Budget Travel - Favorite non-chain Hotel under $50.00?

Are there any favorite mom & pop type accommodations that don't bring back memories of the bates motel?
Places where you can still spend the night for under $50.00.

I've enjoyed a number of pub stays while driving around Australia on various trips; one of my favorites was about five years ago at the York Hotel in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. It was well under your $50 limit to stay in comfortable if small rooms (with shared facilities, as is common in pubs offering lodgings) at a lovely Gold Rush era building in the center of town.

I like the various hostels & guest houses in SE Asia - some places as low as $3.00 per night. Domestically in the US though, you can't beat camp grounds. For hotels, I've had surprisingly good stays at Super 8s - oddly, they have the most reliable wireless internet (on the road, I even sometimes pull into their parking lots to use their free wireless if I need directions or something).

Off season, I have been able to find quite a few in the FLL area, both chains and non-chains. When the season starts the prices skyrocket.

The same is true for Lido in Venice.