Château Neercanne welcomes Thijs van Esveld as new director

Oostwegel Collection has appointed Thijs van Esveld (33) as director/host of Château Neercanne from 1 April 2025. He will be tasked with taking the guest experience of both the gastronomic offerings and accommodation options of the iconic castle in the Limburg capital to an even higher level. 

Van Esveld grew up in Maastricht and has extensive managerial experience, where his strength lies in creating strong teams and exploiting commercial opportunities. He has done this in recent years as Operations Manager at the well-known Maastricht event venue Complex, and as General Manager at multiplex cinema Vue Kerkrade. 

Rich hospitality tradition

As director/host of Château Neercanne, a member of Relais & Châteaux, Van Esveld will focus on an even stronger interplay between the castle's two restaurants, the Michelin-starred Restaurant Château Neercanne and the Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded L'Auberge, and the seven special five-star suites on the estate, which will open in 2024. "I am greatly looking forward to working with the passionate team to make the versatility of this special place an even greater success," Van Esveld says of his new position. "In doing so, I want to continue Château Neercanne's rich hospitality tradition. It is an enormous privilege to soon be able to work every day at this unique location with the most beautiful view of Maastricht," Van Esveld said. 

Eye for guest experience

Camille Oostwegel, Owner and Managing Director of Oostwegel Collection commented, "With Thijs, we are bringing in an ambitious and energetic director who will use his talents to further strengthen Château Neercanne's position. His eye for guest experience and his leadership qualities fit perfectly with the ambitions we have for this beautiful national monument, where we want to continue to surprise and inspire our guests."