A quick note on exit stairways: not all of them terminate at the ground level, some go beyond to underground floors, or the exit is at an intermediate floor, like on a terrace. The exit sign pointing to the right door to EXIT the stairway to the outside may not be easily identifiable.
A few years back I stayed at a nice hotel in DC for a conference. Since my room was on the 3rd floor, and I generally dislike elevators, I decided to take the stairs down. I went all the way to the bottom, only to find a locked door to the parking garage. So I went back up two floors, and on the landing, behind a couple of mattresses and a housekeeping card, was the exit door! The hotel did not seem concerned when I reported this and insisted that that stairway wasn't an emergency exit (despite the signage). I let the fire department know of the situation after checking out. Storing 'stuff' in the exit stairway seems to be a common phenomenon. Staff might think it's OK, b/c it's out of sight, and surely no guest would ever want to take the ugly stairs over the nice elevator, right?