Unacceptable and so disappointing for the brand
I stay in Embassy Suites hotels on most business trips because I enjoy the larger rooms and the nice (free!) breakfast. I also like the fact that the experience is consistent, which is a plus on business travel. (Give me unique and quirky on my personal trips, but predictable on business ones!) I have rarely had bad experiences in Embassy Suites. Staff always seem kind, well trained and dedicated. So to experience an Embassy Suites like this one was such a disappointment. 
The ironic part is that I was actually expecting the polar opposite, given that they tout the fact that they just spent millions renovating the place. I shudder to think what a dump it must have been before...and I wonder where those millions went:
1) The fitness room was pathetic, with a handful of cardio machines, of which two were out of order the length of my stay.
2) The lobby frankly just smelled terrible. Being an ex-smoker, my sense of smell is somewhat debilitated, so the fact that even I could notice it means it must have been pretty bad. My colleague - who probably wished he had smoked to spare him from the stench - described it this way: "It's like a wet cat had a party in here, then died."
3) While the staff were quite friendly, they did seem to have a lot of coverage issues. At one point I called down for a wake-up call. No one answered at the front desk, even after repeated tries. The FRONT DESK. C'mon, really? I finally called the restaurant and asked if they knew how I could find someone. The person offered to take note of my requested wake-up time and send it to the front desk. Do I even need to point out the call never happened? 
4) In the restaurant, a colleague and I waited over 1/2 hour just for some apps.
These last two are, in my experience, usually indicative of a hotel management too cheap to hire sufficient staff. The first two are indicative of an ownership too cheap to maintain its property properly. Whatever the root cause, I certainly won't be staying here again.