Good, but not great.
My partner and I debated long and hard before booking the hotel for our San Francisco vacation. Would the Hotel Vitale worth its premium price over similar hotels located nearby? We decided to go for it, based on our positive experiences with the Joie de Vivre brand. In the grand tradition of damning with faint praise, I have to say the Vitale was good. It was not, however, great, and as a result I am left to wonder if it was really worth the cost. 
When we checked in, we specifically requested as quiet a room as possible. The woman at the desk said this was no problem, and said that we'd been upgraded to a higher room class. We discovered that our room, which was on the hotel's 3rd floor, faced Mission Street and was directly above the hotel's driveway. More problematically, there were quite a few patrons of the bar/restaurant who were congregated outside this area, and their conversation was all-too-clearly audible from our room. I called down and was able to get another room, although it was a "downgrade" (and did not appreciate the front desk person arguing with me about where the noise was coming from--does it really matter whether it's noise from the restaurant or the valet area? All that I cared about was that it was impossible to sleep!). This new room faced the interior courtyard and was definitely smaller than the first, but it was quiet. Bath amenities were nice (Lather brand), and the room was nicely appointed. 
I had some trouble getting my "Joy of Life Club" perks--I had emailed someone from the hotel well in advance of our stay to let them know we were members, but there was no record of this on our reservation when I arrived. I mentioned it again at check-in, but no amenity was issued. Nothing showed up the following day (during room cleaning or check-in) and finally, on the last full day of our stay, I called down to the front desk to inquire. The person I spoke to had my amenity sent up, but I feel that there should have been more follow-through on my initial inquiry, rather than my having to constantly inquire about this. 
The gym was very small (the size of a guestroom, no windows) but it was clean and had nice equipment. The bar/restaurant's hours seemed oddly limited (I expected that this would be open all day during the weekends, at least, but this was not the case) and the noise that emanated from it (when we arrived at 10:30 P.M. on a Thursday) was alarming--I can't imagine that it's not audible from the second floor of guest rooms, and any rooms that overlook its patio area would probably hear this as well. 
The hotel's location across from the Ferry Building was a huge plus in our book, but might be inconvenient for those not interested in this area of the city. Additionally, the financial district (which the hotel abuts) is a ghost town on the weekends, so if you're looking for nightlife, this might not be the place to stay. 
Overall, I expected more.