Header: Courtesy of Ruize Design
Cloudspa Sanctuary is a hotel in Datong City, in China’s Shanxi Province, designed by Ruize Design with Wenyuan Guo as lead designer. Completed back in 2025, the project received the “Interior Design of the Year – Living Space” award at the LIV Hospitality Design Awards.
The traditional Siheyuan courtyard
The hotel was born out of the renovation of a traditional Siheyuan courtyard in Datong’s historic centre, where rooms and walls are arranged around inward-facing open courts. Ruize Design kept this enclosure and gave it a new use. Its walls, gates and inner courts now contain bedrooms, leisure rooms, hot-spring courtyards and water elements.
A myriad of materials
Datong’s volcanic plateau gives the project its main materials. Locally sourced basalt was used in the private hot-spring courtyards and shared water areas, where its dark, dense surface enriches the baths. Instead of being used as a decorative reminder of nature, the stone was intentionally added where the body meets the surfaces most directly: beside water, underfoot, along the courtyard edges and within the bathing areas.
The rooms are arranged around how the guest uses them. The bedroom comes first, calmer and more domestic, with timber, textiles and warm light keeping it away from the more public character of the courtyard. The leisure area follows as a sitting room between sleep and bathing, a place for tea, reading or having a conversation before entering the hot spring court. From there, the layout moves naturally towards the bath.
In the courtyard, basalt, grey masonry and water form the base, while glass opens views to the stone paths, planting, roofs and open sky. Water runs between the heavier materials, bringing light into the darker stone surfaces, and the landscape is simple, with rocks, bare branches, grasses, low planting, water and paths.
Upkeeping the courtyard
The old and new are always in contact, as historic walls, gates, tiled roofs and masonry are complemented by glass and soft interiors. Behind the rooms and bathing areas, the designers had to deal with waterproofing, drainage, slip-resistant stone, humidity control, heating, ventilation and maintenance access. Hot-spring water puts quite a lot of pressure on a historic courtyard, so these technical elements protect both the guest rooms and the old structure.
Project information
Prize: Interior Design of the Year – Living Space
Lead Designer: Wenyuan Guo
Architecture: Ruize Design
Interior Designer: Ruize Design
Hospitality: Ruize Hotels & Resorts
Construction Company: Ruize Design
Location: Datong City, Shanxi Province, China
Project Date: 2025.09.15
Developer: Ruize Hotels & Resorts
