My wife is going into hospital next week, I checked whether they had a free internet connection, but they haven't, so I am trying to find the cheapest way to get her connected. I am not very computer literate but I know that I can get her a dongle to connect to the internet but am not sure what size she would require as she will be in hospital for around 4/5 days. I noticed a "Netgear Trek" N 300 Travel Router & Range Extender, but I have no idea whether this would work or not, so I would welcome any advice that you can offer
The device you mention only extends an existing internet connection; it doesn't provide you with such a connection in the first place.
It would help to know what type of device she wants to connect to the internet. A Windows-based laptop, for example, can accept a standard USB dongle (which you can get from any mobile phone shop). However they won't work with Android tablets.
You checked that there is no free interent, stan, but do they have a fee based service? Is it worth just paying that for a few hours each day in exchange for the relevant access password or was there no connection available at all?