I thought the Vintage Computer festival west link might have recommended hotels
but I couldn't find anything for you.
I did a similar trip but needed to be quite a few hours south for my actual
destination. I didn't find a very cheap hotel either, and the under $100 one I
did find near long Beach was quite underwhelming. The type my wife wouldn't
have let us stay at.
What I did find more useful was a super small rental car for $98 that did give
me much more freedom to get around a few sites (and Weird Stuff). It was
highly recommended not to sleep in the car though so best luck.
I explored airbnb but it seems to mirror closely to hotel prices and a
surprisingly large amount want a 2 day stay.
But CHM is definitely a fun trip. I have a quite large collection for home
computing so I wasn't sure how long I'd stay occupied but between the demos and
tours and just perusing I definitely could have enjoyed more than the afternoon
I spent.
Best recommendations were ubering or rental car then get a hotel in your price
range but don't worry as much about location. Or get one near the train.
