Hello ahaugland,
Welcome to this site. I found it very helpful before I had my septal myectomy and papillary myectomy three months ago at St. Mary's.
I posted on this site (welcome HCMr's) about my experience and what I was surprised about, what I was or was not expecting and what I learned. If you poke around on the Hypertrophy Cardiomyopathy site, you will find a treasure trove of information that may help you. You can learn a lot from the folks on here. I may take some time doing research, but I would encourage you to do as much as you are comfortable learning. I found a YouTube video and watched the procedure...that may be too much for others.
We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott that could not have been more convenient. It is the only hotel that is directly across from the front entrance to the hospital. I investigated airBNB's as well, but my guy wanted the Courtyard. It has a Starbucks in the lobby he liked.
I can only speak of my own experience, but the Mayo Clinic, aside from being the most excellent organization on the planet, is very organized and runs like a machine. I received by mail my list of tests with dates, times, locations. They keep you on schedule and you are very busy the day before surgery. In my case my surgery was scheduled on a Wednesday. Sunday was Covid testing, downtown. They had me scheduled for labs on Monday, but due to Covid and convenience, they did labs and Covid test both on Sunday. Monday was cardiac MRI, Tuesday was Coronary Angiography (Heart Cath) and Wednesday was surgery. We met with Dr. Bagameri and his team late Tuesday afternoon. It is a surreal experience. Just typing this takes me back. I was discharged the following Sunday (five days total) and we flew home on Thursday after a Wednesday Clinic post op visit. I was fine to fly. But you are definitely not able to do things for yourself. After surgery we walked and walked and walked all over the area. There are houses to the right of the hospital. Hotels and houses to the left. There is a really nice market close by, a few blocks...Fresh Thyme for shopping healthy food. And they have wine! Also a McDonalds for weak moments. There are many hotels and restaurants near. And the hospital has a shuttle that runs downtown on a regular schedule. Lots of eating choices there. For families sake, closer to the hospital is better. The weather may be a challenge!
Look around this site. You will find so much help. I was so nervous. But looking back, I had no idea how strong we really are as humans. There is no finer place to have this surgery than Mayo Clinic. The nurses, doctors, housekeeping everyone, are amazing people.