Meanwhile, the construction of the timber house - which very impressively dates back to China's late Qing Dynasty - was strengthened, yet the designers were careful to not alter the building in any significant manner. As such, the interior dark wood ceiling is still held up by its original strong wood beams and its main entrance boasts a wide plank, double door that appears to be straight out of that historic time period. As with the rest of the hotel, the décor is kept simple, with wood tables surrounded by wood chairs and a bar in one corner. The heavy and weathered floor masonry is another period touch which adds an element that is difficult to replicate.

The hotel's guestrooms are distributed among three, two-storey buildings overlooking a tile paved courtyard - to note, this courtyard isn't exclusive to the hotel and locals can pass through it as they go about the village's winding, stone pathways. The guestroom buildings are perhaps those that have received the most redesign, since the rooms' wide, window walls aren't the village-house norm. Nevertheless, it was a bright move to make by the design team - pun intended - as the surrounding forest as well as the outside light streaming in both succeed in casting a warming glow throughout the minimally furnished rooms.

Not much is needed to make a guest feel at home here; a comfortable bed, a dresser, and an armchair or two, and a flat screen TV, combined with the sometimes timber-clad and sometimes white-washed walls are more than ample "creature comforts." Providing a much desired calm, Zen-like atmosphere, the countryside moves at its own pace at Sangi'san Cottage and its guests can't help but be encouraged to participate in its languid motions.