Owners since 2021
Famille den Hartog
Seigneur
Jan
Jan ('87) grew up in Arnhem, the Netherlands and has been on family holidays in France since he was born. He often went to a partially renovated farm in the Provençe, which is where the seed was planted to one day renovate an old French building himself.
For over a decade he has worked as a recruiter, head hunter, and has been his own boss since 2018.
He works completely remote, from his office in the château, for clients in the Netherlands.
In Pazayac, Jan mainly focuses on maintaining the park. Which could be a job for two full-time gardeners, so that is no easy feat.
Add pool maintenance to that, and you get the picture of both how busy he is, and how tanned he gets in summer 😉
Jan dreams of long tables, all his friends and family gathered around for long summer nights and al fresco dinners.
Châtelaine
Ayla
Ayla ('86) has always been destined for a life in the hospitality business. Following up high school with a study at Hotelschool The Hague, she has always dreamt of one day running her own hospitality business.
With a love for all living things and history, taking care of people, animals, nature and this old château comes natural to her.
At the château, Ayla is the one running the renovations. Mostly doing things herself, overseeing projects if others are involved.
You will find her juggling the household, renovation projects, administration, the veggie garden and all things online for the château.
Ayla dreams of creating a lovely summer getaway-place where other families can come make memories for life.
Court jesters
Juliëtte & Milou
Juliëtte is our firstborn, she was born in 2019 in the Netherlands and moved to France when she turned two.
She quickly went to French daycare and rapidly started picking up her new language. She now goes to elementary school and has since improved her French so much that she corrects us when we make a mistake.
Juliëtte loves the color pink, koalas, her pink bunny named Bibi, glitter outfits, and spaghetti carbonara with spinach.
Milou is our second daughter, born in 2022 in the hospital of Sarlat-la-Canéda, Dordogne.
She is a very calm and happy girl, who loves to look at the view from the grand balcony into the valley or the trees around her.
She goes to French daycare, so she is already immersing herself in French culture.
Milou loves her big sister, her stuffed peas in a pod-toy Peultje, petting any animal and swinging on the swing set.
Ménagerie
Lola, Monty & Lucy
Is a castle a castle if there aren't several animals roaming the grounds?
Lola is our German shepherd and loyal guard dog. We got her in 2017 in the Netherlands, as a tiny puppy.
She loves living in Pazayac, making the rounds of the terrain a few times a day.
Lola thinks she is married to Jan and that the kids are her puppies. She loves visiting our neighboring cows, biting bees, playing with her ball and stuffed chickens, and eating broccoli. Monty is her best friend; unless he gets cuddles and she doesn't.
Lucifer, Lucy for short, is our local fossil. She is a remnant of Ayla's student house and has stayed with her since 2007. She currently lives in Ayla's office and can't be bothered to leave her little basket, unless she is hungry.
Fitzwilliam Montgomery, Monty for short, is the wildest one of the bunch. Ridding our castle of mice, spiders, and any food that you leave unguarded. He roams the grounds, and fights neighboring cats. He once got kicked by a cow, broke his hip, and still brags about it.
He thinks the kids are his kittens, and that he is maybe married to Lola. It's complicated.
