FROM the Punta Engaño sea, a glass-wrapped edifice shimmers in the afternoon sun. It is a delightfully surprising sight along a shoreline that is dotted here and there by high-rise beach resorts.
This, one learns, is The Glass Pavilion of Chateau by the Sea: a complex of three structures, the others being The Residence and the Yellow House (a house happily painted yellow for the late Cory Aquino who preferred to stay in this beach house when she visited Cebu).
Owner Nonie Uy says The Residence has eight spacious rooms, four of which have a great view of the sea. It is for guests who want to stay a day or more in the chateau, to relax and enjoy the view and/or to swim in the pool or frolic at the beach. The three-level Glass Pavilion is an events place, and is available for rent for groups who want to celebrate weddings, debuts, corporate milestones and other meaningful occasions in an elegant, picture-perfect setting. Its ground floor can accommodate 500 persons. The second floor is the air-conditioned Main Hall with a capacity of 400 people and the rooftop, 300. The Yellow House, which is the original family beach house, is not yet available for outsiders except for its kiosk down by the beach.
The chateau has a wide beach frontage so there are beach venues also available for rent—the Seaside Promenade, The Cottage, Harbor, Wharf and Landing—with capacities ranging from 20 persons (Harbor) to 600 (the Promenade).
A visit to Chateau by the Sea can also become a time to appreciate Philippine art and furniture. There are Philippine antiques at the Yellow House. A chair by Kenneth Cobonpue, a chandelier by Vito Selma, a wall mounting (of recycled glass) by Janice Minor, a wall mosaic by Millie Kilayko (entitled La Sonrisa de Dios: Dia y Noche) are in the Glass Pavilion. Stylish furniture pieces by Metamorphose and other Cebuano furniture makers are all over the place, and abstract acrylic paintings by Fred Galan are at The Residence.
Chateau by the Sea is in Brgy. Buot, Punta Engaño, Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu and is managed by Uy’s daughter, Olivia Lynn U. Dizon.