Valentin Imperial Maya

We went in 2011 when the boo and I had just met so what would have been a long review and 10,000 photos is now just a blurb and some warm fuzzy memories. Maybe it was the honeymoon phase, or maybe we have since been back to Cancun at equally pricey hotels and can truly say this resort is #1. Their service is 110%, every single staff member. You don’t get a random nice person then a jaded one. EVERYONE here is happy, overly accommodating and kind. There are gentlemen in golf carts scooting around all over the grounds offering rides because it is so expansive. It’s secluded, romantic, serene, and also packed with activities and an Activity Director that is a BLAST at the pool. Water games, competitions, dance-​offs, and so much more. It’s the perfect combination of R&R and mingling with other adults.
LOVED the breakfast buffet, room service, lunch, dinner, drinks, poolside eats, everything! There was a rainy day and we still had a blast playing ping pong at their recreation area engulfed in more lush landscapes. An iguana greeted us almost every morning on the path to breakfast. I possibly fractured my elbow in their salsa dance competition but only because I was basically trashed and decided to dip back when my partner was about 5 feet away. Depth perception not on point LOL so the stone ground caught me. SO much fun and TONS of R&R and fatty good glutton times too.
We are definitely coming back!

Dear Valentin Imperial Maya, it was love at first sight. And I know it’s only been a few days since I left you, but I already miss you. And your swim up bar. And your frozen drinks.
Our group of ten spent five days here last week (January 6^th-​10^th) to celebrate a couple of big birthdays. All around, it was such a great trip. The entire staff was so nice and helpful. Everyone says hello with a giant smile when you see them. A huge plus here: there is working wifi all over the entire resort. For me, it even worked at the beach and pool areas.
Is the privilege package worth the money here? In my opinion, yes. It allows you a list of several perks, but the big ones are:
–private check in and check out in the privilege club
–early check in and late check out
–reserved cabanas (Pro tip: if you are with a group, have some people reserve pool cabanas and the others beach cabanas. That way you have them in both areas.)
–lobster included with dinner meals (and make sure to order it with every one of your dinners!)
–the ability to make reservations at the restaurants
–Mini bar for your room. You get to pick the four bottles of booze and also get a bottle of sparkling wine.
Food-​wise, I was really surprised at the quality. At most all-​inclusive places, the food is pretty meh. I enjoyed our meals. Note: there are dress codes for most dinner options. I thought La Hacienda (the Mexican restaurant) was my best dinner here. It was also the best lobster I had. Yes, I did order lobster along with my meal every night. Why not?! I had the privilege package. Ginger is a great place to get apps (tuna tataki was my favorite) and they also have hibachi tables. You can make reservations for that. We also did a big group dinner at L’Alsace (French restaurant) that was great. They put our group in a private room. There are buffet options for both breakfast and lunch with a wide range of food. There is also the option of room service. Just make sure to allow yourself about 45 minutes for that.
There are two huge pool areas with swim up bars. One area is more quiet, the other has activities throughout the day (volleyball, water aerobics, games, performances, etc.) There’s just something about being able to float up to a bar and order a frozen drink. Supermans were a huge hit with our group. They were like a red, white, and blue bomb pop like you’d get from an ice cream truck. The beach is nice. There is a coral area on one side, so just pay attention to the ropes and be careful. Our friends walked down to a neighboring resort and said our beach area was much nicer. On calm days, you can see little fish in the water. Very pretty.
My friend and I both got massages on the beach. It was so relaxing to get pampered in a little cabana on the beach for an hour and listen to the ocean. Pro tip: guys will come around to hit you up about buying spa packages. Don’t accept their first offer. You can talk them down on everything.
Other random tid bits: there’s a sports bar, an outdoor square with a flea market type deal in the early evening (you can talk them down, too) and music at night (live band or DJ), and iguanas and coaties roam around the property (don’t be scared, they don’t bother anyone). My roommate and I did a swim up suite. We could walk right out our patio into the lazy river.
Warning before you leave and head back to the Cancun airport: this is your last shot at wifi. I didn’t get an International option for my phone, so I relied on wifi the entire time. There was no way to access any of the wifi networks at the airport.
All in all, a fantastic experience here and I would recommend to anyone looking for an all-​inclusive resort. I recommend packing an insulated type adult sippy cup of some sort. You can get bigger drinks made in them and they’ll stay cooler longer.

Over all I’m giving this place a c+. My partner and I got sick from the buffet on the second day. My partner had to see the Doctor on site and receive 3 shots. Total cost for Doctor visit $ 600.00 US dollars. I myself had a stomach ache the rest of our 5 day stay. I had to drink myself into feeling better. We stopped eating at the buffets and only ate hamburgers well done. One small note we went on an excursion to Tulum and ate at a local restaurant and had no problem with keeping the food down. Stay away from the buffet if you stay here.

Great resort for a quick get away. Breakfast and dinner were wonderful! Lunch not so much. Pool and bars are great. Not much evening entertainment. Staff were semi friendly. Didn’t like to go out of their way. Rooms were amazing!

Cockroaches. Bad food. Bad drinks. Bad service. Got diarrhea on the second day. The staff was indifferent and did not understand much English, unlike other resorts in the area. Do not come here. Go to the Riu resorts.

My wife and I celebrated our 25 anniversary here last week (Sept 2015).
Pro’s:
–Check-​in was seem-​less. Quick ride from the airport. Very nice lobby and employees were helpful.
–We upgraded our room to the Honeymoon suite beach front. Room was super nice and clean. Sunken hot tub, all glass shower with ocean view. Amazing!
–Pool was beautiful and well-​kept.
–Seemed like we had the place to ourselves. Very few people there.
–Never had to wait on drinks.
Con’s
–Air Conditioner was barely adequate for our room. It actually wasn’t good at all. It kept us from sweating. That’s all.
–Restaurant choices were good, but the food was marginal. Not terrible, just ‘good’.
–The resort is large, so prepare to walk. It’s a trek to the restaurants and pool from the beach side rooms.
(Walks back after dinners were romantic).
–Outdoor restaurant had bee and insect problems. Bring bug spray if you want to eat outside.
We would go back. The con’s weren’t deal-​breakers. The resort is clean and the staff is more than helpful. Beautiful resort!

We had an amazing honeymoon week here, the whole staff was kind, friendly and helpful. The grounds were immaculate and beautiful. The pools (especially the lazy river one) were very fun to float around in. The beach was fine overall, lots of seaweed but that was the case all across the coast this time of year. We LOVED that they were protecting the turtles eggs being laid at night, it was cool to go the next day to see all the new additions to the turtle egg sanctuary. We especially loved seeing all the iguanas and coatis running around, they were a fun change from the native fauna in our hometown! The only thing that got a little old were all guests who were trying to relive their spring break from 1999, there were a few who got obnoxious from time to time, but overall everyone was quite pleasant. We would love to go back someday, maybe for our anniversary one year we will come back to the VIM!

The BEST place I have ever been to. The staff is extremely friendly, your room gets cleaned every time you leave, the pool is amazing and the restaurants are MOUTH WATERING. We arrived and our room was not ready. So they upgraded us to a suite with a private bar and pool! You get warm towels and champagne upon arrival. You also have access to many trips (booze cruise, snorkeling, zip lining, a trip to the city, etc.) We had to go to a few other hotels to pick people up for these day trips, and not one place compared. Everywhere else had packed beaches and bars. This beach has your own private little cabanas and chairs. Also, the entertainment, especially the band was amazing. We danced every night. The best part? Its adults only and You can have a private dinner on the beach. Extremely romantic. The only thing, make sure the men have collared shirts in 90 percent of the restaurants. I will 100 percent come back and not even consider another hotel in Cancun.

I’ve been meaning to write this review for almost a year now and I’m just getting around to it so my memory of the trip isn’t going to be the freshest but I’ll do my best. There were 4 of us that went on this trip and all 4 of us absolutely loved it. I spent weeks researching hotels and I’m so glad I chose this one. If you want to be in the Cancun area but away from kids and the college spring breaker types but still want a fun yet not obnoxious crowd, this is your place. It’s the perfect balance between fun and relaxation. When we were there I was 20, my friend was 19, and both of our moms are in their 50s and all 4 of us agreed we would go back in a heartbeat. It’s extremely easy to get to from the airport and I believe it was about 30 minutes to the Xcaret Eco Park (which is beautiful by the way). They greet you with a cool towel and champagne as you enter the lobby to get the details of your stay worked out which did not take long at all. Then they drove us to our room on a golf cart. Not only that but I’m in a wheelchair and they were so accommodating to the point where the driver literally held my wheelchair with one hand while we drove so it didn’t fall out of the golf cart and helped put me back in it once we got to the room. My mom and I stayed in a deluxe junior suite which was handicap accessible on the first floor. If you are in need of a handicap accessible room, this was perfect. The shower is a roll in shower that could fit 10 people. I originally wanted a room on the 3^rd floor with a view of the water but I didn’t mind the garden view at all. Although the patios/​balconies are not far from each other, it was still very private. The only negative thing I have to say about the room is that there were at least 15 Mosquitos in it when we arrived. The resort was not crowded at all but there were still a lot of people there so it didn’t feel empty. Youll find the most people at the pool, with almost every chair taken (with a towel on it or some other belonging) but we were able to grab chairs each morning. The staff at the main pool walk around and take your drink orders all day which is fantastic but there is also a swim up bar. The beach was fairly empty in the evenings so be sure to catch a sunset or 2 there. We didn’t do any water activities so I can’t touch on those. But my favorite thing about this resort is the staff and service! I have never been more satisfied with service. No matter who you run into they smile, wave, and say hello. They constantly ask if you need anything (but not so much that it’s annoying). I can’t say enough about them! I made friends with every staff member I came in contact with. They knew my birthday was coming up so they decorated my room with rose petals, balloons, and towels in the shape of a birthday cake. Then they had a little dessert plate sent to my room for my birthday as well. My mom and I loved the brunch at the buffet. It exceeds any buffet I’ve ever been to. The 2 people we were with ordered breakfast to their room everyday and both said it was very good. We all enjoyed dinners at Restaurant Mar & Lobster Pot. We also had dinner at Ginger one night in the Hibachi room which was great. I believe we had to make a reservation for that one. My friend and I went to the fiesta night where they had a mariachi band and dancers which was a lot of fun. I believe they served food from their La Hacienda restaurant during the show. My mom and her friend had dinner at their French restaurant that night but were a little disappointed with it. So other than the French restaurant we all thought the food overall was great. There are bars all over the place so if you’re without a drink, you’re in luck. They also have native animals called coatis which you’ll probably see at some point so don’t be nervous if you see a raccoon looking thing, they’re super friendly! And be careful where you step because lizards or iguanas are all over! I’m sure I forgot to mention many things but to summarize: overall great food, excellent service, beautiful resort. I highly recommend staying here. You won’t regret it!

Just stayed here for a friend’s wedding on nearby playa del secreto — this is hands down the best all inclusive resort my bf and I ever stayed at. The food was great, hotel was clean, staff attentive & accommodating. The beach is beautiful, fairly private. Loved every minute of my stay here — will def be back! Our one suggestion would be that check-​out hour (noon) be better staffed since it was an unnecessarily drawn out process when there are only two employees handling checkout for an entire resort. Nevertheless loved this place, highly recommend it to anyone/​everyone.

My 15^th year Girls’ Weekend was spent here, and what a nice little gem. For 5 days, 4 nights, we were just plain spoiled and lived in excess at this adults only all inclusive resort.
For example, if I wanted to relax and read the most current Ken Follett thriller, I could:
1. Find an empty palapa on the beach or
2. Find an empty lounge chair by their many pools.
If I were hungry, I could:
1. Dine at one of beachside restaurant or
2. Dine at the resort side restaurant or
3. Call for room service at 11pm.
Even though 50% of our time was spent reading a good book with an alcoholic drink on the other hand, the resort offered many activities such as yoga, Pilates, bike tours, rifle shooting, ping pong, beach volleyball, Spanish classes, bracelet making, and so much more.
The drinks were plenty and they served top shelf drinks if you requested your brand, with Grey Goose being my vodka of choice.
Now unto the food, the French, Italian, and Japanese restaurant were okay, but the best restaurant was the Mexican joint! Go figure since we are in Mexico after all. They made the food more upscale such as shrimp ceviche in coconut milk and steamed whitefish with a Veracruz-​like sauce. And their churros were drizzled in a tamarind sauce, which I thought was brilliant! Their margaritas were deliciously deadly, too. This place was definitely an awesome way to end the trip.
What a deal for $ 620 per person for 5 days and 4 nights! Service was top notch! The resort was tranquil, so it was perfect for two moms who wanted to get away from their families for a few days! :-) Although tipping is customary, I didn’t mind bringing small bills to thank all of the hard working employees who spoiled my girlfriend and me. Wifi was everywhere, too! I would definitely come back here in the future. Check this place out!

I stayed here for about a week in October 2014 with my boyfriend and we both had an amazing time.
The resort was spotless and clean all the time, they have great maid service and they also have turn down service in the evening which is always nice.
The food was good, nothing too crazy but the restaurants all had a great atmosphere and service was always good.
I definitely recommend this resort to couples only, it seems to have a more «romantic» feel and it is much quieter than other resorts I have visited.

By and large, I have to say that I loved my experience at the Valentin Imperial Maya resort. Even the basic room was spacious, well-​kept, and comfortable, the resort grounds were beautiful, the pools were huuuge, service in general around the resort was top-​notch, and the beach was perfect. Seriously, perfect.
The food, for being a buffet-​style for most of the day was very impressive. Yeah, I’ve had better food, but I’ve also had worse food. I really can’t complain.
The only bee in my bonnet here, and probably the only reason I wouldn’t go all-​out 5-​star was the dinner experience. There’s a dress code which attempts to force an air of formality that I don’t think is required here necessarily. The restaurants are nice, but not *that* nice, and I get that they don’t want people showing up in beach gear, but perhaps that could be specified explicitly instead of imposing a whole bunch of rules and close-​toed shoes and collared shirts and long pants and such on a bunch of folks who are on vacation and maybe trying to escape such stuffiness altogether. The service was also pretty slow at times, although certainly very friendly and well-​intentioned always.
But I can’t say that any of that would keep me from recommending it to anybody. It all was really very nice, and made for a nice vacation.
Also, it’s totally worth waking up early to catch the sunrise.

The resort is beautiful but the cons outweighed the pros, that and the cost are the reasons I gave it 3 stars. Here are my experiences & reasoning:
Pros–
Huge resort with many pools
large beach area
Lots of cabanas
Lots of activities
Beautiful fountains
Adult only
Few different bars
Few different restaurants
Room service included (even though the food sucked)
Cons–
Service was slow, lacked attention to details
Dress code for dinner at all 5 restaurants (we didn’t know this until we checked in and weren’t prepared)
Mini bar was supposed to be stocked daily and wasn’t (it only had 4 beers anyway-​so the all inclusive and unlimited mini bar was literally 4 beers)
When we checked in we had to wait for our bags to be brought to the golf cart area for a ride to our building, we waited 30 minutes as bags and people who arrived after us went by and were taken to their rooms– we had one bag!
On multiple occasions we were asked to wait for another cart to take us to our building and other guests were taken –we were told they had priority due to baggage and just checking in — of course we did not get the same courtesy
If you didn’t tip the room service delivery guy or tipped what they thought was too low, they were rude and mumbled in Spanish.
The food at the buffets was horrible, Golden Corral is better– same applies for room service
Service at the pool was slow, not enough wait staff– they came around every 30 min– not enough for the cost
Restaurants had odd hours and were different for each restaurant, that causes slight confusion when trying to grab a bite and losing track of time
Overall we had a good honeymoon because we were together in a beautiful place but overall it wasn’t a great resort with great service and that was certainly what we expected at that cost. We booked the silver king suite for 6 nights.

We stayed In a swim up suite for a week. The rooms were clean and attractive.
Bar service: was fun, quick and professional
Food: was average but made special by great service. Steak house was best buffets were above average.
Lobby and pool were perfect and well taken care of.
Beach had perfect white sand and palm trees with hammocks for everyone. Beach bar was fun with big swings.
Will be back !!!

We stayed at the Valentin for a week July 2013. Building 3 silver suite. I have to say it was a mixed bag and did not meet my expectations. Attention to detail was lacking and that makes all of the difference at this type of resort. Although we had a very good time we won’t be back.
The check-​in process was missing the cool towel. This was being provided to other guests, just not to us. Lack of attention to detail. We were told at check-​in that the 2 towels for the pool would be in our room. They were not. Instead there was a huge bag of slippers (at least a dozen pairs) sitting in a chair. Lack of attention to detail.
The next day we decided to go to the pool or beach. Of course there are no beach towels in the room. So we call the «one touch» help number. The person on the other end says to simply go to the towel hut at the pool. So we trek down there. What we were not told is that it does not open until 9am. So we trek back to the room and then again back down to the pool at 9am. Lack of attention to detail.
Naturally when we got to the towel hut the guy there asked for our towel cards. Huh? What towel cards? He said we should have been given towel cards at check-​in. This is NOT what we were told at check-​in. We were given no cards (no one in our group was). Lack of attention to detail. He was apologetic about it, but would not give us towels.
He let us use the phone and suggested we call «one touch» for help. «One touch» this time told us to go to the lobby to see the concierge for the cards and then take the cards back to the pool. This would make 3 trips to the pool for this and these are long, hot walks. Lack of attention to detail.
So we get to the lobby. Naturally there is NO concierge on duty on a Sunday morning. Lack of attention to detail. The only remaining option is to go to the person at the front desk and BEG for cards. Which is pretty much what it took to get them. Apparently the cards and towels are guarded like nuclear launch codes.
This is NOT the treatment expected at a 4-​star resort. Lack of attention to detail. The next morning we were given a survey to complete at breakfast. We filled it out and noted these issues complete with our room number. No one ever contacted us about it.
The other issue (other than the cons noted below) that left a real poor impression occurred a few nights later while several of us were relaxing in the Don Miguel bar. This large bar was usually empty while the small sports bar next door was always full (swap the two spaces mgmt). Anyway, there is a piano at this bar. A young male guest asked the bartender if he could play and was told yes. The guy was very good — played 3 songs (Piano Man, etc) that the few people in the bar sang along with. Not loud and it attracted a few people to come in. Suddenly the bartender comes over and with an apologetic look on his face says that the playing and singing must stop that management told him it was too loud. WTH? It was NOT loud and people were having a good time. The sports bar was 10x louder with obnoxiously drunk people. Totally uncalled for and people were really unhappy. This is not the way to treat guests. Appalling.
Pro:
— The grounds were beautiful.
— Very clean.
— The staff was without exception friendly and performed their duties with a smile. Tips while not required were very much appreciated by staff.
— The no reservation, no wrist band policy was nice.
— The beach was great and from what I heard the best of any resort in the area. Rocky if you go to the right but to left there was sand and you could go out if you dared. The beach was red-​flagged one day but that is not the fault of the resort.
— The quiet «lazy river» pool was a great option to relax.
— Close to the Cancun airport.
Con:
— The maintenance /​upkeep of our room was iffy. The sheets on the bed were always threadbare — terrible. The mattress had a sag in the middle and the bed was uneven and rocked. The Ethernet jack for Internet access was not operating. And the jetted tub was a mess. The stopper did not work. Not sure if the jets worked as I never got that far. Poor water pressure in the shower and water leaked under the door no matter what you did. Water would cycle from hot to cold to hot while you were taking a shower. The in room fridge did not keep things cold at all. The A/​C was barely adequate.
— The food was mediocre at best.
— Timing of the maid service was a mystery. Sometimes the room was serviced in the AM, sometimes late afternoon, once at 11pm! For some reason they insisted on re-​arranging our personal belongings periodically.
— The above mentioned pool towel fiasco and Don Miguel bar incident.
We won’t be back. Evidently we expect more for our hard earned money than some. To each their own.

This place is wonderful. All inclusive, adults only. The staff are all attentive, polite, and fun! Pools are amazing. Beach is amazing. I will be back for sure!

We had a great time at Valentin. We ate most of our meals at the Japanese restaurant since we love sushi. The staff was excellent and we had such fun with the pool activities. We upgraded our suite at the hotel and it was less expensive. My only complaint if there was one was the house Cabernet was not very good. That is my drink of choice so I had to pay for better wine but the other alcohol was top shelf.