So Rio isn’t that bad after all?

I hate to admit it, but I have personally stayed at three of the “mid tier” properties on your list (Luxor, Excalibur, and Motel 6). Alas, that was 20-30 years ago. The Motel 6 in 1993 was, well, a Motel 6, and I was a poor starving student on a road trip, and comparison shopping via the internet wasn’t a thing yet. The Luxor, I think, was relatively new when I stayed there, and it seemed perfectly nice. The Excalibur wasn’t great, but for a road trip stop-over where we spent next to no time beyond sleep time in the hotel it was fine. Pretty much the only thing I remember is the long trip from the free self parking lot to the hotel through the smoky casino.