Snowy Waters Lodge is a Chateau-style group accommodation and events venue at 58 Ward Street in Raetihi, Ruapehu, a 1941 former nurses' home set in five acres of parklike grounds. Sleeping up to 60 across the Old Nurses Home, Doctors Residence and garden cabins, it draws praise for warm rooms, wood-burner kitchens, outdoor spas and helpful, unobtrusive staff; a two-night minimum stay applies, three on public holiday long weekends. Group accommodation is all about shared living done well: enough beds in a sensible mix of rooms, big kitchens and dining spaces a crowd can use at once, and hot water that survives dozens of showers. When comparing options, check sleeping configurations, whether you take the whole property, and how it heats in winter — mountain nights are cold even in summer. Regulars book ski season and long weekends well ahead. Ten minutes from Ohakune under a mountain backdrop, it is a natural base for the Ruapehu ski fields.