We absolutely loved our night at the Slate Hut. Incredible views and a wonderful adventure. Would recommend for fellow adventurous people who want to feel like they have a whole mountain to themselves. Beautiful slate scattered across mountain ridges, the scenery is just gorgeous and so romantic. We arrived at the parking spot at the first hut just as a storm was blowing in so we hiked through a hail storm which we found really fun! Even though we were really prepared for all seasons weather (even in early january) all our gear in our backpacks got completely soaked. Unfortunately there was no way of drying our stuff so were quite sodden for the duration of our stay. Perhaps a small clothes line/horse would be a handy addition to the hut? The bath was in an amazing location but unfortunately I couldn't get it going properly as the wind kept blowing out the gas lighter for it. When the wind died down eventually later in the evening my partner had a nice bath. There are powerpoints in the photos of the hut but no power is actually connected so make sure you charge your camera/phone before you go there! It's all candlelight after dark. The hut is great for 2 people, whilst it sleeps 4 it might be a bit of a tighter fit, definitely doable but it is more of a romantic spot.
One thing to also note is that we got a bit confused with the check-in instructions as the address that comes up (and hence goes into phone's GPS/maps) is neither the slate hut (where you stay) or the ski hut (where you park). Katie kindly redirected us when we arrived there at 3pm. There is a completely separate road that you have to find and navigate (which is gravel and steep so be careful in 2wd/hire cars as we had). Leave plenty of time for all of this process, and probably 30-60 mins of walking depending on your pace.
Overall we loved our experience and would definitely love to come back next time we are in NZ. Thank you Katie and Tom for a wonderful stay.