It's not 1993 and the Excalibur is no longer the gem of the strip. With places like the Cosmo, Wynn, and Aria classing things up and doing things to suit a younger crowd, the Excalibur is definitely dates. It seems old and dirtier, and like it caters to the families now.
But the Excalibur is by no means bad. Its perfectly okay as far as cheep hotels on the strip go. For my non-existent college student budget I'll take a $20 room any day over actually spending money to stay somewhere awesome on the strip. It's worth the walk to and from the castle to stay so cheep on Las Vegas Blvd.
The rooms are nice sized and really all you need from a room. The casino is okay. The price tho makes it well worth my recommendation.