We did this last year, and stayed one night at a Hojo's just off I-Drive. I got a great rate! After rading reviews on Tripadvisor, in particular, I got nervous, but decided to stay with it. Guess what? It was great! Sure, it wasn't a five star resort, but it was clean, had a reasonably good shower, was easy to find late at night, check-in and check out were very easy. The staff was nice, and the place even had free breakfast included! We were very pleased!
There was one time we stayed at a place near Universal Studios that was a no name place that was kind of run down, but it too was fine for the two nights we stayed there. Some of the wallpaper in the hallway was peeling, but the room itself was clean, it had a pool, a sauna, a small arcade. It wouldn't have been my choice for an entire week, but for a short stay it was alright, esp. considering what we paid.
You can't always take online reviews seriously. After I read reviews for the HoJo's, I read reviews of places I knew, and found just as many bad reviews of resorts I loved, so that helped me to feel better.
