My husband and I spent 4 nights at this hotel. We booked this hotel based on reviews we have read. The location is great for shopping on Robertson - the trendy boutique street, also home of the celeb dining hot spot - Ivy.
I was disappointed by the rooms, although the bathrooms were nice. The size of the room was too small. The bed was extremely comfortable, though. It took forever to get our rooms made up each day - at least 3 p.m. before we got daily housekeeping service, which is disapointing.
Also disappointing is the distance of the pool and spa from the hotel rooms. It is a LONG walk, no matter what room you are in. We did not try out the bar or restaurant, though the decor was quite appealing.

We stayed in room 629 (next to the lift lobby, so some noise from people using the lifts, but not too much of a problem). The room faced the rear so there was no traffic noise like the rooms at the front, plus we had a view of the Hollywood sign from our bed (if you squint and it is a clear day!!! - but we found this really special).

Breakfast was excellent, especially the continental breakfast (in bed!) which came with 5 different breads/pastries each, plus fresh juice, homemade smoothie and a huge pot of coffee.

Staff very friendly. One downside was the showergel/shampoo was never replaced (we stayed 5 nights) - we had to call and ask for new supplies.

We didn't hire a car in LA, and found this location to be generally easy to get around. The DASH bus stops adjacent to the hotel and will take you to Hollywood Blvd for 25 cents. Best Bargain in LA!!!!! But note, this stops running after about 7pm. The Metro bus runs longer, but need to change buses ($5 all day pass, or $1.25 single journey). We went down to Santa Monica (about 40 minutes from hotel).

Overall, a very enjoyble stay in the heart of West Hollywood, close to Beverly Hills and good shopping opposite hotel.

We stayed 2 nights in a SoFabSuite on a Universal Studios stopover enroute to the UK. We're both 38 and we have an 11 month old and a 3 year old and needed a room large enough to comfortably fit us all without disturbing anyone trying to sleep. The Sofitel LA looked as though it fitted the bill and indeed did.

At first we thought we'd been upgraded as the room was so nice (from memory the room was AU$330 per night-ish), large SAFE balcony, two large LCD/Plasma tv's, great bathroom and furnishings etc (you'll see on the website)

Our 3yo slept like a princess in the feathery mass that the sofabed became over night. Our 11month old had a PROPER cot/crib (not a travel cot) and his own toiletries, which fitted nicely into a little dark alcove away from the 3 year old. All leaving us with a room (and to DH's joy, a large TV) to ourselves.

Concierge (Hector & the Team) had organised our pickups to/from the LAX and Burbank prior to us arriving . Needing 2 carseats for the kids is an issue in California as taxis etc. don't provide them. We didn't want to hire a car and argue directions for 2 days on the wrong side of the road and AirShuttle transfers with 2 kids, associated luggage for a month RTW and stroller wasn't appealing either. They found a Limo service which could provide a babyseat at the least. DH and DD(3) enjoyed the sweets and drinks provided, and we all felt like we were doing the LA experience on the 35 minute ride to the hotel.

We ate breakfast twice at SimonLA in the outside courtyard, which offered good choices for us all (inc. the baby) at what seemed like reasonable prices (before taxes, tipping etc). We also had room-service after our day at Universal, which was yummy and a had a child-friendly menu.

The only thing against the hotel ais: it's location - there's really nothing other than the Beverley Centre nearby. Even finding cheap evening food choices for a family was difficult. We did eventually find a wonderful Thai cafe with the BEST egg-rolls we've ever had (and in Sydney Thai restaurants are a time a dozen). The Beverley Centre was good for a bit of quick shopping which was all we had time for in a 48h stopover which included Universal Studios.

Getting to Universal on public transport was EASY and took less than an hour! We took the 25c bus right outside the hotel to Hollywood/Highland then 1 stop on the redline. The shuttle up the hill came quickly. The 25c bus took us through West Hollywood, up the strip etc so was a good little sightsee!

The only other hotels we considered were the Hilton Universal (a Club room) and the Beverley Garland. Overall we feel that staying at Sofitel LA was a better choice for a such a short stay, we really felt like we were in LA!

I stayed in a one bedroom suite a few weeks ago (May 2008). The service in the hotel is impeccable, they do try very hard to make you feel as if you are in a 5 star hotel. The suites, however, are not worth the exhorbitant price. Noise is a problem if you're sensitive to it. My first room was very pretty (with a deep tub), but there was a persistent (24 hours a day) humming noise rising from the fans at the restaurant below. I was moved to another suite without the tub, and for the same price, but no fan noise. The busses start roaring up La Cienega at about 6am, so I was not at my best for meetings all day. En suite dining is limited but pretty well prepared (nouvelle, not a lot on the plate, but well cooked.). There are better hotels for this price.