A neighbour to the North needs help!

Hi all. I am new here. I have been reading and posting mainly in the Ontario message board but I realized that maybe one of you can help me out. I am having RNY surgery at Holy Name in Teaneck N.J. on April 6th with Dr. E. Goodman. I am really lucky that my provinical health plan has approved me to leave Canada for the surgery. The current wait time up here is 5-12 years!!!! Anyhow, back to my problem....I am coming down to the hospital on the 3rd of April, and will need a hotel room for my friend for the whole time and for myself post surgery. We will need to stay for approx 10 days in the Teaneck area. I am wondering if someone knows of a local bed and breakfast, small hotel or motel, etc. that does not charge the high costs of the Marriott or the Crowne Plaza. I am a single mom, public school teacher, who is on a budget. Can anyone suggest something? I have had no luck on the net and the Marriott says they will not give me a discount. Any leads would be soooo much appreciated Sidney

Hi, I'm not in Teaneck, but will ask around and have an answer by Monday. Teru

Hi Sidney, Congrats on yor upcoming surgery!! I'd be very interested to hear what responses you get to this question, as I will be in the same situation this coming summer! I'm also anxious for you to get back and tell me all about your experience... so take lots of notes, please! LOL In all seriousness, April 6th sounds like a great date, and I'm sure you will get to the losing side safely and smoothly!! peach

hi sidney, i just went on mapquest.com and put in teaneck nj. and clicked on hotels. it gave me a whole list. ramada was 49.00 per nught. and i`m sure if you call whoever you choose they may give you a better rate for extended stay. good luck!!

I have tried on Yahoo and Google too. The Ramada is totally sold out! It would appear that anything which is a reasonable rate is sold out...I guess being so close to New York city that is to be expected. I just cannot afford the over $3000 US it would cost me to stay at the Marriott. sidney

sidney, when do you plan on arriving and when do you plan on leaving.i`ll keep poking around.

Hi Sidney - check with the hospital - some times they might have connections or get special rates. I think some hospitals may even have available housing. Give them a call and see. Good luck! Sherri

Sherri, Thanks for the suggestion. I had already spoken to the people at Holy Name, and I called the local hotels asking if they give a discount for people at the hospital and the resounding answer is NO. I am continuing looking for someplace that is not $200 a night. So far I have found nothing under $159 per night in driving distance. sigh anyhow, I will keep my search going. Thank you for all your support...it's nice to know that there are wonderful people trying to help me Sidney

Try a hotel chain called "Extended Stay America" -- www.extendedstayhotels.com. I stayed at their Ramsey, NJ location back in January after I had my lower body lift. That location is about 17 miles (1/2 hr drive) from Teaneck, but there may be a closer location. Their minimum cost at Ramsey is $79 per night, booked thru the internet. Each hotel room has a mini-kitchen so you or your friend wouldn't have to eat out all the time too. That was important for me since I wasn't in any shape to go out. They have locations near the following Metro NJ areas: Edison Hanover Meadowlands Mt Olive Newark Philadelphia Piscataway Princeton Ramsey Red Bank Somerset I don't know Jersey all that way, so would have to do some research to find the closest location to Teaneck for you -- but maybe some other Jerseyite can help you out with that. Good luck, Nannette

Hi, My suggestion is to look into www.priceline.com ... I use it ALL the time when travelling back up to Canada to visit family .. it's a GREAT service that's come in handy for us over and over and over again. If you aren't comfortable with the way their service works ... www.expedia.com is also handy (we've used that for trips to Montreal). Glad to hear that OHIP has come through for you ... I've heard of how difficult it can be to get them to approve for various health and medical services etc etc. Are you planning on driving down? I'm Canadian - we are 10 years living in New Jersey this year (!!!) - and am, as I said, back and forth a LOT ... especially now that my daughter's attending University of Toronto... We also have lots of family scattered all over southern Ontario from Hamilton to Mississauga to Scarborough ... Good luck!! - Carol Fox