| DRCOG page NW MRCOGPart 2 written NW MRCOG OSCE Package |
The rates quoted below may have changed by the time of the course - please check.
Whichever accomodation you choose, please let us know what it was like.
If it was below standard we would like to be able to warn off applicants for future courses.
And it would be nice to be able to recommend establishments you thought great.
Staying in the hospital.
Cathryn Taylor is the Accommodation Officer and very helpful.
If she can provide you with a room, she will do so.
The room will be very basic.
The charge in 2012 1 was 21.75 pounds per night, but check as I may not be up-to-date.
Cathryne's phone number is 0161 419 5888.
The e-mail is: Accommodation_Estates&Facilities@Stockport.nhs.uk.
Index:
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Parking: The parking fee at the hospital was 5.00 pounds per day in January 2012.
Extortionate, but that is the fee!
Parking can be a bit tight during the week - arrive early on the Friday.
There should be no parking problems on the Saturday and Sunday.
Don't panic if you don't have change.
There have been occasions that I have not had change and then been so busy with the course that I have forgotten all about buying a ticket.
The worst that has happened has been a note stuck to the window telling me I am in breach of hospital rules.
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Websites listing accommodation in Stockport.
Note the section on establishments we advise you to avoid.
The following links are to sites that might be useful.
http://www.4hotels.co.uk/uk/stockport.html.
http://www.britinfo.net/bed-and-breakfasts/TDANS10000.htm
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Premier Inn, Innkeeper's Lodge and Travel Lodge.
If you haven't stayed in this type of accommodation, they are like small hotels with all non-essentials stripped out.
So, there is usually no lounge, dining room, meal service etc.
What you are paying for is a clean, comfortable room for the night, with no frills.
You pay for the room, so if you have someone with you, the cost per head goes down.
Premier
Inn.
Phone:
08701 977 242.
Central Reservations: 01582 414341.
Fax: 0161 477 8320.
Visit their web page for more details and to make a booking.
Note: the one you want is "Stockport South" - there are two Premier Inns in Stockport.
It is on the A6; the hospital is too.
Comments from the October 2008 course were:
"Good value and friendly staff.".
"Cheap and adequate. Not the Ritz, but adequate for 3 nights."
It
is on the left as you travel towards Stepping Hill from
It is slightly further away from the hospital than most of the B&B establishments - just over a mile.
Its main attraction is that there is a standard room charge of ~ £55, so that if you are coming with spouse/ partner/ child/ children, it is reasonably priced.
Each room is furnished with a double bed and space for up to two children under 16, all included in the cost of the room.
It is on the same site as the Bamford Arms pub and a "Beefeater" restaurant, which is convenient.
There is also an Italian restaurant, Amici nearby.
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Inkeeper's Lodge.
This is slightly further away from the hospital than the Travel Inn.
Click here to go to the web page.
Phone: 0845 112 6027
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Travel Lodge.
I would not have included this, as it is in Didsbury, which is a bit further from the hospital.
However, it got very good feedback from someone on the course in March 06.
If you can't survive a day without going on the internet, it has WiFi.
Phone:
0870
191 1662
Fax: 0161 448 0399
Click here to go to the web page.
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Didsbury is a popular "village" a few miles south of Manchester city centre.
Its attraction is that it has lots of cafés, bars and restaurants and a busy nightlife in the village centre.
It is about six miles from the hospital, so not a problem if you are coming by car.
If you are coming accompanied, there are plenty of buses into Manchester city centre, where there is lots to do.
It is easy to get from the city centre to the Trafford Centre, where even the shopaholic can be sated.
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There are stacks of good restaurants in Didsbury.
Many of them are on Wilmslow road, the main road through the village.
Most of these are less than 20 minutes on foot from the Didsbury hotels I have listed below.
I live in Didsbury and am a regular at:
and The Original Third Eye restaurants among others.
Gusto, Jem & I, No4 Dine and Wine and the The Original Third Eye restaurants are in the centre of the village.
This puts them within walking distance of local accommodation.
Jem & I is excellent.
Tom and I dined there recently to celebrate our wedding anniversary.
It is hugely popular, so you are unlikely to get a table unless you book a few weeks in advance.
We have also had some excellent meals at No4 Dine and Wine.
The Original Third Eye is run by the family who have the Great Kathmandu and is good.
Gusto used to be Est Est Est but has been "rebranded".
Emma, my daughter, has eaten there since the change.
She says it is the same staff serving the same menus
Although part of a chain, it is good and popular.
Fugu is a recently (2008) opened Japanese restaurant in the village centre.
Emma ate there recently and said it was excellent, if a bit expensive.
The others restaurants are two miles or more from the Didsbury hotels, so you might prefer to drive.
The Great Kathmandu famously won the Observer award for the best Indian restaurant in the country a number of years ago.
It is still run by the same family and very popular.
One of the daughters runs the Gurkha Grill and keeps a tight rein on proceedings.
Greens is a purely vegetarian restaurant with a good name.
The Lime tree is across the road from Greens.
It is excellent, but always busy.
You would need to book well in advance, but it is worth the effort of doing so.
If you prefer a pub atmosphere, the Metropolitan should fit the bill.
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Didsbury is about 6 miles and a 20 minute drive to the hospital; less at the weekend when traffic should be lighter.
There is a recently-opened Travel Lodge in Didsbury.
Travel Lodges have limited facilities, but charge by the room, so are good value if you are travelling with family.
It is adjacent to the Parrs Wood Entertainment Complex with a cinema, "Burger King" restaurant, sports centre, bowling alley etc.
There is Tesco's store just across the road from the Didsbury Travel Lodge, which is mostly open 24 hours.
For Tesco's opening hours, click here, and type in "East Didsbury" for the store location.
Feedback from someone who attended the September 2009 course was:
"spacious, clean room. Internet. Wi Fi. Tesco. Pizza Hut".
They strongly recommended it.
Didsbury House and its sister hotel Eleven Didsbury Park are up-market and fairly expensive.
They have much better facilities than the Travel Lodge, but, the last time I looked, also charge by the room.
The Waterside Hotel is intermediate in price between the Travel Inn and Didsbury House.
It has a large swimming pool and a good sports centre.
It is very popular for wedding receptions.
You would need to specify a room away from the function rooms.
But it is big enough for this to be feasible.
Feedback from the September 2007 course in response to the question "Would you recommend it" was:
"Yes. £70 / night for 2 people with breakfast.
Excellent leisure facilities".
Another doctor from the September 2007 course gave it a +ve recommendation and said:
"Great pool. Good if you're driving"
The driving comment probably reflects its proximity to the motorway.
There are other establishments in Didsbury, but I'd pick from the above three.
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Lane End House is an old-fashioned "bed & breakfast" in the owners' home.
It is might feature in any search you do for this type of accommodation in the vicinity of Stepping Hill.
We have had a fair number of doctors from various courses stay there.
They were all impressed: friendly, helpful hosts, very clean, no disturbance / noise, secure parking, transport to airport etc.
And inexpensive.
As a result, it was high on my recommended list until January 2015.
Unfortunately, the owners had a problem with one of the doctors attending our MRCOG written course that month.
They now prefer not to have anyone from my courses.
Please don't upset them by booking this accommodation.
Copper
Beech
Phone:
0161-456-1183.
This is a B&B.
It is on the A6 about ½ a mile from the hospital.
As you drive from Stockport both it and the hospital are on the right.
Candidates on previous courses have recommended it, saying that it was pleasant and the natives were very friendly.
All of the rooms are en-suite.
Typical is the comment from a doctor attending the September 2007 course.
They recommended it saying:
"£30
with breakfast. Very friendly. Ample parking".
Click here to go to their web page.
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There are lots of B&B establishments and guest houses near the hospital about which we don't have a lot of information.
This is simply because we have had no feedback from previous courses.
I expect that most of them will be of a good standard.
Some of the web pages look good. E. g. Henry's Hotel.
One of the doctors attending the MRCOG written course in January 2015 wrote:
"Clean. £28 per night. £6 breakfast. WiFi & TV. No reason not to recommend".
The Copper Beech, Henry's Hotel and Lane End House are on Buxton Road.
This is the A6, the main road running past the hospital.
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If you prefer to stay out of town, Upper Watermeetings Farm looks attractive.
It's only 5 miles from the hospital, but in the countryside and reasonably priced (£28, January 07).
I would find the possibility of having a country walk before dinner quite appealing, particularly after a heavy day in the lecture theatre.
You would need to allow 20-30 minutes to get to the hospital in Friday morning's rush-hour.
Romiley is a popular dormitory village for commuters to Manchester and Stockport, so rush-hour is busy.
At other times it should take about 15 minutes.
There is also Moseley House Farm.
It is about 11 miles from Stockport, but rural.
When I last checked the web page said bed & breakfast was £25 per night, so it's cheap!
The drive into the hospital would be busy on the Friday as a lot of Stockport & Manchester commuters live out that way.
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The
"Alma
Lodge" rates itself **** and
is on the A6. Tel. 0161 483 4431.
This would be my choice if I were coming to the course and wanted to stay in a big hotel.
Make sure your room is not over a room hosting a wedding reception.
Feedback from a doctor who attended the September 2007 course was:
"Well placed. Room adequate. Good restaurant & friendly, helpful staff."
Another doctor on the same course wrote with a +ve recommendation:
"Good price for single room £45 with included breakfast.
Friendly staff & simple room service menu for those who don't like dining alone."
Another doctor attending the September 2007 course recommended it saying:
"Friendly staff".
Visit their web page for fuller details.
The "Bramhall County Hotel" is in Bramhall village.
The address is: Bramhall Lane South, Stockport, SK7 2EB.
It is 2.7 miles from Stepping Hill Hospital.
It's modern and advertises wireless access to the internet.
Phone: 0870 832 990.
They do special offers, which could make staying there relatively cheap.
If you stay in this hotel, please let us have your feedback - we haven't had any as yet.
Visit their web page for fuller details.
The disadvantage of all of the larger hotels is that they may cater for weddings or other functions.
This could mean a disco running into the early hours.
You would need to check that your room was not over the area used for such functions.
You won't have this problem in the B&B or smaller hotels like the Travel Lodge or Travel Inn.
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“The Britannia” is on Dialstone lane, opposite the main entrance to the hospital and about ½ a mile away.
Phone 0161 930 1000. It has a swimming pool.
We have had negative feedback from previous courses.
Despite the advice here, someone stayed at the Britannia while on the September 2007 course.
Her feedback was that she could not recommend it, adding:
"No cold water in the bath. Smells stale. Good leisure centre though. Cheap & cheerful £30 per night".
Visit their web page for fuller details.
Check their "guest reports" on the web site; they are not very flattering and would put me off.
Check out feedback on Trip Advisor.
With that and the feedback from previous courses, I can't recommend it.
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Return to websites listing accommodation in Stockport.
If you fancy a night out in Manchester, the Yang Sing is renowned.
I also like Shimla Pinks.
There are stacks of other restaurants.
Please let me have feedback on your experience of whichever accommodation you select.
It is invaluable for advising those attending future courses.
Valerie M. McFarlane,
Course Organiser.
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