Although staying in West Hollywood proper can be pricey, its wealth of hotels has led to sufficient competition to keep rates relatively reasonable. Here’s a sampling of top-notch, gay-friendly places to spend a weekend.

Owing to its location near Beverly Center, the Hotel Sofitel has long been popular with lesbians and gay men. The management is one of the few outside West Hollywood to market aggressively to the gay community (although the property is just steps from the West Hollywood border). From top to bottom this is a first-rate property with a distinctive facade and upscale French furnishings.

The 15-story Sunset Tower Hotel is a 1929 art deco icon. Formerly home to fabulous stars like Truman Capote and Errol Flynn, it contains 64 rooms with stunning period reproductions, flat-screen TVs, iPod stations, and floor-to-ceiling windows offering some of the best views in the city.

A secluded all-suites property just off the Strip, on the edge of Beverly Hills, Le Montrose Suite Hotel has huge, meticulously clean and well-decorated rooms with fireplaces, kitchenettes and private balconies. Enjoy amazing views of the skyline from the fab rooftop pool and hot tub.

Another gay-friendly all-suites hotel close to the bars, the Valadon sits high above Santa Monica Boulevard and has a rooftop terrace and pool commanding fine views of the area. Rooms (some with kitchenettes) are large, with VCRs, refrigerators and, in most cases, private balconies.

The well-tended Ramada Plaza Hotel West Hollywood is the most gay-popular mainstream hotel in metro Los Angeles; it’s in the heart of the bar district and has a sleek art deco look and a cruisy pool and sundeck out back. Most of the stylish and spacious suites have sleeping lofts, and all have kitchenettes. Arguably West Hollywood’s hippest address, and a nice value to boot, the Standard has ultra-cool rooms with down pillows, silver bean-bag chairs, TVs with VCRs, Warhol poppy-print draperies, high-speed Internet, and private balconies — plenty of nice amenities considering the reasonable rates. The swish bar is a favorite place to see and be seen.

The quintessential clothing-optional men’s resort, complete with foliage-choked lanai and toned and tanned guests, the San Vicente Inn-Resort has, thanks to the hard work of its friendly owners, become one of the top gay guesthouses in Southern California. All accommodations are either in large suites or detached cottages with tasteful contemporary furnishings. The rates are quite fair, given the excellent location close to the restaurants and gay nightlife on Santa Monica Boulevard. Of course, if you’re unable to meet a cute guy at East/West Lounge or Rage, it’s nice to know you can always return to the San Vicente and, on a typical evening, find someone cute lying around the pool.