(MONEY Magazine) – Check it out: a bright, clean room, an extra-long mattress, a sparkling pool outside, a color TV with HBO and a remote that works, free coffee and Danish in the lobby -- all for less than $50 a night. This is definitely not your father's old motel. But it's not a future fantasy either. It's La Quinta Inn in Bakersfield, Calif. -- and in Dallas and 207 other locations. Welcome to today's new breed of budget motels. Budget motels used to be the lodging of, er, last resort. You wanted to arrive last thing at night and leave first thing in the morning. Not anymore. The new breed are places at which you could actually stay for a while. You may still occasionally pull into a place where the clerk brings to mind Anthony Perkins in Psycho, but overwhelmingly the proprietors of those grunge palaces of the past have cleaned up their acts as well as their rooms. Inexpensive motels now provide some of the best values in travel lodging. Americans are planning to make 190 million vacation trips by car this summer, according to the American Automobile Association, up 10 million from last year. The cost, says AAA, will average out to $215.60 a day for a family of two adults and two kids, $5.60 more than in 1992. Of the $215.60, $99 will go for meals, $27.60 for gas and $89 for lodging. So you can save a considerable amount of money -- and sleep well too -- if you choose wisely among motels that offer rooms at almost half of that lodging price. You've got a wide choice. The American Hotel and Motel Association reports that in 1980 the lodging industry had only 160,000 rooms at budget prices, but by last year that number had ballooned to nearly 1 million. And it is still growing, guaranteeing more options for you.

Business travelers are increasingly taking advantage of the deals. They account for 60% of the clients in the budget sector, compared with 40% just 10 years ago. Like vacation travelers, they are attracted by amenities such as free local telephone calls and no surcharge on long-distance calls. "Motels don't nickel-and-dime you to death with little hidden charges," says Dan Daniele, director of hospitality advisory services for the business consulting division of Ernst & Young in Chicago. Moreover, spurred on by publicity about crime, the motel chains are also improving their safety precautions. All the budget motels on MONEY's recommended list below have a peephole on the door of each room and dead bolts or chain locks. Some of them also employ security guards for night patrols. To determine the best budget chains, a team of MONEY reporters checked out dozens of motels in five regions of the country -- the East, West, Midwest, Southwest and South. They tried out the beds at each, inspected the bathrooms, tested the dead bolts, peepholes and TV. They sized up the swimming pools as well as the lobbies. And they asked guests for an evaluation of service and satisfaction. In addition, our reporters consulted with frequent travelers, travel experts (such as Mark Lomanno, executive director of the Smith Travel Research firm) and guidebook editors. Then we selected the motel chains that best met our standards for comfort, cleanliness and safety at bargain prices. Six made it onto our list. Note, however, that a few quality chains like Budgetel Inns and Sleep Inn failed to make it only because they do not yet serve at least 100 locations, our minimum requirement. Most of MONEY's choices offer free Continental breakfast, free local telephone calls and superior safety precautions. To qualify, at least one- third of the rooms had to be available for $55 or less. Prices apply to a room occupied by two people but large enough to comfortably sleep four in two double or queen-size beds; these motels also usually allow your children to stay with you for free. Room prices vary according to season and location. Unless specified, there are no restaurants on premises. In using the following list of best values, bear in mind that most motels in chains are individually owned franchises; therefore, while basic amenities are standard, quality of service can vary. Here are our choices, in order of the number of locations they serve: Comfort Inn (800-221-2222) is a 12-year-old chain, owned by the Choice Hotels International group. It has 1,000 locations, each with pool and exercise room. About 90% include saunas, and 75% have restaurants. Rates: $45 to $65. Discounts: AAA and AARP members, 10% off. Super 8 (800-800-8000), which has nearly 1,000 motels, operates in every state except Rhode Island. Some 20% of its units have swimming pools. Rates: $35 to $50. Discounts: AAA and AARP members, 10% off. Travelodge (800-255-3050) has more than 500 locations, with 40,000 rooms, in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Central America. The rooms are larger than most in the budget category, and each features a coffeemaker. Almost all offer a summer special, with rates as low as $29. Regular rates: $35 to $65. Discounts: Members of Travelodge's Business Break Club, 10% off; members of the chain's Classic Travel club for people over 50, 15%. Hampton Inn (800-426-7866) has 342 locations in 43 states, Mexico and Canada, most of them built since the mid-1980s. These modern motels are predominantly in so-called secondary markets, away from big urban centers but always near a restaurant that will deliver. Almost all have pools. Rates: $39 to $90. Discounts: AAA members, 5% to 10% off at some locations. La Quinta Inn (800-531-5900) offers some of the most attractive motels in this price range. And the entire 209-motel chain -- represented in 29 states and most heavily in Texas, California and Florida -- is being renovated to make them even better. Nearly all have pools. Although the motels lack restaurants, the clerks can arrange for nearby operators to deliver food to your room. Same-day laundry and dry-cleaning service is available. Rates: $47 to $60. Discounts: AARP members, 10% off. Fairfield Inn (800-228-2800) has only 122 motels spread over 31 states, but the chain is growing fast. So is its reputation for top quality. All of the motels have swimming pools. Fairfield's INNSiders Club, which you can join when you check in, offers a range of bonuses, including personal check-cashing privileges and one free night's lodging after every 12 you pay for. Rates: $30 to $60. Discounts: AARP members, 10% off.

BOX: HOW TO SPEAK UP AND GET 10% OR MORE OFF

Always ask for a discount. The average room occupancy for budget motels last year was 62%, which means more than a third remained empty each night. When that many rooms are unoccupied, the traveler is in command. Just speak up: "What's the best rate you can give me?"

Most motels automatically offer discounts to members of the American Automobile Association (AAA), the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and the military. But request a discount even if you're not affiliated with those groups. Similarly, if you have booked through a chain's 800 number and reserved a room at the standard (or "rack") rate, the manager on the spot still might be willing to deal. Travel experts say you can often save 10% just by asking.