Accurate weather would be nice.

Do you mean further along the paved road, away from Qiaotou? If so, perhaps you're thinking of Sean's Guesthouse, matches the great views description.

Shangri-la had/has a ski hill, but as far as I know, it hasn't been open the last few years. As a mountain guide, perhaps you're interested in some back-country skiing. I think there are some places around Shangri-la that could work in the right season, accessible only by hiking of course. Maybe next year we can have some chance to explore.

To be clear, the part of Old Town that was burnt down has no new building construction while they redo the underground infrastructure. The recently developed areas of old town are still quite a mix of residential (some Tibetan style, Naxi style, and Chinese i.e. concrete/brick houses) and an increasing number of guesthouses, cafes, etc. The new businesses are a mix of building styles. Even though some are updated Tibetan style (timber and adobe as you say) like much of what burned down, as of yet they don't result in the same atmosphere of what Old Town previously was.

Previously undeveloped parts of Old Town are being built up quite quickly. Noah cafe was not affected, but the previous Noah Inn was.

Definitely many of the quaint guesthouses in Old Town were lost in the fire. However, many are still around and even in the last four months a whole new lot of guesthouses have opened up in the previously undeveloped areas of Old Town.