take a tour before paying deposit
I've also paid a deposit at Adventist (it was recommended by my GP). The hospital also did not mention to me that maternity patients might be put on the 5th floor if no rooms were available on the maternity ward (I assumed that the only rooms we would be put in would be maternity rooms as we are maternity patients...), so I am a bit disappointed by this recent discovery. A nurse on the obstetric ward confirmed this policy to me today. I also could not see any rooms before I paid the deposit as they were all full at the time and I only had 1 week to pay the deposit before the booking would be cancelled. So, I decided to pay the deposit anyway as I had to go private at the last minute.
I finally saw some of the rooms today (2 weeks before I am due to deliver) and, I have to say, they aren't that spectacular considering the money being charged for them. I saw a private room and the labour room. The private room was very average (pros: space for walking around between contractions, tv, shower ; cons: no bath, no camp bed for hubby to sleep on- just a pull out cushion thing for the floor) and as for the labour room 1) the jacuzzi advertised in the obstetrics brochure is not in the labour room itself, it's off the hallway, which means that it could be in use by patients in the 2 other labour rooms 2) there is nowhere for hubby to sleep in the labour room- just a very uncomfortable chair! I would have thought there would be a reclining chair or ottoman or the like in a private hospital environment. I would highly recommend to other people to see the rooms before paying the deposit. You basically need to call the day you plan to visit and ask the obstetrics unit what rooms are available for you to see- I've been there twice now and still haven't seen semi-private rooms. However, the hospital was recommended by my GP as being a bit more capable of handling emergencies than Matilda!