The Hitching Post

My new favorite hotel is the Hotel Vitale – another hit by Joie de Vivre Hotels. The Hotel Vitale is directly across the street from the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero and yes, it's worth it to splurge and get the gorgeous Bay View rooms! A wonderful feature of the hotel is that they have 3 different roof top spaces which is really fantastic. You can go over to the Ferry Building, pick up some cheese from Cowgirl Creamer along with some wine and bread and hang out on the roof top and watch all the activity below! Vitale has a nice little Spa on the top floor as well.  Their Signature Treatment is massage followed by a nice bath in the deep soaking tubs in the rooftop bamboo garden – a unique treat in the City!

The restaurant at Vitale is called Americano’s and it's definitely a hot spot! The bar is on the corner of the hotel and has great views of the water and the Bay Bridge and there is a great outdoor patio, so weather permitting it is a great space to dine and drink! The food is very good and creative. They use the freshest ingredients from the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market - California cuisine meets Italian rustic!

The location is great as the San Francisco historic Streetcars stop right in front of the hotel. In one direction, they will take you to Fisherman's Wharf and in the other direction they will take you to AT&T Park to see the Giants play! You are also pretty much at the foot of Market Street, a terrific stroll through the Financial District and on up to Union Square.

One of my favorite walks in San Francisco is the Filbert Steps. Fair warning, this is not for the faint at heart, you definitely need to be in decent of shape to undertake this walk, but the sights along the way are spectacular. The steps rise in 3 sections from Sansome Street (near the Levi Plaza) up to Coit Tower. Not only do you have the views of San Francisco and the Bay, but there are some really pretty gardens to enjoy along the way as well. And of course the best part of the walk is that you end up at Coit Tower in North Beach, my favorite neighborhood.

There are so many wonderful spots to eat in North Beach:  Mario’s for a Foccacia sandwich, Vicoletto’s which has the best Moz/Arugula/Tomato salad ever, Café Macaroni – yum, and the countless cafes with all the Italian pastries. 

Not far from the Vitale, just South of Market is the Museum of Modern Art which is right across the street from the Yerba Buena Gardens, a great spot to spend some time strolling through.  On the other side of Yerba Buena Gardens is the Jewish Museum and St. Patrick’s Church, in which all the marble is from Ireland.

Of course a must when in the City of San Francisco is to get out on the water.  Seeing the City, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and all the sights from an aquatic viewpoint is SO beautiful. This is actually easy to do as just across the street from the Vitale you can catch the Ferry over to Tiburon which is a great little town with restaurants and shopping and beautiful views of the Bay and San Francisco.

Another stop on the Ferry ride could be Sausalito, a charming hillside community which also boasts spectacular views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the City.

Perfect for a romantic getaway.....!!

Author: Maggie Condon; Honeymoon & Destination Wedding Specialist
Email: Maggie.c@travelstoreusa.com