We have stayed at the Wales several times and would always return. However there are extremes to this hotel and we have seen the best and the worst of it. Once you know what to expect it's a fine place to stay. Double rooms are small but perfectly adequate in the winter; in the summer when they have to have air-con units attached (the hotel has none built in) the rooms are hot and noisy and virtually uninhabitable. Some rooms have no wardrobe, which is odd. I don't know where you hang your clothes there. Undoubtedly the suites are best value and we would strongly recommend one of these. You can have an excellent picnic in your lounge after visiting Dean and Deluca's a few blocks south on Madison, or eat at the hotel restaurant Sarabeth's. Carnegie Hill is a lovely part of town to stay in although there is nothing worth seeing north of here (other than the large wine merchants one block up). The Wales is a very European hotel with its light and airy continental breakfast room contrasting with the rather solemn dark wood panelling and this alone makes it an interesting place to stay in NYC. You can spend an awful lot of money in a nondescript Manhattan hotel but you will always remember the Wales.

We stayed for 7 nights in a suite at a cost of about $1900. As NYC prices go, this place is not expensive and good value for money. NYC hotel rooms are notoriously small and expensive, so getting a suite was the right choice. It was a pleasant environment just to relax in and we thoroughly recommend it.

Other up-sides: free continental breakfast, 24-hour automatic espresso/latte/coffee machine, great location just one block from central park and not far from the subway. I really didn't appreciate the $14/day wireless internet charge (we hooked into a unsecured source that was rather spotty).

Reading the other reviews here, you'd think the reviewers must be talking about different properties. In some ways, that's the case -- but they're all behind the door at 1295 Madison. I'm currently finishing up my second stay in the last six months or so at the Hotel Wales -- the first was in November of 2005 -- and I've seen most of the things reported by the other reviewer: the big airy pleasant suites, the tiny, cramped rooms with tiny, cramped bathrooms, the gracious, well-meaning staff who sometimes don't seem to have it all together. My room on my first stay was a two-room suite on the Madison Ave side of the hotel, roomy and pleasant, except for the bathroom which was smallish but comfortable enough. Large walk-in closet, pleasant sitting room with desk, sofa, coffee table, etc. Large comfortable bed with quality bedding. Phone didn't work right, wireless internet access was expensive and spotty. This time around, I got the same dungeon room that another reviewer seems to have had -- an interior room right next to the internal airshaft. Since the weather's been warm this week, that means I've had to have the windows open in order for the room not to be too hot. Tonight, it's not quite enough, and there's no air conditioner in my room. There apparently are in other rooms off this airshaft, however, as I've had to listen to them roaring on and off all evening. I've also just realized that I've had no cell phone reception much of the time, as my wife just contacted me by e-mail to let me know that she's been trying to call me for hours, and my phone hasn't rung once. (There goes someone else's A/C again).

Other glitches included: difficulty getting anyone at the front desk or room service to answer the phone on occasion; calling for the access code for internet access and having the desk clerk tell me he'd call back with it in a few minutes, only to have to call again myself an hour later; insufficient electrical outlets in my current room for a laptop, a cell phone charger, and one other item; and problems sending and receiving critically important faxes on my last trip.

The comment about the on-and-off nature of the continental breakfast and 24-hour coffee in the Pied Piper Room is on target also: at least 3 times in the eight nights or so I've stayed here, the room was unavailable because of a private function, and the breakfast/coffee was either moved elsewhere or was non-existent.

The moral? If you can spring for one of the deluxe or suite rooms, you'll probably have an acceptable or even excellent experience. Try to get by on a budget here, on the other hand, and you'll probably regret it. Since my room was reserved and paid for by the client I work with nearby, I don't have a lot of say in the matter. Since they have a negotiated rate, it's probably not fair to quote the amounts -- I got a very aggressive rate this time, and so the smaller, less pleasant room wasn't a huge surprise; I've paid more for worse in Manhattan. Last time around the rate was at least $100/night more, but I got a lot more for it.

My family and I spent 6 nights at the Hotel Wales between Xmas and New Years Day 2006. The rooms are spacious (by NYC standards), furnished in a simple yet comfortable style and the beds are comfortable. Our suite had a large walk-in closet, living area (with TV, sofa and chairs), large bedroom with TV, city views and a perfectly adequate bathroom. There is room service provided from Sarabeth's kitchen downstairs...including wine and cocktails (much needed after travelling 8 hours with a two year-old).
The second-floor dining room/tea parlor is a wonderful and quiet place to have breakfast (continental) or tea in the afternoon...Definitely old-world and charming.
This is our second stay at the Wales and would definitely go back. In no way are the accomodations at all comparable to the Four Seasons or the Carlyle but, then again, neither is the price (around $300 for the suite). The location, although pretty far uptown from 5th avenue shopping, is close to all of the city's cultural highlights. Finally, in a city where one is bound to be out of their hotel room by 9 am, I would rather save my money on a splurge lunch at Le Bernardin or dinner at La Grenouille than on $1000 a night (for similar sized room) hotel accomodations. It really depends on what you want out of your visit.