Three pleasant mayo days in rochester, no car
 

So, I’d been having puzzling symptoms for a few years, nothing major, but it had gotten frustrating running myself through the slow local medical mills. Most recently, the appointment took six months, and then the doc didn’t want me to get labs for another three. I know, I know. The pandemic.



I have read that Mayo Clinics are the most efficient in healthcare dollars and in getting things sone, plus I have a daughter and son-in-law in the Minneapolis area. So I waited until the health insurance I found, Humana, started coverage and got a February appointment.



Groome Transportation will pick you up at MSP and drop off at selected spots in Rochester. I think <$40 one way. After waiting an hour or so I caught the shuttle across from Terminal 2, which was a lot quieter than I remembered. Disappointingly, the Caribou Coffee on ground floor outside TSA area was closed.



I chose Hotel Indigo for its reviews and downtown location, and that turned out just right. https://www.ihg.com/hotelindigo/hote...dt/hoteldetail



Indigo was recently a Holiday Inn, still shows up that way on some maps. Clean, comfortable, quiet! Stylish lobby on the second floor. Most blessedly, it’s the end of a Skyway spur, making the few blocks’ walk easy and pleasant during rain and snow.



After I checked in, I walked over toward Mayo to get oriented Before my next morning appointment. It was cold, as expected, and the sidewalks were icy and spots. I walked past the site of the original Dr Mayo office, and then up to Thai Pop For an early dinner catty corner from the hotel. This is a fun spot, and the Three Flavor Tofu was especially tasty. https://www.thaipopmn.com.



The general medicine doc was lovely, as was his team and really the entire Mayo gang. He listened carefully to what I had to say, ordered several tests as expected, and was fine with skipping the ones I knew I didn't need. I love that in a doctor.



There's a soaring atrium for whiling away the time between tests and procedures -- a pleasant place to sit. A beautiful young Asian woman took off her coat, sat at the grand piano, and played Handel’s Passacaglia. Not this woman, but general idea:


I got sushi to go at Crave restaurant in the Indigo lobby and took it to my room. Very nice. Later I thought I’d attempt a glass of wine at their bar, but I never can feel comfortable in a solo bar stool. I took the glass of red to my room, and vegged out flipping through the many TV channels.



SO nice to have the skyway to Mayo, with cold rain one entire day.

One day I walked carefully and bundled up to Pasquale’s Neighborhood Pizzeria. Very nice. Sat next to and eavesdropped upon a large table of obvious medical residents and fellows who were talking anything but shop. Eavesdropping is one of the joys of solo travel.

https://pnpizza.com



My other favorite eating experience was at Benedict's, located on the skyway at the Hilton Hotel. One of the best egg benedicts of my life so far. https://benedictsrochester.com



Afterwards, it was an easy walk to the very excellent downtown Public Library, where I wished I had time to read lots of their books. Then it was back to the hotel to get my suitcase and meet the Groome Transportation shuttle back to MSP.





I think Indigo still has a few bugs to work out in their customer service department. On Valentine's evening I went down to the desk around to ask whether there wasn't any sort of maid service, and noticed a large bouquet and flowers wrapped as if from the florist. I said those aren't for me are they, ha ha, and the clerk ha ha’d back. back in the room, I found a text from my husband asking if I had gotten anything from the desk or any messages. Nope, nothing. He suggested checking so I called down and the young guy said Oh yeah oops my bad, and offered to bring them up. I declined, because like a chump I would have felt obligated to give him a tip after all that, rather than the scolding he deserved. He was off doing something else when I went down to get the roses.



The roses were beautiful, a touching gesture by my lonely old man. Big flowers, big vase, no way I could take them and public transport to downtown Minneapolis to meet my son-in-law for a ride to their house two days later. The morning I checked out, I happened to follow a middle-aged woman down our common hallway in the hotel. I said don't worry, I'm not following you. Kind of kidding. She replied, “Do I look worried?” As I was leaving, I tapped on her door to give her the still beautiful roses. I suspect that a lot of the Indigo guests are there for medical reasons.



I hope you never have cause to visit Mayo Clinic, but if you do, i hope your visit is as pleasant as mine was.

I have friends who are at Mayo and live in Rochester and yes, there is a shuttle from Minneapolis airport to Rochester. You are going in the TEETH of their winter when the temp is often below zero. Their downtown hotels and the the Clinic are connected by a series of overhead walkways I believe.
There are Mayo outposts in other parts of the country--Florida and Arizona I believe if that was closer to you but I guess you are also visiting your children. A year seems a really long time to wait even for Mayo.

Well the second half of February is less likely to be below zero F.

Consider flying directly to Rochester, or open jaw paired with MSP if flying Delta.

I think most insurance coverage is determined by calendar year so I hope the Humana coverage is still in place in 2024.

Fall is a great time to drive along the Mississippi near there (puts the Rhine to shame scenery-wise). There are fabulous bike trails around Lanesboro 30 minutes southeast.

Thank you both so much. Fodors has been acting oddly for me lately, like usually not allowing me to post questions or replies. I could only post this by quoting.

This actually was a Rochester trip report for my visit in February. Not sure why it cut off most of it!

Humana came through like a champ. Winter was no hardship, because of the skyway system. I'll try to post the rest of it when I can do that.

Interested to read your report when it posts as we have had outstanding care from the Mayo Clinic, nothing like it!

We have best friends who were at Mayo--husband a doc and wife was in the travel office. When the sheiks from Saudi would come it was apparently really interesting. They would have whole floors of the hospital!!