CDTraveler

I appeal to the collective wisdom here to help me pick the right area to stay near Birmingham for 3 nights. First day we will arrive late afternoon (probably via car) from MAN. Next few days we want to see Warwick Castle, CadburyWorld and Coventry outside Birmingham and the Jewelry Quarter and gardens within the city.

I'm looking for a *** or **** property, ideally with a pool and free parking, which I suspect means the suburbs, not city center. Expedia offers me no shortage of choices, but in terms of which area is most convenient for our to-do list, I would appreciate the guidance of FT.

stut

That whole corridor out from Solihull to Leamington Spa is a decent area, which would seem to suit your needs (including direct trains to Moor Street and the Jewellery Quarter if you want to avoid the city traffic).

Swiss Tony

I have stayed at the Marriott Forest of Arden a few times before. Nice setting, free parking and has a pool. Downside would be it's almost an hour round to Cadbury World from there.

Have you thought about swapping Coventry for Stratford upon Avon? You also need to allow a good few hours at Warwick Castle if you want to do it justice. They have a strong programme of events/demonstrations, especially in the peak summer months.

CDTraveler

Is it an hour because of traffic, distance or tiny country roads?

The trip is a graduation gift for the offspring. He is a history buff who's been studying WWI and WWII since he learned to read. However he regards anything by Shakespeare as a form of torture, so Coventry is in, Stratford is definitely out. Warwick Castle gets a full day in the schedule.

Gagravarr

I'd have a look at the hotels by the NEC / Birmingham Airport. If there's no big event on, they can be decent value. It's a short frequent train ride into the city centre, and right by the motorway for visiting Warwick / Stratford / etc.

Swiss Tony

There's a fair bit of motorway/dual carriageway, but you need to loop right around Birmingham & come back in from the opposite side. once you leave the motorway to get to CadburyWorld, it is quite a slow drive. I think 45mins is fastest you'll do it, but do loop round the South rather than the North - it's longer but the roads are faster.

Kenilworth castle is worth a visit and very much in the area, too.

I'm not a WWII buff, but assuming you're heading further south from Birmingham, you might want to check out Bletchley Park. They have rebuilt various code breaking bits of kit that helped finish off WWII in Europe. There's the Enigma, but also this in a neighbouring museum http://www.tnmoc.org/explore/tunny-gallery. They do a good talk about it & the role it played.

Oh and if you are going to stay at the Marriott, do pay the extra to use the M6 toll North of Birmingham. It's bliss compared to the rest of the M6.

Stewie Mac

Graduating which school? We went to Cadbury World three months ago for my son's birthday, and he and his younger brother enjoyed it but weren't wowed, and they're 9 and 7 - if your son is graduating from more than junior school, he may be unimpressed....

CDTraveler

Graduating secondary school - 17.

Warwick Castle, Coventry, Churchill's War Rooms, Imperial War Museum - for him.

Cadbury Chocolate World - for me!

Any thoughts on Chesford Grange Hotel? It's looking like more of what we want to see is near it, not actually in/near Birmingham.

Tizzette

Cabbaging in, forgive me. But how is Forest of Arden for an overnight stay before flying out of Birmingham at 9 AM? What would the drive to the airport be like? It is a Marriot category 5 so a great use of the 1-5 certificate but I don't want to add stress if the traffic is always bad or the route confusing.