British producer's French dream turns to a nightmare as officials demolish extension at ultra-luxury 11th century chateau that hosted Naomi Campbell and Madonna... then send him £120,000 bill after bitter 15-year planning row

It was once the exclusive haunt of royalty, foreign millionaires, film stars and - according to local mythology - a mysterious order of crusader knights. But by the 1990s, the 11th century Château de Saint Jeannet had fallen into disrepair.

A new lease of life was breathed in to the estate when, in 2001, the derelict castle was taken on by British film producer Jon Acevski, paying around €1.2 million for the site and investing far more in renovations - welcoming back the stars when Naomi Campbell chose it for her celebrity-packed 45th birthday party in 2015.

But the dream of preserving and expanding the three-and-a-half-hectare estate near Nice in the south of France became a nightmare when courts ordered the demolition of several extensions to conclude a gruelling 15-year legal battle.

After slapping Acevski with a €140,000 (£120,000) bill for the demolition work, authorities shared footage of how they tore down newer installations they claim were built without planning permission in the presence of the owners last month.

The Château de Saint Jeannet - formerly the Château de la Gaude - has been razed and rebuilt many times through the ages. But after numerous complaints were brought against its latest occupants, the State has roundly decreed that there are limits to how far owners can go to bring it back to life.

Boasting 13 suites, outdoor space to accommodate 600 guests, a helipad with room for two, a pool, a sauna and a Turkish bath, current owner Jon Acevski once said he could fetch as much as €135,000 a week to rent out the entire site before the 2008 global financial crisis.

But the Macedonian-British film producer - whose works include an animated feature about a frog parodying James Bond - was not the first with lofty ambitions for the site. Between the 1930s and 1950s, leading French actress Viviane Romance spent 'a fortune' on the chateau in a bid to modernise the building, according to The Times.

Starting her career as a dancer at the famous Moulin Rouge in Paris before rising to become one of France's leading icons of early cinema, Romance (born Pauline Ronacher Ortmanns) brushed shoulders with the stars of French-Italian film scene over an illustrious 45-year career before dying in Nice in 1991.

But Romance was never able to complete the project, reportedly due to lack of funds, and her home fell into disrepair before it could be sold on through her daughter to fellow cinephile Jon Acevski in 2001.

The fortress, just 30 minutes from Cannes and the Monaco Grand Prix, had survived nearly a millennium through war, plague and recession - but was completely abandoned when Acevski took it on as a project.

 'It was not considered habitable when I bought it,' Acevski told Variety in 2009, after he had renovated the 1,000m2 main property into a profitable holiday villa.

It was not the first restoration job Acevski had been entrusted with. Local outlets attribute work on a monastery in Macedonia and a church in London to the history enthusiast.

Enthralled by the task, he was 'present almost every day' and worked with a local architect to 'calculate everything' and '[choose] all the materials with great care'.

This included travelling to Portugal to choose the right stones for the castle and having a column of the central staircase redone over and over because a detail just was not quite right. 

It took five years for Acevski to achieve his goal and continue the legacy of his predecessor, completing a task left on hold for more than forty years before he arrived.

'My husband wanted a place that respected the history and landscape of this place,' his wife Yasmin explained, years before the state threatened to tear down their additions.

Legend holds that the site began as an early Templar stronghold, formed in the 12th century, but the earliest citation referencing its construction dates to the 11th.

Dug into a hill with stunning views of the French Riviera and the Alps, the Romans apparently first saw the strategic value of the site, surveying the ancient Via Augusta, which still connects Italy with southern France.

Since then, the castle has been demolished and rebuilt several times, and its history is dotted with footnotes of war and invasion. It was razed in 1536, rebuilt more than a century later, and then once more forgotten and left to rot as it lost its military use in the mid-19th century.

In the intervening years, the estate's owners have battled to find new use for the castle, reimagining its purpose in creative ways to preserve and protect its history while ensuring it retains some function.

With views of both the snow-covered Alps and the Mediterranean, Acevski dreamed of turning the site into a luxury holiday villa for prominent guests at the start of the 21st century - and began installing the extensions he believed were needed to see his dream materialise.

'It's very private, quiet and secluded,' Acevski told Variety. Indeed, the exclusive venue - and its very exclusive pricing - has managed to attract a host of prominent celebrity guests looking to mark anniversaries or take a break with some privacy.

In 2015, Naomi Campbell hosted her 45th birthday party at the chateau, inviting A List names including Leonardo DiCaprio, Kendall Jenner and Mary J. Blige.

MailOnline reported at the time the party was so exclusive that some guests allegedly forked out as much as $1,800 each in charity donations to mingle with the stars.

An insider speaking to the New York Daily News newspaper's Confidenti@l column has claimed: 'People paid to get on the guest list. Naomi wanted to capitalise on the prestigious group of people that were at the Cannes Film Festival and amfAR.' 

But, the source added, 'a lot of the billionaires were a bit upset because she didn't show up until midnight. Everyone else started arriving at 9pm.' 

A spokesperson for the supermodel told MailOnline Naomi encouraged some attendees to donate to her charity, Fashion For Relief.

In a statement released to MailOnline, a representative said: 'Naomi had a birthday party in Cannes this past weekend.

'Some guests were invited to make a donation to support her charity, Fashion For Relief, in conjunction with their attendance at the event.

'Fashion For Relief provides ongoing support for disaster situations around the world. There has been an unofficial invitation circulating with incorrect information, including guest names that were apparently due to attend the event.'

Sparing no expense, the top supermodel looked like she was having a ball as she was gifted a giant birthday cake which was polished off with a macaroon tower. 

The retreat was also chosen by Madonna as her base of operations when she travelled to the south of France for a concert in 2008.

Madonna reportedly flew with her then-husband Guy Ritchie, daughter Lourdes and sons Rocco and David, to stay in £11,000-a-night castle.

She kept 12 staff on hand to help out around the complex, including her own chef, a beauty team of six, a chiropractor and a masseuse.

But the trip made headlines when other staff complained they were being treated like 'second class citizens' after being given cheap hotel accommodation. 

A source told The Mirror at the time: 'Everyone is absolutely furious with her and some of them want to walk out of the tour. 

'They feel they are being treated like second-class citizens, despite all their hard work over the last few months.

'To make matters worse, they are being forced to stay in horrible places and fly on cheap low-cost flights, while she has the lap of luxury. Several are already talking about walking if things don't improve.'

Acevski had managed to find a new purpose for the ancient fortress, coming up with new attractions and extensions to woo the world's high spenders.

An undated blog detailing a wedding booked at the site referenced an ice skating show in the middle of summer, acrobatics and a 17,000-firework explosion to top off the night.

Rental site StayOne - offering guests the chance to stay in the 'finest one percent of holiday homes - notes the formerly derelict site now boasts 'more than 6,000 plants and trees ... planted alongside many mature trees which form a magical place'.

Guests can enjoy the 18m x 9m pool, which features an infinity waterfall and jacuzzi - before dipping into the pool house for a drink at the bar.

The booking form assures guests they will be looked after by 24 hour security, and that they can arrange for 'staff services' including chefs, housekeepers, butlers and chauffeurs.

But the extensions have caused trouble for Jon and Yasmin with local officials opposing his renovations. They contested he had no right to extend the caretaker's lodge or to build next to the swimming pool, The Times reported.

In 2009, a court in Grasse slapped Acevski with fines worth €5 million and ordered the destruction of the outbuildings. He argued the case, but the lodge was ultimately knocked down in 2017.

In 2011, the owner was also handed a fine of €300,000 accompanied by orders to tear down various sites within the year, threatening late fees of €75 per day.

On top of the outhouse, these included a 'living zone for workers', two pergolas and a 65m-squared concrete terrace, according to local media.

The changes 'should have taken place before November 29, 2012 but nothing has been done in recent years,' Nice Matin reported in 2017.

That year, a 250m2 house located on the estate was targeted for a first demolition, according to Le Parisien. But it was far from the end.

'The delays are long because many owners chain appeals and practice an avoidance strategy which does not pay off in the end,' a representative said.

Seven years on, Acevski has received invoices for more demolition work totalling €140,000 - and only weeks ago saw diggers move in on a demolition order that had been 'ignored until 20th February 2024, when the authorities took matters in hand and started pulling down the offending structures themselves'.

'No matter how long it takes, we will complete these procedures, whatever happens, appeals are not a profitable strategy. Illegal constructions will be demolished,' a state representative said, reported by Nice Matin.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, in February, authorities said the 'procedure' was carried out by a bailiff, in front of the owners. Footage showed diggers tearing at walls amid piles of rubble around the main building.

The Préfet des Alpes-Maritimes said the operation was carried out with the sub-prefecture of Frasse and the DDTM services.

They also said they would carry on with 'observational monitoring' to 'guarantee the State against a risk of litigation and to respond to the fears of owners'. 

Bu residents local to the chateau told MailOnline they were nonplussed by news of its partial demolition.

'Whenever I asked my local friends about that castle, no-one really knew what it was or its purpose,' said Elsa, a resident of neighbouring Bonson.

'Just another rich people playground is the general consensus.'

'I've never seen it from up close,' she continued. 'But it sticks out like a sore thumb.'

'It really isn't the most aesthetically pleasing building in the area.'

'The préfet has been really big on sponsoring and reviving the patrimony of the region over the last few years... So honestly I'm happy they're doing something about it, rather than letting the money talk.'

Indeed, as the prefecture moves to protect local heritage, local sources say it has shown willing to give a face lift to the nearby Château de Gilette, built in the 13th century and left in ruins.

Old chapels have been 'glammed up' to their former glory and old paintings restored to show off the history of the region.

But for the Château de la Gaude, it seems, the most recent extensions were a bridge too far.

MailOnline contacted the Préfet des Alpes-Maritimes for comment.