If you check over on the Universal hotels board, there are many threads on this topic that should be helpful. You may need to go through a few pages but there is a lot of useful info.
Hyatt Place Universal is a good one. We stayed there for 7 nights in 2009. It is right across the street from the entrance road to Universal. Took us 15 minutes to walk there, but there is also a shuttle several times daily as well. And you can get a cab for $5 one way. They have really large rooms with 2 queen beds, a nice living area with a sofa bed(I think it is a full size, but could be queen,we did not need it), a large LCD tv, free internet, a fridge and free continental breakfast. We had great service there as well. Oh, and the parking is free if you drive a car. There is a Cracker Barrel on one side and another restaurant two buildings down on the other side.