American Executive Inn Mesa — Hotel in Mesa

Oh boy, where to start? I booked this "motel" on Expedia a few months before my husband and I were due to travel to Mesa, AZ for the Atomic Monster Weekend Convention (lol) for my husband's birthday. Didn't want to spend an arm and a leg so we booked a motel, which served us decently in the past when we traveled to Idaho and around Nevada but holy hell was this place on another level. ||||We roll up on the day of check-in well within the window of proper check-in time (3:00pm - 10:00pm was the check in window; we arrived around 4:00pm) after driving 5 hours to get there and the first thing we see is a "lady" with no pants on and (hopefully) flesh colored underwear, standing outside of her room, leaning up against the door jam with the door hanging open smoking a cigarette. Always a stellar sign. ||||Any who, we walk up to the lobby door and pull on the door handle. It's locked. Huh? We've never stayed at a place with a locked lobby. Weird; must mean there's a lot of crime in the area. Another great sign. We notice there's a doorbell so we ring it. It takes about a minute or two for some guy to come up to the window next to the front door al la gas station style and demand we tell him why we're there. What do we look like, cops? Is this a motel? What gives? How many red flags is that? I tell him that we have a reservation via Expedia.com for two nights and are there to check in. He demands to see our I.D.'s. We push them through the opening in the window and he finally lets us in the lobby. ||||Upon entering, he confirms our last names and informs us that our booking was cancelled. I tell him I didn't cancel it and he states that his manager cancelled the booking. I asked him why. Turns out, these clowns tried to charge my card before I even showed up, which was in direct violation of Expedia's policies. I found out later, after I had a chance to check my email after this whole debacle that they had tried to charge my card around noon and cancelled the booking at 1:37pm. It stated in my confirmation email that the money would be due at the property and that my card wouldn't be charged until I arrived, which is how we've always done it with no issues. ||||Whatever, upon him telling me it was declined, I assumed my bank declined it because we live in Nevada and this place was in Arizona and we don't travel often so they probably flagged it as suspicious (I didn't check my email until I got back out to the car), and informed him as such, but I was more than happy to pay now that I was standing in front of him, like the confirmation email had originally stated. I even informed him that I had cash to pay for the entire stay if he wasn't comfortable with a card, but either way would work for us. ||||He told me "too bad" so sad, I can't do anything for you because the manager had cancelled it because our card was declined. I asked him why he didn't try to call us when they tried to run our card (illegally by the way) to discuss the matter. He told us it was our responsibility to call him....except how were we suppose to know there was an issue to call about without checking our email or getting a call from him? Who checks their email while their driving? That doesn't make sense. He shrugged and told us it was our problem. Cool dude. ||||I told him that I'd like to talk to the person that cancelled the reservation then since he wasn't able to do anything further. He tells me that the manager is offsite and that he'd have to call him. Okay, go ahead. I'll wait considering I have no where else to go. ||||He gets on the phone and speaks to someone briefly and then hangs up. He told me that the manager would not be back and that there wasn't anything he could do because "it was a Friday" which means he'd already sold my room to someone else probably for a better rate than what Expedia was offering, as the nightly rate was $95 per night and we were only paying $113 for two nights. I shrugged, looked over at my husband and we walked out. Clearly we weren't going to get anywhere and I certainly didn't want to stay there anymore anyway, considering the overall first impression. ||||It took us three hours after our five hour drive to find a room but we were able to secure a hotel room at the Sheraton in a much nicer part of town. ||||I was actually glad at the end of the day that whatever powers that be decided to throw a wrench in us getting a room here. It was only after my experience that I read the reviews on Yelp and boy howdy, I'm counting my lucky stars. This has been a learning experience for sure. We've never had an issue like this with any other motel that we've stayed at over the years that we booked through either Booking.com or Expedia.com but I guess I should have read the reviews before booking regardless cause I wouldn't have gone anywhere near this...

UPDATE: I received a templated response from the motel after posting this review — the kind that apologizes “if” I felt dismissed and says they’re “looking into it.” But let’s be clear: the room was objectively filthy, the experience was degrading, and the staff was dismissive in real-time.

This isn’t just about feelings — it’s about basic health and safety, guest dignity, and accountability. No mention of a refund, no meaningful follow-up, and no proof that anything has changed.

Their reply feels more like reputation control than real customer care. Have you no shame? Your room was disgusting and needs a health inspection. The business should be shut down for lacking basic care.

Original review: The Worst Room I’ve Ever Encountered (And That’s Saying a Lot)

I booked a room at American Executive Inn in Mesa after a great stay at The Moxie for a similar price. Because the rates were nearly identical, I assumed the standards would be comparable. I was completely wrong.

Let me just say — The Moxie felt far more “American” than this place ever could. Clean, modern, respectful. Meanwhile, this property had almost none of those qualities.

When I checked in, I was met with a “No Refunds” sign and a dismissive attitude from the man at the front desk. What I walked into was unacceptable for any paying guest:

Hair in the bathtub

Urine stains on the toilet

Filthy, sticky floors

Flies in the room

Graffiti, broken fixtures, cracked mirrors

A tub drain clogged with hair and a plastic razor cover

Worn-out towels and damaged baseboards

The only tolerable part? The A/C worked, and the sheets appeared freshly laundered — though full of holes.

After stepping out to grab cleaning spray from my car (yes, I felt the need to clean it myself), I accidentally locked myself out. I asked the front desk for help and mentioned the bathroom had clearly not been cleaned. The response was a cold, “Let me call housekeeping,” but no one ever came.

I later realized I may have been judged based on how I looked — alone, female, wearing a one piece and shorts after a long, hot Arizona day on the river. I felt completely dismissed and disregarded. But what they didn’t know is that I own an award-winning eco-friendly cleaning business that has served Arizona for nearly a decade. I know what clean looks like. This wasn’t it.

I ended up wiping the place down myself just to feel comfortable enough to sleep.

Afterward, I looked up other reviews. Sure enough, there are plenty just like mine — people complaining about unclean rooms, broken amenities, and poor service. The responses from management don’t reflect the reality of what guests actually experience.

At the very least, I should be refunded. I paid for a basic, functional room — not to clean it myself.

This business needs serious oversight. Travelers...

This past weekend (September 14 - 15, 2019); my wife and I along with a friend stayed overnight at American Executive Inn Mesa. In previous stays there was no issues, however, I had reserved a room with 2 Queen beds in it but what we got was to twin/double size beds. When I brought this to the attention of the front desk, they informed me that they saw the reservation but there was nothing they could. Reason being is that the owner had seen the Queen beds the week prior in really bad shape and decide to get rid of them and buy two new ones for the room, however, they would not be delivered until the following week and that the beds in the room were only temporary. The staff informed me that there were three options open...(Option 1) get another room at an additional cost, (Option 2) have a roll-away bed brought to the room, and (Option 3) get a refund; however, there's a catch, leave the hotel and go to another one (Owner's rules). Also to add insult to injury the hotel is in the process of renovating and our room had bathroom hardware coming off the wall (meaning the wall was being destroyed). No where on the booking sites does it say that the hotel is in the mist of renovations and nowhere did it say that the bed size you requested may not be available due to renovations.

The owner, was willing to give me a refund only if my party and I left the premises that night. This was not an exceptable option because what other hotels at 7:30PM-8PM would have any vacancy especially a 1 Room with 2 Queen Beds and the owner did not offer any assistance to help find one for the same price that I had paid for the room at his hotel. That in my book is not a respectable owner nor does it give the hotel a good reputation. For these reasons, my wife and I will not be returning to this hotel for quite a while and is only getting a rating of 1 Star. Though it deserves a higher rating because during our previous stays we had no issues, this rating I am giving this hotel is reflected on the owner, who was not willing to let us stay the night if we requested a refund. The staff on the other hand did all they could to assist but it all falls on the owner of the property to ensure his guests are happy.

One last thing, the towels in the bathroom were not as clean as you might see in...