I met the surgeon this morning via telehealth

I didn't know they'd pay for a companion too if my doctor recommends it; thanks for letting me know. 

When you go for surgery, they expect someone to be there to discharge you so the doctor should have no problem saying you need a companion.  If you drive then it doesn't matter if it is ticked or not as you get the mileage whether there is one or two of you so no point in putting the 2nd person on as then they split the grant in two.  If you fly or take a bus then you each get a cheque as long as you submit the receipts for bus/flying.  Only one of you will get the $100 towards a hotel and it's the patient that gets that.  

Hotels nearby are limited. The Howard Johnson is nothing fancy but they renovated in the last two years and rooms are okay.  My husband wanted to be close to the hospital so he stayed there and it was okay for a few days.  I have stayed at the Super 8 in Chinatown many times as well and it is nicer but further away from the hospital.  Some people are turned off by it because it's on the 3rd floor of a Chinese Mall.  

Oh, good to know the rooms at Howard Johnson are not as bad as the reviews say.  My main concern was dirt and smoke; I don't want to be in a dirty environment post op, and I cannot be near smoke at all as I have severe asthma.   A lot of the reviews said even the non smoking rooms smelled smokey.

I had no idea the Super 8 was in a mall!  Wow.  Thanks for telling me.  As long as there is an elevator, I guess that would be OK for walking in afterward, lol.

Kathy

I don't have asthma but do have allergies and I could not smell smoke at all.  I stayed on both the first and second floor and they only allow smoking on the third floor.  Last time I was there the first floor wasn't renovated yet but I have heard that they pulled up the carpet all over and replaced it with the same flooring as the second floor. There is no elevator in this hotel so if you don't think you can walk the stairs then ask about the first floor.  I always just called the hotel to ask questions.  Gene was the manager a few years back and was very helpful. I would call and ask if there is carpet in the rooms on the first floor.  I had to ask to be moved to the second floor as the carpet really bothered my allergies.

Super 8 has an elevator from the main street outside up to the Super 8.  It's a bit tough to find it since you normally are looking for a whole building being the hotel.

If you end up having to go down for pre-op, you could do like I did and stay there one night for the pre-op and decide then if you think a few days would be fine.  I dragged hubby along with me to pre-op and let him decide if he wanted to stay or not since he was there more nights than I was.

Thanks for the info; I'll def check it out.