UPDATE-DURHAM HOTEL INFO

[Guest guest]

Hi Again,

Well, Tom called the Homewood and the manager said that is indeed the lowest

they offer- $79 a night- but that we should call the hospital as they can

offer a $60-65 rate! We were so psyched! So Tom called the hospital but it

is only offered through Univ Hosp at Chapel Hill, not at Durham Regional.

So, we decided to stay at the Hawthorn Suites for the $55. a night, as that

is such a great deal.

Since hubby is at work (lol) I agreed to call the 1-877-MED-STAY number and

got this awesome lady, , who was very helpful. I was disappointed,

though, to learn that the bedroom does NOT have 2 dbl beds, as I was told,

but rather one queen bed, (but the sofa is a queen bed, not a double).

Since 2 of us are having surgery, this will not work out for us. said

that the Hawthorn also has 2 BR suites. Yeah, I said, at $75. medical stay

rate--we might as well stay at the Homewood. She told me she thought she

could get it for $69, but I boldly asked if she thought they would go lower.

She told me to hold on while she called the mgr. Then she comes back to say

that the Marketing Director has agreed to let us have the 2 BR suite--2

bedrooms (with doors), 2 baths (with 2 teenage girls this is a mercy, believe

me!), full kitchen, living room, full breakfast, etc. (all the other stuff

mentioned before), for $65 a night!! She booked us from the 7th -17th, just

to be safe, but we can leave at any time as long as we let them know the

morning we want to check out.

Doubting asked for the info to be faxed to him at work and he has it

in his hot little hand right now, with an auth# and all the details spelled

out.

BTW, did say that eventhough the Homewood seems closer (it is in

miles), it actually takes a lot longer coming from Chapel Hill and that the

Homestead is around 15 min from the doc. She also assured me that we would

be very happy with the accommodations. Oh, and she said with the computer

data port, you don't have to worry about local call fees for the computer.

So, we'll bring 1-800 phone cards and make our local calls using those to

avoid the .75 charge per local call.

She also said, for what's it's worth, that she did not think we would be

happy with Duke Towers and that she wouldn't want us to " stay in that area. "

Now I don't know what that means, and I can't remember if anyone is booked

there or not, but if you want more info call at 1-877-MED-STAY. She

is a real sweetie and can get the BEST deals for area hotels.

I was thinking that some of you friends from the area might also shed some

light on the hotel question, as I really have no first hand knowledge yet. I

will post when I can about our stay at the Homestead, though! Hope this

helps!

Regards,

Debbie in IL

MGB 8/10 Cigna (1st appeal)--BMI 40

Daughter (age 16) MGB 8/9 Cigna (3rd appeal)--BMI 45