My husband and I stayed at Riverstone Backpackers for one night. The actual house was beautiful. We were there in Oct. If it had been warmer out, I'm sure our stay would've been much more enjoyable. The kitchen is beautiful, and the resident puppy, Mugwai, is a very friendly wheaten terrier. However, our ensuite room was freezing. There was a space heater, but it did absolutely nothing. I didn't get much sleep that night. We were planning on doing the Tongariro crossing, but conditions were bad, so we changed our plans and left after one night. Because I was so cold, I got sick with a cough that persisted for over a week. It pretty much ruined the wine tasting we did in Hastings, as I felt like crap. more