What's a good, cheap hotel in Melbourne, Australia?

how much do you want to spend a night- that's probably the best qualifyier

Wotif.com was what I used when I was there. I wound up staying at the http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g255100-d660290-Reviews-Mayflower_On_Lonsdale-Melbourne_Victoria.html which, despite my suggestion to NOT stay there on http://www.flickr.com/photos/iamthebestartist/420709187/ was actually decent. It was very inexpensive, quite centrally located, and clean and average ans safe. It had a small kitchen if I recall correctly. That said, it was difficult to get the sort of room we wanted [three single beds] and that was the source of most of my frustration. It was also sort of noisy with no window curtains. So, if you're a relaxed traveler and want a no-frills place, look into this but for that money you might be able to find something a little less bare bones.

mattoxic, I want to spend as little as possible, without sharing a shower or being murdered, as described in the requirements. Absolutely not interested in comfort or luxury. Just need a place to stash our bags and crash at night. (The reason I can't specify a particular maximum is because I don't know what's reasonable--the only traveling I've done in Australia before has been on someone else's dime or staying with friends/family.)

(p.s. thanks b33j and jessamyn--I'll give you your best answer props in a day or two, so as not to discourage other folks from hitting up the thread and adding suggestions.)

2nding wotif. I think you may find more rooms as the date approaches, so if you are feeling lucky keep checking until a week or two before. Also you may want to check out youth hostels. They are basic, but clean and safe. http://www.yha.com.au/hostels/details.cfm?hostelid=98&gclid=CNO85uL6tJUCFQ8QagodxwJlQQ has doubles with a bathroom for $100 a night and looks like it is in the middle of Melbourne.

As somebody who lives in Melbourne I'd say you can safely scrap the "stabbed or robbed" part of your question. This could, of course, have simply been a manner of speech, but from your follow-up comments on the standard of accommodation I'm inferring that it probably wasn't. You'd really have to go out of your way to get stabbed in Melbourne, and be incredibly unlucky or bereft of common sense to get robbed. Have you been to Melbourne before? It covers a huge area, and some 3+ million people, so if, for example, you have friends that you are going to want to catch up with who live 30 minutes east of the city you probably want to avoid staying 30 minutes west. Having never stayed in a hotel in Melbourne I can't answer your question directly. But I'd suggest you'll likely find much of the available accommodation is pretty close to the CBD, and unless you have good reason to avoid doing so I see no reason to stay any further out than 5 or 8km from the centre.

Yeah, I grew up in Melbourne (but like you, I've never stayed in a hotel there). I was being melodramatic about the stabbing and robbing; I threw it in because I have heard some hairy stories from friends backpacking through the city and staying in the dirtiest of dirt-cheap accommodation. Everyone I want to see in Melbourne lives clustered around the CBD, so it doesn't really matter what side I stay on. But it does seem like most of the accommodation is very close to the CBD as you say. I was hoping to find some cheaper options up Sydney Rd towards North Coburg, say, but I guess not.