And it will affect many decisions. Anything that requires freeway travel during businesses hours, or right before and after, will be difficult. It's like rain in Seattle--you will think about it even when you're not driving.

Having said that the West Side (Culver City, Santa Monica, adjacent) is pretty accessible for most of the centers of population in the area. Parking can be very difficult in beach areas and  Mid Wilshire and downtown is just hard to get in and out of at any time. The San Fernando Valley has been growing in popularity; when I lived there I much preferred seeing a lady there rather than fighting traffic over the hill.

I've been told that Culver City is a convenient area in which to stay because it's close to a variety of freeways and easy to get in and out of. I would not recommend anywhere else on the westside because having lived there myself a while back, it can get very congested. If you want to stay in the valley area, Sherman Oaks looked to be nice when I visited.  

Of course, BH is popular for those who want to project an upscale image. The downside is that it's not very walkable. I'm not sure about it's accessibility to freeways. However, it's central in that it's pretty equidistant to different parts of the city, like Burbank and Santa Monica.

Parking...Parking...Parking...

Is the key to many. West Hollywood, Beverly Hills you need a parking permit to park on many streets. Yes, you have the metered parking but during the day can be a bitch. At night in WesHo and BevHills is when you really need the parking permits.

Santa Monica and West LA is good. Los Angeles, Miracle Mile (wilshire Blvd)  can be a bitch during the day due to alot of construction.

LAX is good area. But, many hotels are not provider/hobbyist friendly.

ALso, DO NOT use any hotels Wifi to browse many of the adult sites. They due track and many hotels will ask you to leave if they believe  
you are promoting escorting.

...Downtown and Venice - lousy parking.