Team Eilenroc
The People who make the Villa tick.
The Villa Eilenroc was built by a rich Dutch ex- governor of the Dutch East Indies Hugh-Hope Loudon. He commissioned the architect Charles Garnier to built the villa in 1860 and it was completed in 1867. He called it the Villa Eilenroc.
In 1873, the property was sold to the rich Scot James Wyllie who had the park landscaped by famous gardeners such as Ringuisen. On his death in 1908, the estate was sold to Sir Coleridge Kennard who in 1927 sold the property to an American couple Louis Dudley Beaumont and Hélène Beaumont.
In 1982, after her death, Mrs. Hélène Beaumont bequeathed the property to the city of Antibes on the condition they create a “Beaumont Foundation” to manage the Villa and gardens and that the park be open to the public.
Since then all the Villa Eilenroc staff are employed directly by the council.
Most of the current employees have been working for the Mairie d’Antibes in some capacity or other for several years before coming to join team Eilenroc. The famous Rose gardens are however looked after by an external contractor rather than an in house Gardener. If you have ever visited the gardens and heard the loud dog barking near the rose gardens that’s the police dogs which are also kept on site.
In charge of the Villa is it’s Director Isabelle Pasquini who is helped by a small team of council employees. Like many people who are lucky enough to work in Cap d’Antibes most of the team have been here for several years and most seem to have found their dream jobs at Villaeilen Roc.
Even Albert, the Villa Seagull, came here many years ago and never left. Then there is Riou the house Cat who has been here for longer than anyone can remember. Even animals seem to love it here and both are of course also very important members of team Eilenroc.
Yves
I have worked here at Eilenroc for fifteen years. I work as part of a team looking after the house and the immediate grounds. We all do a bit of everything here, we don’t have specific roles.
Before I came to work at Eilenroc I worked for the police municipal. My job was to collect the money from all the parking payment meters in Antibes and Juan les Pins.
I decided to leave that job because I really needed a change. I had been doing the same job for twenty-one years and I thought it was time to do something else so I applied for a position at the Villa here.
A typical day for me is always different.
We start with a lot of tidying up of the garden and the grounds. Then sometimes if we have an event we will spend the afternoon preparing the buffet if needed and then, in the evening, we become the waiters. We do many different jobs here.
Typically we work a minimum of five days a week but then we also have many soirees and receptions for the Marie as well as private events so we often need to work for longer. Then, when the villa is open to the public on Saturdays, we also have to be here. It’s definitely not a regular Monday to Friday job. It’s incredibly varied and I like that.
Jonathan
I have been working here for 2 years, so I am relatively new. Before coming to Eilenroc I was a gardener for the Mairie but for medical reasons I asked to be transferred here. The work is better for me, it’s a cleaner environment than what I was doing before which is better for my health.
There are many things I like about working here. I love being outside. I love the contact with the public, it’s a very satisfying job in many ways. The air and the work itself are clean. It’s not like my previous job which was very dirty. We were always covered in soil and it was very hard and tiring work physically.
I got the job here quite easily.
The Mairie were happy to transfer me due to my health, which was being affected by my previous work. Basically I still work for the Mairie but just in a different department.
Day to day I do like the others. We all do a little of everything. We keep the villa and the garden neat, tidy and clean. If things need to be fixed then we repair them. Then there is also basic catering if the villa is hosing an event. Every day is different really.
Cyrile
Everyone here calls me the Mascot because I have been here the longest. My real name is Cyrile though. I started working at the villa in 1998 so this is my twentieth year at Eilenroc. That’s what makes me the Mascot of the Villa I guess, I am like part of the furniture.
I love my job here. I enjoy it because I like to be outside in the gardens and in the fresh air and the sunshine. My favourite spot is by the bench overlooking the Baie des Milliardaires. It’s the place where I like to sit and drink coffee and just look out at the view. I go there whenever I can, it relaxes me and makes me feel happy.
Richard
All year round there are often things going on at the villa such as filming, events, municipal soirees etc. I basically make sure all of our events go smoothly and without any problems.
I have worked here for 8 years now. My job involves many things. I might have to take care of the refreshments for film crews when we have filming going on. Or take care of any private events which are organised here making sure the organisers have everything they need. I am on site all year round as we don’t just have events in the summer. The villa is owned by the Mairie so there are many things going on throughout the year. The Mayor also has a room here which he uses for meetings, entertaining important guests or when he wants somewhere quiet to work. I am the main contact for clients who rent the villa and I see to all of their needs while they are here.
Before coming to Eilenroc I owned a delicatessen.
I had a small shop in old Antibes. It was a family business which I took over about 23 years ago, it was quite famous locally. After 15 years of doing that I decided to sell the business and try something else. I just wanted to change my life and do something completely different.
Don’t get me wrong I loved my job. It was my trade. I was a cook from day one and I love to work with food but it was time for a change.
Basically I made a conscious decision to try and get a job here at Eilenroc.
The job is perfect for me. I love the site and I love the variety of the work here. It is never repetitive or boring. Another advantage is that I get to see many new things. Often I get to see big films crew and watch how films are made. I get to see some amazing parties and events and see how they are organised. That’s quite special and not something you come across in other lines of work. Over the years I have learned lot about what goes on behind the scenes. It’s exciting and very interesting. You also get to meet an amazing variety of people.
There is something different going on here every day. That’s the main thing I love about my job.
Pierre-Gilles
I have been at Eilen Roc since January 2018, however I have been working for the Mairie for twenty years.
Before working for the Mairie I had spent eleven years restoring antique furniture. I kind of fell into furniture restoration. When I was about 19 years old I met a guy in a furniture salon in Nice and he invited me to come and see his shop. The day I went to visit him he asked me if I would be interested in a short stage in his workshop. I thought why not? After I finished the stage he offered me a job which I accepted. I worked with him for eleven years after that restoring mainly Art Deco furniture. After a while the job developed into a passion.
Following that that I joined the Mairies’ ‘Service de Menuserie’ where I remained for several years. After some time I asked if I could transfer to the Villa Eilenroc where I could better utilise my skills as a furniture restorer. I thought it would be beneficial for the Villa and also for me.
My exact job didn’t exist before I worked here.
Initially I approached Madame Pasquini, the director, with a proposal of having someone in house with my skills. She liked the idea so, together, we approached the Mairie. Luckily for us they saw the advantages of having someone with my experience in restoration working here and they agreed to the transfer. Now, instead of hiring external contractors to restore damaged items I do it all in house.
I still do all the general work which the other guys do but my secondary role is that of inhouse furniture restorer.
My favourite piece of furniture in the the villa?
There is a beautiful Louis XVI desk and the little chest of drawers which I have just finished restoring but to be honest there are many beautiful pieces in the house so it’s hard to choose a favourite.
Fabio
I am 24 years old and I have been working at the Villa since January. Before coming here I did many different things. I worked in the building trade with my father for a while. I worked in restaurants as a waiter and in kitchens. Then before coming to Eilenroc I was working for the Mairie in the cleaning department, I was cleaning the streets in Antibes and Juan les Pins. At the end of last year I applied for a position here and was lucky enough to get it.
I decided to apply because all of my previous jobs had been seasonal and I wanted something full time and permanent . This opportunity came up and when I read the job specifications I knew it was the perfect job for me. I decided straight away to apply and I am super happy that they selected me for the position.
I love working here because I enjoy the fact that I am participating in the upkeep of a heritage site. It’s a part of the job which is very important to me. My sister also works in conservation so I appreciate the value of it.
There are also many interesting events which take place here every year which is a bonus too.
In May a famous jewellery brand have rented the Villa for a whole month which I am told they do every year so I am looking forward to that. They use it for parties during the film festival and also for fashion shoots so there will be lots of people around during that month. It should be interesting.
Villa Eilenroc is also a beautiful environment to work in. I am originally from Antibes but in fact I only knew the Villa by name before I coming to work here. I had never been inside. Of course I spent a lot of time on the Cap with my friends when I was younger like all the locals. We would come here by bike or scooter to swim and also to jump from the rocks just behind us in the Baie des Milliardaires. I spent a lot of time in Cap d’Antibes, I had just never visited the Villa.
Mostly I would come to the Cap just to be near to the sea.
I have always said that the Mediterranean is my sea. It’s a big part of my life so I am happy that I now get to look out at it every day.
Samuel, Contract Gardener
I work for Paysages Méditerranéens who are contracted by the Mairie to look after the park. I have been working here at Eilenroc since October 2017 but I have been working for the company much longer. Before coming here I was doing the same type of work all over the Cote d’Azur. The company I work for is a very large company so they have many contracts all over the region. They work in many locations covering areas from Nice, Villeneuve Loubet and beyond.
I started working for my current employers soon after leaving school.
When I am not working I like to spend time in my own garden if I can but that isn’t often. I am generally working six days a week. When I do have free time I spend it with my family. In the winter we will go to the mountains to ski and in the summer we go for walks on the Sentier du Littoral or go to the cinema. Just normal stuff.
What do I like about my job?
Well I love being outside that’s the first thing. I love that even if it’s rainy or grey it doesn’t matter, to me it’s just a minor detail because whatever the weather it is always beautiful here.
I also like the contact with the nature here. The work at Eilenroc is the kind of gardening I love. It’s a basic, simple way of gardening and I am in a natural environment. Working here gives me the opportunity to see the results of my labour and to maintain something long-term. I get to see a natural garden evolve and develop.
Mostly I work here alone which is also nice. I just get left to get on with it and to some extent I am my own boss. Ocassionally I have a trainee working with me but mostly it is just me and the view.
I also like the interaction with the public here, it’s interesting meeting the variety of people who come to visit.
Albert, the Villa Eilen Roc Seagull
Apparently Albert, the Eilenroc seagull, landed in the grounds many years ago. He was found injured and distressed with a fishing hook through his foot. The then guardian took him in, removed the hook and took care of him. After that Albert never left. He became part of the furniture.
Isabelle, the Director feeds him every day and he eats out of her hand. He also acts as a detterent to other birds. Henri has been known to attack winged visitors by pulling at their feathers until they go away and it seems to work! Having a house seagull certainly has it’s advantages.
Riou, The House Cat.
According to Isabelle, the Director of Eilenroc, Riou originally lived in the house next door.
About 17 years ago, before I worked here, Riou arrived at Eilenroc injured. His tail had been trapped in an automatic gate somewhere, we don’t know where. Rious’ story is in that sense a little like that of Albert. The person who found him tried to find out who the Cat belonged to. It turned out that he lived in the house next door so he was taken back to the neighbours. I don’t really know what happened after that in any case he came straight back to the Villa and the then Guardian took him in. Riou stayed with him from then on.
When I arrived in 2009 I remember seeing the cat and everyday I would say ‘Bonjour’ and speak to him. After a while he began to come into my office (he isn’t allowed into the villa but he is allowed in my office) now he spends a lot of time with me. Sometimes he also spends time in the Villa shop.
Riou is a cat who loves being with people and who loves to be stroked.
He especially likes being with visitors in the boutique when it is open. They all make a big fuss of him too which he definately enjoys. Sometimes he sits so still next to the till that visitors think he is stuffed until he moves of course, hearing their reaction then can be quite funny.
When the previous guardian left he wasn’t able to take Riou with him, I think he would have liked to but he was moving to a flat which wouldn’t have been fair on the cat. So Riou stayed here with me, now he belongs to everyone. Of course I am the source of his food but otherwise he likes being with people generally. He spends time with me, he eats, he drinks, he takes a walk around the gardens, he sleeps, It’s not a bad life for a cat. That’s basically what he has been doing for the past 17 years.
This year was the first time Riou went to the vet.
He had something stuck in his paw which got infected so I had to take him to the vet. That visit cost 200.00 euros which was paid for by myself and one other person who loves animals. We went 50/50.
All the staff take it in turns to buy Rious’ food and treats. At the weekends we take it in turns to feed him, we have a little work rota so one of us will come in at the weekend to make sure he has everything he needs.
For Christmas and other holidays we also take it in turns to come to the villa to see to Riou. Actually I just bought him a treat dispenser so he can help himself to food when nobody is here. The trouble is that he is a cat who doesn’t know when to stop eating so it doesn’t really work in the way it was planned to.
Opening Times:
Wednesdays from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
The 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 2:00pm to 5:00pm
Entry : 2 euros (free under 12).
Free between the 1st October to the 31st March.
Dog not permitted.
Tel: +33 (0)4 93 67 74 33
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