But there's very little that feels modest about Otama Bach, a modern getaway perched high on a hill among the bush and facing out to sea on the Coromandel Peninsula.
Sure, it's natural, uncluttered and unassuming, much like the raw and beautiful region it inhabits, but this holiday house has a few special touches that set it apart.
Take the walls that fold down on arrival to form a long open deck where you can pull up a pew and gaze out to the beach below.
And how about the movable bath that can be filled and then rolled out on to the deck, or the sliding doors that essentially open the whole house to the elements?There are other special features too, like the grand 16-seater cafe table, the large fireplace, the selection of great literature you actually want to read and the telescope in the bedroom to watch fishing boats pulling in their catch.
And knocked together by grandpa it obviously wasn't.
It was designed by Auckland architects Crosson Clarke Carnachan, and they won New Zealand's Home of the Year in 2003 and Home of the Decade in 2005 for their efforts.
In their words: "The house was conceived as a container sitting lightly on the land for habitation or the dream of habitation."
It's true to say that habitation here, even for only for a few nights, is a dream, and one worth realising.
