Having a baby born in the hotel during its 40th anniversary year is a blessing for the Village Green Hotel.
So hotel general manager Robert Glattfelder and his staff wanted to do something special for Isabella Di Venere and her family after the little girl was born in room 131 of the hotel at around 5:30 a.m. on Nov. 16.
Glattfelder presented Isabella and her mom, Myriah, from Grindrod, with a certificate that will allow the girl or her family to stay in one of the hotel’s deluxe suites one night a year for the rest of Isabella’s lifetime, effective on Isabella’s first birthday.
“We just wanted to make things a little bit more comfortable for Isabella,” said Glattfelder.
“It was such a blessing to have her born here, we wanted to do something special.”
Isabella was born in the hotel after her mom could not access a bed at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.
Di Venere was eight days overdue and the Grindrod family travelled to VJH Nov. 15 so she could be induced at 9 a.m. They then waited for the process to proceed while visiting friends.
They returned to the hospital at 5:30 p.m. but she was barely dilated, so they booked a hotel room to have a place to wait things out.
Contractions began and the family headed back to VJH at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 16. However, she still wasn’t admitted because she wasn’t apparently dilated enough.
The family said Di Venere was wheeled out of the hospital because she couldn’t walk out.
Contractions escalated at 4:30 a.m. and labour began when Di Venere was in the washroom.
She got to a bed and a call was placed to 911. An operator gave delivery instructions.
Paramedics soon arrived and Di Venere and baby were taken immediately to the hospital.
Isabella weighed seven pounds, two ounces at birth and is now up to seven pounds, eight ounces and doing just fine.
Her family was overwhelmed by the hotel’s gift.
“It’s awesome, I love it,” said Myriah.
The Di Veneres are still seeking answers from Vernon Jubilee Hospital and/or Interior Health as to why Myriah was not admitted, and said at the time the situation involving Isabella’s birth could have turned out differently without medical personnel.
A spokesperson for the hospital said “we regret that the delivery was not what the family expected, and that we are committed to improving service delivery whenever we can.”
The family had not heard back from VJH or Interior Health as of Wednesday.
