My husband and I was recently in Clermont Ferrand. My husband was there on business, and I decided to go along with him. We spent 2 weeks at Des Puy D'Averne.
The woman at the front desk was great. She was very helpful and professional. She helped us with receiving our lost luggage, and was helpful with any information we wanted. A very sweet person. The two men were too busy, perhaps, smoking outside, to answer questions, or be helpful.
The rooms were typical French decor. The house keeping staff were excellent. They made sure our room was clean everyday.
The restuarant in the hotel was excellent. Very good food. A little on the costly side, but worth it. There were 2 waiters there. The waiter with the short hair was wonderful. He was helpful with helping us select food with our limited French. He was prompt, professional, and treated us with courtesy. With that being said, the waiter with the long brown hair, was rude. That simple. Overall, the restuarant is surely worth a try. Don't forget to order dessert. Wonderful!!
The breakfast was also good. I didn't get it but once, because I'm just not a morning person while on vacation. But the one time I did, it was good.
The only drawback for this hotel is the traffic around the hotel is crazy. Very busy.
The location of the hotel was great. I walked everywhere. Or used the tram which stops just around the corner. Also the park across the street got noisy at night. Shutting the window and turning on the tv was the solution to the noise.
Overall, this hotel made our 2 week stay great. I love Clermont Ferrand.

Although in a good location, only a 10 minute walk from the train station, on the edge of the old city, this is a hotel for business travelers, not tourists. The rooms are comfortable, but devoid of character. If you stay at Sheratons or Hiltons, you may find it a bargain. I found out the main square of city is on the other side of the old city, and far nicer hotels with character are located there. I enjoyed the stay, but would not stay here again.

Having stayed in several 3 star hotels in France and therefore having a reasonable idea of what to expect, my husband and I were a little disappointed with the Hotel Puys D'Averne. The lobby and entrance were bright and cheerful, and the hotel staff were generally friendly and helpful, however when initally booking in I was told "the breakfast is not included in your tarif, even if it was in your internet booking". I was polite and accepting. When later asking the person in reception in both English and careful French if we could upgrade our room for our 3 night stay, and hence be on a higher floor away from the street noise (and pay the extra of course) we were told that "I don't think there are any rooms left, and it's too hard to do"(!). This was a surprise as the hotel was clearly half empty. I gained the impression that the hotel was undergoing repainting or perhaps refurbishing or changing of some kind (although this was never explained). The corridor of our floor and our actual room were marred by badly worn and torn carpets. The recommended hotel restaurant and bistro were not open on Saurday and Sunday night (despite in-hotel advertising that they were). The breakfast room was on the top floor and featured the promised glorious views of the nearby Puys and Cathedral, however the atmosphere was dampened by a skimpy and poorly prepared breakfast offering (not included in the bill) and the many large, potted plants all of which were dead, adding to the general air of neglect. A pity, as this hotel is reasonably well positioned near to the older (interesting historically) section of the town. It is also centered on a square which is surrounded by local bars etc, which were very loud until the early hours of Sunday morning (not a problem at all if you like night life! ). Overall, more a series of small things than any large problem, and our only fairly poor hotel experience in 6 weeks of holiday.