Wells House has a generally symmetrical square design around an inner courtyard, with the building's main entrance to the south.
It has three 9-bay storeys, and projecting 2-bay towers on each corner which add an attic storey, and which are each topped with four small cupolas and spires.
The style of window varies by floor; segmental arches on the ground, round-headed with Gibbs surrounds on the first, and a surround of grooved pilaster strips on the second floor.
The attic windows come in groups of three round-headed windows flanked by composite pilasters and separated by composite columns.
Unusually, all windows retain their original timber sashes, with different pane sizes and patterns to each floor.

The masonry of the facade is richly textured and detailed; the ground storey and tower corners are faced with the "astrakhan"-type vermiculation used on parts of the Louvre, and smooth-faced ashlar walls to the upper storeys.
An arched central doorway has a deeply recessed surround and carved keystone head.

Internally, the accommodation was spacious, featuring a hall with a cantilevered stair at each end with cast-iron balusters of unusual design using geometric shapes.
The interior was described as:
A noble dining room, calculated to dine comfortably from 80 to 100 guests, a large general public drawing room, a private drawing room for ladies only, a coffee room for general visitors, or those not wishing to join the company at the table d'hôte, a billiard room, thirteen private sitting rooms, and six bath rooms.

— John Mayhall, The Annals of Yorkshire, 1878
Plaster cornices and archways decorate the main corridors, with light entering through large lunettes which probably contained coloured glass.
There are Greek ornaments over the doors and many marbled pilasters.
In each spandrel of the arches which cross the corridors over each bay, is one of Brodrick's characteristic stylised rosettes.
The building predominantly houses large numbers of single bedrooms, with double-suites in the corner towers.
They were designed as plain and dignified with little decorative plasterwork and austere fireplaces.
The original bathhouse had extensive facilities set in the basement under the adjacent terrace; marbled walls and encaustic tiled floors in the stair area are indicators of the original opulence.
Wells House has a generally symmetrical square design around an inner courtyard, with the building's main entrance to the south. It has three 9-bay storeys, and projecting 2-bay towers on each corner which add an attic storey, and which are each topped with four small cupolas and spires. The style of window varies by floor; segmental arches on the ground, round-headed with Gibbs surrounds on the first, and a surround of grooved pilaster strips on the second floor. The attic windows come in groups of three round-headed windows flanked by composite pilasters and separated by composite columns. Unusually, all windows retain their original timber sashes, with different pane sizes and patterns to each floor.
The masonry of the facade is richly textured and detailed; the ground storey and tower corners are faced with the "astrakhan"-type vermiculation used on parts of the Louvre, and smooth-faced ashlar walls to the upper storeys. An arched central doorway has a deeply recessed surround and carved keystone head.
Internally, the accommodation was spacious, featuring a hall with a cantilevered stair at each end with cast-iron balusters of unusual design using geometric shapes. The interior was described as:
A noble dining room, calculated to dine comfortably from 80 to 100 guests, a large general public drawing room, a private drawing room for ladies only, a coffee room for general visitors, or those not wishing to join the company at the table d'hôte, a billiard room, thirteen private sitting rooms, and six bath rooms.
— John Mayhall, The Annals of Yorkshire, 1878
Plaster cornices and archways decorate the main corridors, with light entering through large lunettes which probably contained coloured glass. There are Greek ornaments over the doors and many marbled pilasters. In each spandrel of the arches which cross the corridors over each bay, is one of Brodrick's characteristic stylised rosettes. The building predominantly houses large numbers of single bedrooms, with double-suites in the corner towers. They were designed as plain and dignified with little decorative plasterwork and austere fireplaces. The original bathhouse had extensive facilities set in the basement under the adjacent terrace; marbled walls and encaustic tiled floors in the stair area are indicators of the original opulence.
Wells House, Ilkley