Damien was born in France and grew up in Geneva until he was nine years old. He is a trained media designer for image and sound and worked until recently as a cameraman, filmmaker and editor in Hanover and Kiel. Since 2022, he has had his own production company together with his mate Julien called La Claque here in the neighbouring village. Alexandra has been a qualified Ayurveda counsellor and masseuse since 2004 and a yoga teacher since 2005. Until she moved to France, she and her sister ran schön & wohl in Hamburg (which her sister Isabelle still runs today - if you happen to be in Hamburg, why not pop in? :-)). Since November 2023, she has had her own massage and tattoo studio in Longeville-sur-mer, ‘Le p'tit atelier’, where you can also get a massage and a tattoo if you are not our guest. Outside of our working hours, you can usually find us in the water surfing or out in nature with our dogs.

The Jolly Château was built in 1807 by its namesake Pierre Louis Jolly. It actually bears the illustrious name ‘Jolly-sur-Rabretière’, but over the years it acquired the nickname ‘Jolly Château’, which we have adopted. In 1962, Damien's grandfather bought the once stately house in ruins and rebuilt it with his own hands to what it had once been. For a long time, the château was only used as a holiday home for the family before we saved it from being sold, bought the inheritance shares from the other family members, turned our backs on Germany and have been continuing the family legacy with much love and dedication ever since. The Jolly Château is not a brand-new hotel built from scratch. It has simply stood there for over 200 years and is so perfectly imperfect that you can't help but fall in love with it. The thick stone walls tell stories, the old wooden floorboards creak. There is a toy box that Damien used to rummage through as a little boy and a grand piano on which his grandmother, who was a professional pianist, used to play her pieces. We have an ancient well in the garden and in the kitchen there is a huge old fireplace with a bread oven that is over 200 years old. Our house is also well equipped for winter or the cooler seasons: all our communal rooms have working fireplaces, which we are happy to light for you so that you can sit cosily on the sofas or eat by the fire. We also have a pellet-fuelled central heating system that heats the house to a pleasant temperature. We also have a wood-fuelled sauna in the garden, which you can use for a small extra charge. The fact that the house is primarily a private home and that we as hosts are always on site and look after our guests makes it very personal. The house has been carefully renovated time and time again and has never lost its old charm; it has a good soul and - perhaps most importantly - it is a house that has always been home to a lot of love. And you can feel that the second you step inside.