Ryan, I feel for ya about that one time you mentioned, but gotta say that that must have been a one-time misfortune. For the past several years, I (or rather, my dad, since he got us the hotel rooms) have been staying in such places as Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, Holiday Inn, La Quinta Inn, and that like, for various vacations, and nearly every visit has been at least satisfactory. Not always excellent, but decent each time. I think the worst case that happened to us in recent years was when our suite in a Comfort Inn had one of the bathtub knobs break and the breakfast selection wasn't that great. But that was nowhere near as bad as that experience you've described.
As for this year, we're looking at an Econo Lodge that's not too far from the airport (and about 30 minutes from the convention, nothing else closer was affordable). While we'd love to stay at the Hyatt, it's simply well beyond our price range (as are most 5-star luxurious hotels). The only times we have ever stayed at that kind of hotel was if the occasion were so extra special it called for us to stay there. But $200 a night is a lot of money, and we don't have any spare limbs or kidneys to sell on Craigslist.
So, yeah, for us, staying at a decent non-rich hotel isn't so bad.