotel, there was plenty of that famous yet unjustified french arrogance from the front desk and housekeeping;  the staff in the dining room were excellent though, even if the food was uninspired.  The breakfast was very good, but wow, it was a total sugar bomb - cakes, pastries, pancakes ... this place treats skin issues and serves food like that? The property is gorgeous, but with all the "curistes" everywhere, it felt more like a medical facility than a 4-star spa.  It broke my heart to see parents spending so much money and pinning their hopes for their ill children on dubious treatments when all they probably needed to do was keep the kids away from that breakfast. The pool/gym change room smelled utterly revolting.  They really need to do something about that. A good example of the luxury experience you can expect: we arrived for a two night stay.  We drank the 3 nespressos in our suite.  The next day, I requested three more from housekeeping and was told quite abruptly that I could purchase more coffee at the front desk.  For 250 € per night in the middle of nowhere, I...

The ultimate place to go for eczema atopic dermatitis treatment. Annual 3-week long treatments can significantly improve quality of life for adults and their families, and reverse the steroid skin addiction damage caused by typical medical treatments. If done at a young age can fully cure children. The place does not advertise, but is struggling with word-of-mouth patient influx year on year, and can get crowded during peak summer season. It has been absolutely worth 24+ hour flights from Australia. At the end of the first 3 week treatment (after a flare up mid-way through) it was amazing - felt normal in own skin for the first time in years. The following treatments built up gradual and lasting improvement year on year. Returned for the 4th year even after completing the 3 recommended annual treatments. Probably don't need them that much anymore, but just scared to think 4 years back, being driven to breaking...

A totally wonderful, peaceful and unique centre for treating skin conditions. I stayed for a week for my eczema, which I've been really struggling with this year, and I have never felt so much relief and hope for my skin in my life.

I was really moved by the whole experience (we don't have anything like this to treat skin conditions so holistically in the UK or in London), so thank you to the wonderful team for all your help and care during my stay at the Avène centre.

I will definitely be back in the...