High Points:

Myself and my fiancee stayed here twice when we were flying in and out of Fort Lauderdale Airport as part of an extended trip to Miami over the Holidays. Our first stay was on December 25th in room 110 and our second stay was on December 29th in room 209. The hotel has a good shuttle service from the airport, but the shuttle only returns to the airport once an hour and is shared with the local Sleep Inn, leaving the shuttle dangerously overcrowded, with people sitting on the floor of the van on one of our runs to the airport. The Econo Lodge looks like a stereotypical "roach motel" from the outside, but the rooms are actually very impressive on the inside. Both rooms we stayed in were immaculately clean and had decor and amenities much more fitting of a mid-range hotel than a budget hotel like this. The bed was incredibly comfortable and the smoke free rooms were truly smoke free!
While some previous reviews talk about the local area being very shady I have to say that up until about 9pm we found it to be no more unsafe than walking down a street in a major city. Sure there are some homeless people around, but we saw no evidence of any crimes including drug dealing etc. going on! Within a couple of minutes walk of the hotel there is a 7-11 and also a Little Caesars pizza serving $5 pies so it can make for a cheap meal if you're just passing through.
Breakfast was about what you'd expect at an Econo Lodge, just simple pastries, cereal, coffee, and juice.
I'd definitely highly recommend staying here if you can get a rate of $60 or less excluding tax, anything more than that and you can probably get a better hotel nearby. Try and get room 209, it was almost twice the size of 110 even though they were both Kings.

Low Point:

We had purchased some Choice Hotels Gift Cards as part of a United Airlines promotion prior to the holidays and the Choice site clearly listed the Econo Lodge as a location that accepted them. I even called the hotel in advance to check if they took them and they said "sure, once we can swipe it." What that vague statement failed to tell me is that the hotel does not have a modern Choice Hotels computer system, they use a separate credit card machine to swipe cards. The Choice gift cards need to be swiped on a computer based terminal that the property currently doesn't have and the manager said they don't foresee getting one in the near future, so beware of this if you plan on using a Choice gift card!

I heard a drunk woman screaming at her kids half the night. Lots of police sirens, really bad neighborhood. No security whatsoever, anyone can just walk in off the street and access rooms. It took them a LONG time to pick me up at the airport, nearly an hour, Breakfast was sugar cereal and stale doughnuts. Awful, Go somewhere else.

I just needed a hotel with good connections to the airport and cruise port. The Econo Lodge served its purpose well. They offered quick airport pickup (shuttle stops first at their other hotel, Sleep Inn) and a reasonable $45 per night price. It's a small hotel, near stores and a few restaurants, about a mile from downtown. The staff was friendly, and room very clean. Outside the rooms you will find litter free grounds with a spotless swimming pool, and lounge chairs everywhere. My bathroom was large, with a tub/shower. Rooms have a microwave, refrigerator, cable televisision and free internet. There is a generous supply of nice sized soap, shampoo, body lotion, facial tissue etc. sometimes lacking in budget motels. Although a couple doors from the main street, it was quiet with no highway noise. Room service is provided by an outside restaurant, and self service baggage carts are located by the lobby. Yes it's not new, but beds, carpeting, paint and such are kept in good shape. Although in a working class neighborhood it seemed safe enough. Breakfast is offered starting at 6:30am. The only negative I found was the control for the air conditioner was about a foot and a half from the ceiling, which could be a challenge for a shorter person.

We had a hard time looking for a hotel in Miami we could afford and which was not warned of extensively on tripadvisor. We ended up in this motel-style hotel in Hollywood and we were quite pleased. Paying about 60$ per night, the offer is hard to beat.

Of course, we didn't expect much, but service as well as the room (albeit it was very dark due to the window being situated under the outdoor-staircase to the 2nd floor) were absolutely alright. The hotel was not too crowded and therefore not noisy. The breakfast was basic but early (our 2-year-old daughter was jetlagged so we had to get up at 4am) and we could have breakfast almost by the pool.

The neighbourhood is not representing the glossy side of the USA, but we didn't feel unsafe at all. On the pro-side, there were some markets to get out first supplies for our trip through the States. Also, you can get quickly on the I-95 and therefore into the City of Miami or Northwards.