About Us
We are Eric and Caroline Pantekoek Holthausen from Rotterdam and Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. We gained experience in hospitality during the 1990s, but we pursued a “real” career in office jobs. Eric worked as an IT consultant and Caroline at the Ministry of Justice.
However, we realized that a Monday-to-Friday office career in the Netherlands until our 65th or 67th year was not a promising prospect. In the 1990s, Eric had already traveled for a year with a backpack through Asia and Australia. Two years after meeting Caroline, it didn’t take long for him to infect her with the “Travel Bug.” So, in 2003, we bought an old Toyota Land Cruiser and embarked on a journey from the Netherlands to India and back.
After two years, we returned to the Netherlands to work. In 2008, Eric received a one-year project proposal in Dubai. During this time, the desire for adventure was brewing within us. At that moment, we didn’t feel like embarking on another long journey. But our old dream of living in nature, tranquillity, and mountains persisted. Since we had a lot of experience as tourists, we wanted to use it to take care of our own customers by returning to our former profession in the restaurant industry!
The next step
After Eric’s return from Dubai, we came to France in search of a suitable place. It had to be a complete hotel with a restaurant and bar, so no “Chambres d’Hôtes” (Bed and Breakfast). We wanted to have all the possibilities to accommodate people who want to stay multiple nights, as well as customers interested only in the restaurant, bar, or terrace. Moreover, as tourists, we enjoyed small hotels with a friendly and warm atmosphere and personal attention. Add to that the requirement that the hotel had to be located in the mountains and in a tourist region, and the challenge of finding a suitable place was clear…
When we found the Auberge de la Providence in Saint Donat, it was very clear that this place met all our requirements!
So now, it’s up to us to provide our customers with the best possible welcome and unforgettable vacations, accommodation, meals, or a beer!
Truus and Joep
Since April 2010, we have been joined by a sweet little dog named Truus. Truus was the happy result of an “accident” between two dogs owned by two couples of friends, an Irish Setter and a Border Collie. Surprisingly, this mix brought forth a beautiful dog like Truus! Raising Truus during the hotel renovation and the summer season was not always easy. Fortunately, we had many enthusiastic customers, family, and friends, and we are very grateful for their help!
Truus is essentially a very bad hotel dog because she genuinely feels sorry when people leave, and that’s something that happens often in a hotel…
Since the fall of 2010, Truus has been joined by Karel, the neglected puppy of a neighbor. Two dogs in a hotel can be a bit much, but the two dogs get along well. With Truus as a companion, Karel requires much less attention, so that’s a big advantage for us.
Karel is a very gentle dog, but he gives us a lot of headaches. He loves to chase cows and sheep (as a game) and sometimes stays out all night. It’s not without reason that he’s an “Auvergne Brač,” a local hunting dog breed…
Update: Unfortunately, Karel passed away in early 2022 at the age of 11. Truus is still a lively old lady, but she is slightly less interested in our dear guests than before. After a year of bidding farewell and mourning, we hope to find a worthy replacement for Karel at the SPA animal shelter in 2023!