I travel a good deal.  This is the worst hotel experience, by far.\n\nThis is an older Embassy Suites but I thought that its location in the tony Biltmore area of Phoenix would assure that it's well-kept.  Incorrect assumption.  This is the filthiest hotel I've ever seen.\n\nI should have known I was in for utter disappointment when I arrived for my stay around 12:45 am.  I am dead tired and fumbling with two bags when I happen upon a security guard standing in front of the hotel taking a smoke.  Instead of holding the door for me, he watched me balance my bags and purse with an amused grin, as I struggled with the the hotel door.  Thanks for nothing.  I get to the front desk and the check-in process is fairly smooth.  I'm booked into a room that is on a far end of the hotel.  I hike over there and proceed to get ready for bed when more problems ensue. The bathroom wall has what appears to be a streak of blood running down it.  I was too grossed out to investigate further.  There is also a bent wire hanger on the picture frame over the toilet.  The wallpaper is peeling and the ceiling is showing signs of a bad leak from upstairs.  Really?  I am appalled at this point but since it's after 1 am, I reason that I can just get a little shut-eye and change rooms first thing in the morning.  My plans quickly changed when I turned down the bed covers to find lint and make-up on them.  I can't do this.  I call the front desk and request an immediate room change.  The lady I spoke too was extremely apologetic and offered to move me right away.  She said she'd send up a security guard to help with my bags and get me into a better room/area of the hotel.  You know where this is going, right?  Yes, approximately 10 minutes later the grinning smoker appears at the door.  He hands me a key for a room on the opposite side of the hotel and makes the assessment that I have a pretty good handle on my bags so he'll just point me in the direction of where I should go.  The new room looks exactly like the first one, albeit a little cleaner.  The bathroom looked acceptable and the bed covers were free of foreign substances.  It was past my bedtime, I needed sleep.\n\nWith a little rest and fresh eyes, the hotel didn't get any better for me.  I'm sure in its heyday this was THE place to stay.  Sadly, it is just neglected and doesn't warrant the nightly room charges (it's not cheap).  The common areas are filthy.  I promise that I'm not a germaphobe.  I really didn't want to touch anything in this hotel.  The elevator buttons and door handles were dirty.  I had to carry napkins with me so I wouldn't have to touch them.  The carpet in the lobby and elevators looked like a ton of toddlers had had their way with a box of Ritz crackers.  And, no, I didn't catch them on an off day.  It looked like this for my entire three-day stay.  I failed to mention the ceiling fan in my new and improved \""clean\"" room.  The dust hanging off of it was so thick.  It clearly hadn't been touched in ages.  As other reviewers have mentioned, the hotel lobby also has an off-putting stench, probably due to the fountains/ponds inside?  I don't know but it's unpleasant.\n\nIf the filth wasn't bad enough, on the last day of my stay I was jarred from sleep at 4 am by a blaring fire alarm.  I pulled the curtain back and saw other guests milling about.  Apparently, there is no intercom system to let guests know what they should do.  When I saw another guest return to her room, I took the gamble that I'd burn in this cess pool and went back to bed.  It was a short-lived nap.  A few hours later, the alarm is blaring again!  I'm deliriously tired and in the process of the pulling on a pair of jeans to exit when housekeeping opens the door.  Really?  The alarm is going off,  it's still early in the a.m. and you're coming in the room to clean?  What in the hell?  What do you clean, anyway?  At this point, I knew it was time to part ways.  I quickly packed and made my exit.  Unbelievable and unforgivable.  Never again.