View from our suite at Hyatt House downtown NOLA

My experience in New Orleans before and after surgery at Center for Restorative Breast Surgery

***This post is written solely for other women who will be heading down to NOLA & CRBS for breast surgery***Hopefully my experience can help you as you plan your surgery trip***

After hearing about CRBS (Center for Restorative Breast Surgery) in New Orleans & their advanced techniques, I felt I needed to meet with them. After two phone consults, I made an in person appointment to meet with the surgeons (Ordoyne & Trahan).

On this trip, we visited a few potential places we could stay after the procedure. One thing we noticed was that to enter many of the businesses, we had to knock or call and wait for them to unlock the doors. The hotels were downtown and it didn't feel really safe. I wanted to make sure we found a place we felt safe as it would just be my mom & myself. 

NOLA

11/29- Drove to near New Orleans and stayed overnight in Gonzales, LA. It's only about an hour from CRBS & it is a safe area with several hotels near a nice outlet complex.  Most of the hotels were booked that night, but thankfully SpringHill Suites Baton Rouge Gonzales had availability. There are plenty of nice hotels there on S. Cabela's Parkway. I really liked this area! Feels much safer than downtown NOLA & we got to do some shopping.

11/30- Had my pre-op appointments at CRBS beginning at 9:45.  Traffic was crazy going from Gonzales to CRBS and I was already highly stressed because of the upcoming procedure. I decided on that drive that we would not be making that drive again the morning of my surgery. We would find a place closer to CRBS. We were at CRBS all day long. They feed you lunch after your CT scan, but my scan was the last thing in the day (due to personal request), so we were starving. I think we finally left there at 4:30.  At the end of the day, we didn't want to drive an hour back to Gonzales, so I booked a room at The Pontchartrain Hotel.

The Pontchartrain Hotel - It is only a couple blocks from the CRBS, so would be convenient when having to get up super early for surgery the next day. They also have valet Parking so we didn't have to go out in the dark to get to the car.  It is a historic hotel and their sign says they are smoke & pet friendly. They also had a really strong candle burning in the lobby which was rough on my fragrance allergy. I planned to take one last really long bath before surgery that night, but our room only had a shower. It was fine, but I wouldn't stay here again. The valet was really helpful moving luggage & getting our car though!

POST- OP Hotel-  I spent a lot of time researching hotels and B&Bs. I wanted a B&B but the travel coordinator at CRBS really discouraged a B&B because they often won't refund you and aren't able to work with you if dates have to be moved, surgery gets cancelled or any other changes occur. So, I took her advice.  

HYATT HOUSE: We chose to stay at the Hyatt House in Downtown New Orleans.  We visited it first & took a tour. The sales manager (Matthew) was so helpful and I emailed him a couple times. They really try to accommodate CRBS patients, especially if you speak with the sales department. It was only $89/night & we were upgraded to a suite. We had a kitchen, fridge, stovetop, microwave, plates, cups, nice sized shower, living room and 2 queen beds in the bedroom. The Sales Manager told me they would put a shower chair in the shower for us and a recliner in the room.  He also told me about a company called Mr. Wheelchair. They deliver medical equipment and have a electric recliner that they delivered for $150.00 for 4 nights. It was great! That is where I slept and sat. After a previous DIEP patient encouraged me to have 2 people there with me to care for me, I went ahead and booked another regular room at the Hyatt house so that my mom & hubby could rotate getting some uninterrupted rest in the other room. That worked out really well and I think they both appreciated having a space to retreat to at times.

Pros of Hyatt House: 

- Connected to the Hyatt Regency. I walked with my walker here almost every night. There's a nice indoor connection between the two hotels. The Regency also has several restaurants, as it's a conference hotel, but only two restaurants were open. They were nice. The Regency also has a Starbucks right when you cross over from the Hyatt house. My hubby got us coffee each morning. On the same floor as Starbucks, they have a little gift shop full of NOLA merch.

-Starbucks & indoor restaurants

-Good lobby to walk around in. Beautiful views of downtown New Orleans

- The suite was covered in windows of downtown NOLA. It was beautiful and made our room feel much more open.

-They will give you a recliner & shower chair if you book ahead through the Sales Department.

-Mr. Wheelchair company can deliver a power recliner there with no issues & pick it up as well. Super convenient.

- Hyatt House served a breakfast that was a little different because of Covid, but so much better than the bag breakfast many hotels are now serving. They give you a choice of drink, choice of main meal and fruit/yogurt as well.

-They have a wheelchair that they can send down via security for you to use to get from front door to your room. I brought a walker that had a spot I could sit on if needed, so I just used my walker for most of our stay at the hotel. It was great b/c I could sit anytime when I got a little tired or needed a break. 

- Doordash- I had never used this before, but it was amazing & they delivered everything from cough drops from Walgreens to delicious cajun meals each night. A family member gave us a $200 email gift card to door dash & that was the best gift ever!!

-Catty Car Corner Restaurant- right out the front door of the hotel. Next door. Super convenient, close, & open for breakfast and lunch. Home cooking, lots of main courses, as well as sides to choose from. My hubby loved this place!

Cons of Hyatt House: 

- There was no valet parking, so if it had just been my mom with me, I would not have felt safe for her to go alone into the parking garage. Thankfully my husband came to stay with us, so this wasn't an issue.

- It's a little tricky to check in. You have to buzz the hotel or use your room key for them to open the door at the street. Once they open the door, you take an elevator up to the hotel lobby and check in. Then you take a different elevator to your room. 

As long as my husband came along, or if they got valet service working again, I would totally stay at the Hyatt House again.

Pharmacy:  We used the Walgreens that is just a couple blocks from the hospital (CRBS). However, being that this is downtown and there is a huge homeless population, Walgreens does not have buggies or baskets for anyone to use. This place was a little iffy, but we went during the day right after my discharge to pick up the prescriptions my mom had dropped off earlier in the day. My husband & mom were in the store and left me in the backseat with the car running. We parked next to a really old police car, that I honestly don't even know worked and I never saw a policeman. A gentleman came out of Walgreens and just started going to a few cars trying to open car doors, including mine.  Thankfully ours were locked. A little unnerving, but he finally left, totally not concerned with the 1980s police car next to me. After this trip to Walgreens, we were at the hotel and could just door dash things from Walgreens.

Mr. Wheelchair- This company was recommended by Matthew at the Hyatt House. They delivered an electric recliner & picked it up. I was worried if they would actually deliver it, as I never received a confirmation email. But they delivered it and then called after I left hotel to ask which room I had stayed in so they could go pick it up.  It cost us $150 for 4 nights. Mrwheelchair.com 

I had a good experience and I think the Hyatt House with it's conveniences, nice views, Starbucks, next door cafe, restaurants & Matthew in Sales, was a great choice!