I was always against crates and I thought people who used them just didn't know how to look after a dog properly.
However, after getting our Puggle as a pup, who ended up being a bit of a nightmare when it came to sleeping overnight, my wife mentioned it to a vet friend of ours and she suggested a crate.
We borrowed one off a friend, placed a towel over the top of it, popped a nice big bed in it with a cozy blanket and always left the door open; worked like a charm.
We placed his 'normal' bed to the side of it but he would occasionally choose the crate during the day for a bit of downtime.
We only used it for about 6 months and he's been fine ever since.