Fancy a
wellbeing break in
Sainte-Maxime ?

We often talk about the flat, the application and the tenancy. But what really decides a tenant to stay is the life around it. In Sainte-Maxime, the difference between summer and the rest of the year is not only about the beach: it is also about how easily you get an appointment.

From June to September, the town's salons, hairdressers and practices run at full stretch. In October, everything opens up. You find a slot within the week, sometimes the same day. It is a quiet advantage of a year-round tenancy, and our tenants usually discover it in their first autumn.

In summer, you take what is left. The rest of the year, you choose your time.

Among the town's addresses, there is one we know well: Summer's Beauty, a Thalgo beauty salon, at 23 rue Pierre et Marie Curie. We mention it because people often ask us where to go, and because it stays open all year.

The address sits right in the centre, five minutes by car from each of our developments, and on foot from the chemin des Virgiles or the rue Léon Gaumont. The salon offers the standard Thalgo treatments: face, body, massage, nails and waxing. Two treatments deserve a few more lines, because people choose them badly when they do not understand them.

Laser hair removal first. The principle: the beam picks out the pigment in the hair and heats its root.

So you need hair that contrasts with the skin, and several sessions, because only hairs in the growth phase respond. The salon opens this service on 1 November 2026, and runs it from October to May: nobody treats skin that has just been in the sun, which rules out summer on the coast.

A fifteen-minute assessment is compulsory before the first session. It costs €10, checks for contraindications, includes a test and sets up the course. On the body, the usual areas are treated for women and men alike. The face, however, is never treated with laser.

That is where the second technique comes in: electrolysis, of which the salon uses the variant called thermolysis. Where laser needs pigment, thermolysis treats the hairs one by one, whatever their colour.

So it is the answer for white, red, blonde and very fine hairs, which the laser cannot see. And it is the only method used on the face. It runs all year, summer included, and is charged by the time actually spent, after an assessment.

The right question is not “laser or electrolysis”, but “which hair, on which area”. One client often needs both.

What the salon does

A year-round resident's calendar

From November to March, the town's salons, practices and restaurants find slots again. You book an appointment for the same week, sometimes for the next day. In summer, those same places are fully booked a fortnight ahead.

It is one of the least talked about advantages of living year-round on the Riviera. The town stays equipped like a tourist resort, with everything that brings, but it is only full for two months. The rest of the time, all of it is yours.

The same goes for the beach, the harbour, the car parks and just about everything else. So living here all year means enjoying a seaside resort without putting up with its season.

Winter, the right season

Many beauty treatments are planned away from sun exposure. That is true of laser hair removal and of photorejuvenation with intense pulsed light. Indeed, these techniques work on pigment, and tanned skin changes everything.

On the coast, that sets a simple calendar. You start a course in October or November, you carry it through the winter, and you stop in spring. So the fine season arrives at just the right moment.

It is a quiet advantage of living here year-round. Summer visitors cannot follow that rhythm. Residents, for their part, have six quiet months to organise that sort of plan.

The face is not treated with the laser

This is the precision missing from most presentations. The laser targets the pigment in the hair: it needs dark hair on light skin. On the face, the salon applies a clear rule, this area is handled by thermolysis alone.

Thermolysis treats each hair one by one, whatever its colour. It therefore suits the upper lip, the chin, the cheeks and the area between the eyebrows, as well as white, red or blonde hairs on the body. It can be done all year round, with no seasonal restriction.

The two techniques complement each other rather than replace each other. The prior consultation serves precisely to share the areas between them. No prices appear here. The price list is available from the salon, which keeps it up to date.

An appointment out of season

From June to September, the town's salons, hairdressers and practices run at full stretch. A slot then has to be booked several weeks ahead. In October, everything opens up.

In practice, you find an appointment within the week, sometimes the same day. Practitioners take the time to explain, and courses are planned calmly. The same holds at the dentist, the physiotherapist or the garage.

Our tenants usually discover this advantage in their first autumn. They arrive in summer, they put up with the season like everyone else, then the town empties. So many of them tell us they stayed for October.

The salon's district

The address sits right in the centre, on rue Pierre et Marie Curie. The market, the library, the cinema and the seafront are all within walking distance. So an appointment fits easily around the shopping or a walk.

From our developments, allow five minutes by car. From the chemin des Virgiles or the rue Léon Gaumont, walking is enough. That is one of the benefits of living in a central district year-round.

Parking, on the other hand, needs a little planning in July and August. The rest of the year, it causes no trouble at all. In practice, most residents come on foot.

The address book

A year-round tenancy comes with an address book. The doctor, the dentist, the garage, the hairdresser, the duty pharmacy and the salon all belong in it. In practice, it builds up over a few months.

We share ours gladly on the phone, with no favourites. Indeed, our business is letting homes, not recommending shops. We do know, however, what stays open all year and what closes in October.

Newcomers underestimate that point. You judge a seasonal town on its winter, not on its August. So the question “who stays open?” is worth more than any ranking.

A concrete advantage

A seasonal town runs at two speeds. In summer, everything has to be booked ahead and everything fills up. The rest of the year, everything becomes easy again.

That holds for appointments, but also for restaurants, activities and journeys. So a year-round tenancy gives you ten months of comfort for two months of crowds. That is the calculation our tenants make.

To see our homes currently available, open the listings page for flats to let. Each listing page shows the floor area, the rent, the service charges and availability. What is more, you can send your application online, even if nothing suits you today.

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