We stayed here for 3 nights in Feb 2012. We arrived at 2345 at night after a lond flight and there was no food availiable within the hotel (not even a vending machine). Front desk suggested we send out for pizza.
We were assigned a room that the reception staff assured us was one of their better rooms as it had a balcony. On arrival at the room the main thing we noticed was the noise from the freeway outside the balcony (not sure why you would ever want to sit on it and overlook the traffic). The problem was that the glass patio window was not airtight and not at all soundproofed so the noise from the freeway was loud at all times. We phoned back to reception and asked if there was an alternative room availiable. We were told that no, the whole hotel was fully booked out. We were also told that we should be grateful for having the balcony as people who were higher up were always complaining it was too hot and the air conditioning did not work - at least we were able to cool the room down via the badly fitting windows. We then wondered what kind of run down place we were staying at.
The room itself was great, really comfy bed, lots of storage and a good bathroom.
Breakfast was adequate though the buffet area was very small (for the size of the hotel) and continously ran out of stuff. Service was erratic, one morning we were waiting so long for our drinks we had already finished the food.
Its an OK place, the room is comfortable. Just avoid the traffic facing rooms with the balcony (on ground level floor 3) or the hot rooms in the tower (as reception suggested). Free wireless internet was a bonus also.

We spent the long President's Day weekend at the Sheraton while in LA to visit our son. The hotel is located in an area with easy access to the freeway. This made it convenient to visit a variety of locations in LA County. The first night there we had a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant, Californias, although the menu is somewhat limited. The service at the restaurant was superb! The restaurant validated parking for my son. The quality of the bed and pillows was wonderful. Our room was quiet and looked out over the courtyard and the hills. The bathroom needed updating and deep cleaning. The ice machine on our floor was not working and there were problems with the elevators. The young woman who checked us in was extremely professional and check in was very fast. Even with the problems with the ice and the elevators, I would stay here again due to the outstanding service from the staff.

I'm not sure if real stars have actually stayed here, but it was good enough for me. The proximity to CityWalk and Universal Studios was nice for getting out and away from the hotel during free time (I was there for work). I don't know when the rooms were remodeled, but they still had a pretty fresh feeling to them. The lobby was also very nice and good for hanging out in groups. I thought that we would have been a little closer to actual "Hollywood" attractions, but they were only a short ride away. I'd stay at the Sheraton Universal again if I was in the area for any reason, or if I wanted to take my family to Universal Studios during a SoCal vacation.

Remodeled lobby and updated rooms had us feeling peetty good about our choice...until we made it to our room. We found a dirty toilet (brown splatter under the seat and inside the bowl...gag!) and all the pleasant sounds of the 101 Freeway - literally steps from or window - to sing us to sleep. According to the front desk staff, the entire hotel was sold out and there was no other room to move us to. Will not be returning or recommending this property.