Caliente Tropics is a decent property, though I haven't stayed there in awhile. I have found their prices to be $20-50 higher than Vagabond (especially with Vagabonds rockbottom internet rate). Rooms are huge, though I almost always had wifi issues there. CT went through a mini-upgrade a couple years ago and started to take some overflow hetero craziness from The Ace.
There are a handful of decent budget motels in that stretch of town. I had heard that attorney Mark Geragos' revamp of the Travelodge/Curve had opened in March ("V Palm Springs!"). Was shocked to see that only one building of the 3 (4?) is actually open and the remaining ones are still a shell. That Travelodge used to be my go-to cheepie alternative. Once it became the badly mismanaged "Curve", it sank and sank and sank -- bad enough to get the "i can't believe this place is in business" treatment on Hotel Impossible. I think they project rates to be in the $200+ range.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/...otel/76807040/
http://www.kesq.com/news/new-boutiqu...rings/38826906
The ex-Ramada Inn (ex-HolidayInnResort) now branded as Saguaro is just down the street and seems pretty successful. They have made an effort to keep marketing to the LGBT crowd, though I don't see as many events posted as when they launched a few years ago.
PS is just exploding with trendy boutique hotels. There seems to be an insatiable appetite among LA trendsetters to pop on out to the desert for the weekend and drop $300 a night.