Hotel Wales
, New York City, United States
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Hotel Wales
, New York City
Rooms: 88
1295 Madison Ave
- New York City - New York - 10128 - United States
Hotel Website |
| 212/876-6000
203
Traveller
Reviews - Hotel Wales
Read 203 additional reviews of Hotel Wales at TripAdvisor.
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Historical Traveller Reviews of Hotel Wales
YOU LOVE IT OR HATE IT
from Arthawk
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.
Excellent place
from A TripAdvisor Member
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).
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).
Great? or mediocre and overpriced?
from rackensack
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.
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.
Dowdy, yes but very charming..
from ricardoanddinah
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.
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.
t waste your money
from A TripAdvisor Member
small rooms, dirty, feathers everywhere, hissing radiators, sink doesn't drain, some rooms have no closets, elevators smelled moldy
enjoyed our stay
from A TripAdvisor Member
We stayed four nights and plan on coming back. We had suite with a king size bed that was very comforable. The location was ideal for shopping and dining in a quiet neighborhood. We tried four different resturants
within two blocks of the hotel and they were all very good and not that expensive as you would think. We wanted a quiet place to stay in the city and we got what we wanted....can't ask for more.
within two blocks of the hotel and they were all very good and not that expensive as you would think. We wanted a quiet place to stay in the city and we got what we wanted....can't ask for more.
Fawlty Towers in NYC?
from jafb
While the staff was pleasant and tried to help, our 3 night stay was marred by numerous problems. We had a suite facing on Madison Ave, but with no sound-proofing on windows or walls very noisy. We could hear everything going on in WC of adjacent room too! We found earplugs left on floor from prior guests--one should use them! Table leg broken off, causing lamp and table to fall over. Phone with damaged cord would not work. No hot water for shower 1 day. Key cards had to be programmed no less than 6X during course of stay.
We had to put our toiletries on window sill (!), rooms are tiny but that is not uncommon in NYC. Breakfast room (parlor) was occupied for 3 days w/ seminar, so we were relegated to small mtg room for (decent) continental breakfast incl in rate.
On the plus side: Bed was large, comfortable and outfitted with fine linens. Good toiletries in bathroom. Staff helped with all our trials.
Altho they adjusted our rate for this disastrous stay, it is not worth it. I would rather spend the $ on a hotel that works, is quieter, etc.
We had to put our toiletries on window sill (!), rooms are tiny but that is not uncommon in NYC. Breakfast room (parlor) was occupied for 3 days w/ seminar, so we were relegated to small mtg room for (decent) continental breakfast incl in rate.
On the plus side: Bed was large, comfortable and outfitted with fine linens. Good toiletries in bathroom. Staff helped with all our trials.
Altho they adjusted our rate for this disastrous stay, it is not worth it. I would rather spend the $ on a hotel that works, is quieter, etc.
Deceptive description
from AtlantaHerder
Wales Hotel is one of those hotels that fits in the very broad and vague definition of "boutique hotel." The Wales represents itself as a four-star hotel, the equivalent of a Loews or Hilton, but it certainly is not. Holes in pillowcases and bedsheet, sheets not changed, worn carpet, electricity to half the room supplied by a cheap and dubious-looking 2-pronged extension cord buried under the carpet, cracked plaster walls and loud window unit air conditioners are neither charming nor quaint. The rooms are tiny -- a "superior" room is perhaps 12x12 -- about half the size of a regular hotel room in a four-star hotel, even in Manhattan. There are a number of discrepancies in the hotel's description. The hotel does not have a restaurant, period. It is NEAR restaurants. It does not have "complimentary" espresso drinks and internet access is $14 per day. Indicative of the level of hotel amenities was my request for an ironing board and iron. The ironing board brought to me (the room did not have one) was a dorm-sized table-top ironing board - wholly inadequate. The hotel's location provides excellent access to central park and museums; however, if you are paying $250 per night (before tax) for what is represented to be a four-star hotel, you are going to be very disappointed.
Different
from wrecks
A nice, kinda funky place. Rooms are small. My wife and I had a one-bedroom suite; I saw a regular room which might be fine for one person. Staff friendly. Very nice bed linen. They charge $12/night for wireless internet. My biggest complaint was the noisy window air conditioner -- reminded me of a motel.
Ok for museums but wish we stayed midtown
from A TripAdvisor Member
Just got back from 2 day stay in superior queen room. Nice hotel with friendly staff.
A few complaints/comments
-if you are offered a cheaper price for a standard room take it because I doubt there is a difference between the queen and standard.
-Our room was small, nice linens and aveda products but the shower/bathroom could have used work. By the end of the second day we still couldn't figure out the shower and it was either scalding hot or very cold.
-no complimenatry water as advertised, not a huge deal but provide it if your going to advertise
-if your doing the museums it is a great locations however for everything else you must go downtown
-for $240/night I believe I just expected a little more, even in NY. I most likely would not elect to stay here again
A few complaints/comments
-if you are offered a cheaper price for a standard room take it because I doubt there is a difference between the queen and standard.
-Our room was small, nice linens and aveda products but the shower/bathroom could have used work. By the end of the second day we still couldn't figure out the shower and it was either scalding hot or very cold.
-no complimenatry water as advertised, not a huge deal but provide it if your going to advertise
-if your doing the museums it is a great locations however for everything else you must go downtown
-for $240/night I believe I just expected a little more, even in NY. I most likely would not elect to stay here again
Top Local Tips for New York City
Woodberry commons Mkae sure you go if you what great value on cloths , desiner wear etc
easy conveniences purchase a metro card and a City Pass asap...this made our trip so easy. we never stood in any line at any museum, restaurant and we were in NYC for the week of July 4th.
public transportation use it. driving a car in nyc is impossible
- (hotels)
Other names for Hotel Wales
- wales hotel new york city
- hotel wales
- Address: 1295 Madison Ave - New York City - New York - 10128 - United States
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