Dreamin' San Francisco-Style If there's one thing you're certain to discover in San Francisco, it's variety. You'll find a restaurant for every palate, a store for every shopper and a hotel for every personality. To prove this point, I am spending threw three nights in the City by the Bay at three distinctly different properties. I had been telling a friend earlier in the day that over all of the years I've been visiting San Francisco, I had never seen a celebrity. Imagine my surprise when I walked through the lobby of Hotel Vitale and glanced up – way up – to see NBA-greats Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton chatting away. Since opening last March, Hotel Citale has been drawing all types of people – famous and not-so-famous. And it's no wonder. With a location directly across the street from the newly revamped Ferry Building, circular suites that offer panoramic "infinity views" of San Francisco Bay and complimentary yoga classes on the hotel's rooftop terrace, it's the perfect place. From lobby to room, I'm surrounded by outdoorsy elegance. Everything about the materials, textures and colors of the decor is inspired by nature. It's Frank Lloyd Wright meets Martha Stewart. In reality, it's Colum McCartan of the McCartan design firm who gave this hotel its soothing qualities. Though I'm not an expert on Zen of Feng Shui, I'd say this place has a little of both. All 199 guests rooms and suites feature spa-style bathrooms and a line of amenities by Fresh. They have the usual complimentary shampoo and contioner, but in case you forgot your perfume, lip treatment, dace cleanser or body polish, all of these personal-care products are available for a reasonable price. Spa Vitale, on the eighth floor, carries a complete line of Fresh products. And while there, try "The San Francisco Treat" massage or, if traveling with a pet, let Fido have his very own one-hour, in-room "Pet Massage." (The hotel has designated guest rooms in which well-behaved pets can stay.) LCD flat-screen televisions are standard, as are CD-players with a collection of four "Elemntal Chill" CDs titled Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. You know you're in San Francisco when Patricia Unterman's San Francisco Food Lover's Guide is in the nightstand next to the bed. Another drawer check reveals a flashlight, something I've never seen in a hotel room before, but a good idea nonetheless. I like to say I will work out while traveling, but I never come close. The hotel makes it easy, however, by offering use of its small fitness center on the second floor or providing a free pass to the nearby YMCA. For runners, however, the best bet is a jog down the Embarcadero toward Fisherman's Wharf. With the city on the left and the bay on the right, it's an ultimate San Francisco experience. All of that exercise will cause you to work up an appetite, so reserve a table at the hotel's Americano restaurant. Chef Paul Arenstam, no stranger to the San Franciso restaurant scene, takes full advantage of the fresh ingredients from the Ferry Building's local farmers market across the street. His menu focuses on "Northern Californian cuisine with a modern Italian sensibility" and incorporates such dishes as artisanal goat cheese, baker's pie with fava crema, olive-oil braised artichokes, green asparagus, tomatoes and fresh oregano; and a grilled New York steak "involtini," stuffed with sautéed fingerling potatoes and a Barolo wine sauce. Before hitting the hay, check the pillow. Turndown service includes a Scharffen Berger chocolate, the next day's weather forecast in Fahrenheit and Celsius, and a "Dream" quote card. Mine is by Alfred Lord Tennyson: "So many worlds, so much to do, so little done, such things to be." |
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