Vacation Rental Near Stratford-upon-Avon

March 10, 2013 4:41 PM

We'll be traveling to Stratford-upon-Avon this Christmas and we're looking for a self-catering vacation rental either in Stratford proper or within an hour's drive. I'm familiar with VRBO and AirBnB, but what I'm not familiar with is the great Stratford-upon-Avon area. What are the towns/cities that we should consider? Also, if you have any suggestions for specific properties, we'd love to hear them. It would be ideal to find something with "traditional" English charm, but also with the 21st century "necessities" like WiFi.
posted by tmharris65 to travel & transportation around Stratford-Upon-Avon, England (7 answers total)

If you are interested in places outside of Stratford you could look in Leamington Spa or Warwick, which are sort of conjoined towns about 12 miles to the North-East. Parts of Warwick are very old (it has a castle -Warwick castle) and Leamington was a Victorian Spa town (with subsequent development), with lots of tall elegant limestone buildings in the centre. I'm afraid I don't know about specific properties for rental (I grew up in Leamington but don't live there anymore. Feel free to Memail if you have other queries about the area however.) Kenilworth is also old (it has a ruined castle -Kenilworth castle) and has some traditional-looking parts too. (that's about 15 miles North-east of Stratford). I'm not familiar with the area to the west of Statford.
posted by mister_kaupungister at 5:21 PM on March 10

The National Trust rent out cottages.
posted by run"monty at 6:21 PM on March 10

An hour's drive in Britain is, to quote the old adage, a long way. It potentially opens up the entire Cotswolds, particularly market towns to the south and west like Evesham, Chipping Campden or Moreton-in-Marsh. It's an area with a lot of rentals, albeit priced to reflect the area's popularity, but you could definitely find a picture-postcard thatched cottage. (Some of them also have railway stations, which gives you a little more flexibility for travel.)
posted by holgate at 6:35 PM on March 10

English Country Cottages is a good resource for vacation rentals with quintessential England charm. You can filter results to just those with wi-fi.

For really beautiful and unique properties, the Landmark Trust is the best place to go to. They have several places within an hour of Stratford Upon Avon. I, and other Mefites, have stayed at Swarkestone Pavilion, for example, which is awesome. It is 1h10 mins from Stratford Upon Avon. But their properties don't typically have wi-fi, unless I'm mistaken, and are a bit light on modern conveniences like big TVs and whatnot although fine for general self-catering. You can fix the wi-fi issue by buying a pay-as-you go broadband dongle, but you would also need to check on the network you bought whether they had decent mobile coverage. I.e. it's riskier if wi-fi is critical.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:32 AM on March 11 [1 favorite]

I was also going to suggest you check out the Landmark Trust. As Muffin Man notes, they tend not to come with WiFi - I would be surprised if any of them came with it. We tend to stay in their properties for a pre-Christmas bash as they get very cheap leading up to Xmas day, however, do note that they then tend to go through the roof for the xmas-new year 10-day period.

You don't say how many people will be in your party. The Trust's Bath House sleeps two and is close to Stratford. Lengthsman's Cottage sleeps four and is not too far away. Some of their places in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire will likely be within an hour of Stratford.

Following mister_kaupungister's suggestion of Leamington or Warwick as possible bases, I would say go with Warwick, Leamington has some nice buildings but is very studenty as it is one of the main towns providing accommodation for a large local university.
posted by biffa at 3:31 AM on March 11

Very strongly seconding the Landmark Trust (and Swarkestone Pavilion)!
posted by Rock Steady at 9:03 AM on March 11

Thanks to all!

Keep the suggestions coming!

There are only two of us, so we're not looking for anything terribly large.
posted by tmharris65 at 5:37 PM on March 11