All-round good place
We stayed at the Hotel La Jolla for 11 nights in July/Aug 2005.
Initially, we were a bit disappointed in the varied level of housekeeping service (different housekeeping staff tended to do different things, but it was ALWAYS clean). But we left a note asking for what we needed (4 chocolates for 4 people, not just 2) and the staff was MORE than responsive to our requests. We tip nightly, which definitely helps!
It's a great location. We easily went north and south by car along the coast to Carlsbad and Coronado and points in between. The beach is a quick walk away and the shops and restaurants in the area were good. I highly recommend Piatti, a great sophisticated Italian restaurant. One night, we got "to go" from there and ate it on the balcony while the kids had lunchables on the beds. Thjere is also a starbucks and a subway sandwich shop next door to the hotel. We did not eat in the hotel restaurant, but the views there are spectacular.
All rooms have a balcony facing toward the ocean. Lower ones are the garden views, upper ones the actual ocean views. There is some street noise, so the higher the better, even with the garden views.