When we made the final decision that we’d be heading down to NOLA for my DIEP flap surgery, the next order of business was to find somewhere to stay. I couldn’t imagine staying in some boring ass, non-descript hotel room, even though the Center works with many local hotels to offer their patients a discount. Access to room service was decidedly not worth it in my opinion, so VRBO, Airbnb, HomeStay, etc. to the rescue.
But, finding the “perfect” place to stay proved a little more challenging than I would have thought as I had a list of pretty specific criteria. If you end up traveling for your surgery and are unable to recover from surgery at home, hopefully this post will be of some help and set your mind at ease that it can be done and can possibly, be even better.
As you’ve seen if you follow us on Instagram, we ended up finding quite the gem.
Things I was hoping to have in my home away from home:
- comfortable queen or king bed (preferably not memory foam, as I’ve found it makes me warm and I like sleeping cool)
- at least one “substantial” nightstand (to hold all the pill bottles, glasses, phone, water bottle, bell, reading material, remotes, etc.)
- greenery views (another reason I didn’t want a hotel as many of them look out onto other city buildings)
- comfortable, private outdoor space
- well equipped kitchen since we’d be eating a lot of meals in
- washer / dryer on site
- a/c (duh)
- ceiling fan (see “I like sleeping cool”)
- good wifi (so Bill could work remotely)
- good natural light (could NOT be a dark cave)
- tv in bedroom w/ netflix, HBO go, etc.
- easy in and out couch (w/ a chaise section may be ideal)
- walk in shower w/ hand held sprayer (so we/I could have more control over the water direction and pressure)
- porch swing would be awesome
- room darkening shades (definitely needed my beauty sleep on this “vacay”)
- 1st fl bedroom (ie. no stairs)
- walking distance to restaurants
- quiet neighborhood
- hosted by a woman
Well, damn if NOLA Happy Home didn’t check off almost all of those boxes. The beds are memory foam, but they weren’t too hot and thankfully not any more difficult to get out of, which is why I was also opposed to having one. I was super grateful to have a table fan since there was not a ceiling fan in my room that I could use at night, though. I imagine that also helped with the heat issue. No porch swing, but a couple of porch chairs were a nice respite, when they weren’t being used by anyone staying on the other side of the house. And the leather sofas didn’t have a chaise section to them, but aside from being a little slippery when reclining, were relatively comfortable. I usually used my super comfy Ugg back lounger though as the seat arms were very low.
Callie agreed, too that we had found our home away from home.
You may be wondering why I was interested in having a female host. In all honesty it was because I not only didn’t really want to explain to an unknown male the reason for my visit, but it was my belief that a woman would better understand what I’d be going through. It turns out that Leigh, our host, helped her best friend recover from breast surgery in Texas and knew all too well what my challenges and issues might be. She could not have been kinder. Not only were her replies to any questions practically immediate, she was more than happy to help with anything we needed. When we asked if there was a fan on the property (master bed didn’t have a ceiling fan, but the second bedroom did), she delivered one that day to our front porch. She even stocked my bathroom with colored towels so I wouldn’t need to worry about keeping white ones pristine. She even set up a couple of interim house cleanings so that it was one less thing Bill had to worry about. It was great coming home from a doctor’s appointment to a clean house and even though we also did loads laundry in between, clean sheets on the bed and fresh towels in the bathroom.
If you’re looking for somewhere to stay in New Orleans, we can’t recommend her beautiful home enough. Check out the listing though as our photos do not do it justice. Follow Nola Happy Home on Insta, too for insider tips on where to go and what to do when you’re in town. And for more beautiful photos of their home and our favorite city.
We’re so thankful we were able to find such a special place and I have no doubt being in such a welcoming, cozy, comfortable, beautiful home helped me heal faster and we have our fingers crossed we’ll be able to stay when I head down in the Fall for my second stage surgery. Our stay was even better than we had hoped and definitely just what the doctor ordered. A very Nola Happy Home indeed.
Stay tuned for Rewind: One Week Post-Op Outing