Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / France / Eugénie-les-Bains / Les Pres d’Eugenie
Les Pres d’Eugenie
Eugénie-les-Bains, France · Independent · Grand Luxury
Michel Guérard invented cuisine minceur in this Landes spa village named for Empress Eugénie, and his restaurant has held three Michelin stars since 1977. Time put the idea on its cover in 1976; Alain Ducasse and Michel Troisgros trained in the kitchen. The 1862 thermal hotel became France's 24th Palace in 2017 and is now run by his daughters Adeline and Éléonore.
- 45 rooms
- Opened 1862
- Rooms from 323 sq ft (30 m²)
About Les Pres d’Eugenie
- Empress Eugénie gave her name to the thermal village in 1861; the original Grand Hôtel opened the following year.
- Michel Guérard's restaurant has held three Michelin stars continuously since 1977, among the longest uninterrupted three-star tenures in the Guide.
- Cuisine minceur reached the cover of Time in 1976; Guérard trained Alain Ducasse and Michel Troisgros.
- The 45-room estate became France's 24th official Palace hotel in July 2017 and is now run by daughters Adeline and Éléonore.
- One of Relais & Châteaux's earliest houses: the thermal domain joined Relais de Campagne in 1969.
History
Les Prés d'Eugénie sits in the tiny spa village of Eugénie-les-Bains in the Landes, whose thermal spring won the patronage of Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III, in 1861; the original hotel ("Le Grand Hôtel") opened in 1862. After decades of slumber, Adrien Barthélémy (father of Christine Guérard) bought the thermal domain in 1961; his daughter Christine took it over in 1967 and joined the forerunner of Relais & Châteaux by the end of the decade.
In 1974 Christine's husband, chef Michel Guérard, a founder of Nouvelle Cuisine and inventor of "cuisine minceur," moved in and the property was renamed Les Prés d'Eugénie; his restaurant won three Michelin stars in 1977 and has held them ever since. The 45-room estate became France's 24th official "Palace" in July 2017 and is now run by daughters Adeline and Éléonore Guérard.
The setting
3 km from golf at Les Greens D'Eugénie. 48 km from Aeroport Pau-Pyrénées.
Restaurants and bars
- Michel Guérard's Grand Restaurant — Restaurant · Grande Cuisine Minceur · Chef Michel Guérard; Hugo Souchet (took over House kitchens in 2017)
- L'Orangerie — Restaurant · local produce sublimated by fireplace · One MICHELIN Star
- Café Mère Poule — Café
- Auberge de La Ferme aux Grives — Restaurant · bourgeois and family recipes
- Les Prés d'Eugénie restaurants — Restaurant
Experiences
- Institut de Cuisine Michel Guérard cooking school — Cooking school in the gardens for amateur chefs and professionals, year-round, teaching the fundamentals of Cuisine de Santé®.
- Ferme Thermale Healing Week — Water and plant treatments combining Celtic, Greco-Latin and medieval know-how, in the thermal farm.
- Mind, Body & Soul programme — Weekly range of activities including yoga, fitness, workshops, snacks and guided tours.
Amenities
- Spa
- Pool
- Fitness center
- Kids' club
Awards
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
Open Les Pres d’Eugenie in the atlas for live weekend rates, photos, and the full folio.