We stayed at the Valentin Imperial Maya April 26 to May 5, 2008. I booked the trip with Apple Vacations by Cindy Rapley of Batavia Custom Travel in Batavia, Illinois.

WORKERS: I would first like to thank the following workers of the Valentin for the service excellence and friendliness we received during our stay. Concierge's Martin, Omar and Jose; pool bartenders Samuel and Ray; beach bartender Daniel; Luiz at the French restaurant; Carlos, Ivan and Ricardo at the Steak restaurant; Manuel and Ezmerelda at the Buffet. I can not say enough about the treatment we received from all. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

CANCUN AIRPORT: Getting through customs was relatively quick. They had many agents so the lines moved fast. There were many timeshare people in the lobby but we were not bothered. Once outside we found the Apple Rep and he directed us to our transportation.

TRANSPORT TO RESORT: We were transported to the resort in a large van. There were 8 people in the van. The route was all high way and took about 30 minutes. The Valentin Imperial Maya was the first stop so we did not get to see any other resorts.

RESORT CHECK IN: We arrived at about 12 noon. We were greeted by 2 bellhops, one took our luggage and the other showed us to the lobby for check in. Champagne and a wet towel were given to you, very nice touch. Check in is done at individual desks. You wait for one of the clerks to get free. A room was ready and we were upgraded, Thank You Valentin. Now you are transported to the room via golf cart. Our luggage showed up shortly after.

BRACELETS: No bracelets to wear at this resort.

ROOM: Our room was in Tower 13 room 205, 2nd floor, ocean front. Tower 13 is close to the pool, beach and the beach restaurant. The views from the patio and bathroom Jacuzzi were spectacular. There is a folding door you can open in front of the Jacuzzi and enjoy the view, the breeze, and ocean. The Jacuzzi drain plug did not stop the water completely. The patio had 2 chairs and a table perfect for observing the ocean. Bathroom was nice size with dual sinks. Water pressure was good. There was plenty of hot and cold water. The water appeared to be softened. The toilet was in a separate room. At times it could get very hot in the toilet room because there was no ventilation and no windows to open. The TV is a flat screen with a good selection of channels, and the remote works. A DVD player is also included. There is a nice size safe in the closet. There are motion detectors in the room. If there is no movement in the room I believe the AC shuts down, or it certainly seemed that way during the night. If you open any of the ocean front doors the AC shuts off. The AC was not cold on 4/26, 4/27, and 4/28, 2008. There was barely any airflow from the vent and it was not cold. The overhead fan helped somewhat. I made continuous calls to the operator. That was pretty much worthless; no one came to check the AC. I discussed the problem with the concierge's Martin and Omar. They investigated and I was told there was a problem at the plant that supplies the cold water to the rooms. On 4/29/2008 the AC was working. The AC was not as cold as we would like. The safe did not open on 2 occasions and was repaired promptly. The folding door in front of the Jacuzzi was difficult to open and close. I called the operator about the problem. I think it was repaired but did not use it anymore during our stay. There is another door by the Jacuzzi you can access the patio. BE CAREFUL, the door locks behind you if closed. It has a key lock and there is no way to unlock it. If you use that door to get to the patio, and the door is closed, and the patio door is locked, YOU ARE STUCK, LOCKED OUT OF YOUR ROOM ON THE PATIO. I would suggest when you are in the room to unlock the sliding patio door. The power went off while we were in the room several times for about 30 seconds.

POOL: The pool was the largest we have ever seen. Two water falls you can go under, a fountain and a bridge to walk over. Lots of chairs to choose from. Of course there were those people who have to save a chair at daybreak in the shade. There were blue rafts you could hang on to and float around the pool. The pool was very clean and the workers were out everyday cleaning it. Two pool bars to choose from. The bartenders were excellent. You can also order drinks and some food from the servers around the pool.

TOWELS: No towel cards at this resort. Towels were abundant and they were constantly picking them up and washing them. We never had a problem with towels.

BEACH: The beach was very nice with lots of chairs. The sand is like powder and is soft so it is not that great for walking on. The water in front of the resort has rocks and swimming there is not allowed. Just to the north there is a large roped off swimming area. It has mostly a sandy bottom and great for wading in. The surf was mostly rough during our stay. There were 2 days the surf was calm. You can also order drinks and some food from the servers around the beach. There are a few vendors on the beach selling things. There is a wood walkway to the beach. On a sunny day be careful the wood gets very HOT and you can not walk on it with bare feet.

INSECTS: Barely any insects to speak of. No bees at any of the bars. Pretty amazing for a tropical setting.

RESTAURANTS: All the food was excellent. Le Marche' Buffet was great for breakfast and lunch. Mar and Tierra at the beach has a continental breakfast and 10 am, and serves lunch and dinner. Both restaurants are under the same roof. They offer Steak, Seafood, and Lobster Pot but not all are open at the same time. At lunch the choice is Steak or Seafood. At dinner there could be several choices, Steak & Seafood, Steak & Lobster Pot, Seafood & Lobster Pot. The lobster pot has great lobster tail served several ways. Steak has a variety of steaks and the only place you can get a baked potato. There is NO STEAK SAUCE at the resort. L'Alsace the French restaurant was fabulous. Ask for Luiz to serve you, he was great. Chateaubriand was out of this world. We ate at the L'Alsace twice and it was terrific. The rolls with bacon and cheese, Yum Yum. Ginger the Japanese restaurant was good. There is NO SAKI at the Japanese restaurant. The La Hacienda the Mexican restaurant we did not try. The II Olivo the Italian restaurant we did not try. We had room service for dinner two times and it was delivered fast and the food was great.

RESORT: The resort is huge. The entrance from the highway to the resort is at least 1 mile. The grounds on the way to the resort are very well maintained. All areas of the resort were very clean. Being new they are still working on the landscaping throughout the resort.

WEATHER: The weather was fantastic. 90 degrees every day, some sunny and some partly cloudy. It rained one morning from 3 am to 8 am. There was no more rain during our stay.

BUSINESS CENTER: The Business Center had 3 computers you could use to access the internet, at no charge. The hours were 7 am to 11 pm. Some of the symbols on the keyboards are different from those in the US. You have to experiment with them to find what you need.

CELL PHONES: We have Verizon phones and they worked fine. Dial 001 area code and number. Verizon suggests you get the phone setup for international calling. There is no charge.

RETURN TO CANCUN AIRPORT: I called the bellhop to pickup our luggage, He arrived promptly. We were transported back to the airport via a large bus. The bus made 2 stops at other resorts on the way. It was nice to see other resorts.

CHECK IN AT USA 3000: It started off very smooth. Then we were advised that we were allowed only 1 checked piece of luggage per person. I was sent across the terminal to another USA 3000 counter where I was to pay $25.00 USD for each extra piece of luggage. My wife is waiting at the check in counter while I am paying for the luggage. Why don't they take your money at the check in counter????? I had to return to the check in counter and show the receipt before the luggage was checked in. Poor, poor service USA 3000!

FLIGHT AND ARRIVAL TO O'HARE IN CHICAGO, IL: The flight was fine. Getting through customs and luggage pick up was very smooth. The fastest we have ever had at the O'Hare International Terminal.

SUMMARY: Valentin Imperial Maya is a very beautiful resort. The workers really make this resort great. If you like an oceanfront room, request a 2nd floor room in Towers 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Read the reviews to determine if this is the resort for you. Try it you will not be disappointed.
If you have any questions Email me at blue_eyes1952@yahoo.com.

There are many great things about this resort, foremost being the stunning facilities and exceptional service. Every single staff member we encountered was super helpful and friendly. The grounds are immaculately kept, and everything is squeaky clean. Even the public bathrooms are to be admired!

The only things that weren't quite 5 star (in my humble opinion) were the food and the entertainment. Don't get me wrong, the food was good to very good and it was always beautifully presented, but I would not say that it was exceptional. Our favorite restaurants were Ginger and the new Thai restaurant (I can't remember its name). I had lobster several times during our stay and it was delicious (New Englanders may be disappointed with the size - we're spoilt!). The only thing is that the Lobster Pot restaurant doesn't serve anything but seafood, and so my husband had to sit there and watch me while I ate...at least he could drink!

Room service is wonderful in the morning (the only time we had it), and since we were upgraded to an ocean view room, it was so peaceful and relaxing to sit and eat on the patio.

Entertainment wise, the shows were a little hokey. The Michael Jackson show was good (if you like his music), and the fire show was good too - I actually liked it mostly because we got to meet other guests and chat with them (they do the show at the pool and seat you in groups for dinner). We didn't get to see the circus show - we were too exhausted from the tour we went on (see my review of Edventures - awesome!)

The daily activities we really enjoyed were the dance classes and making guacamole. I would have loved to do the kitchen tour and some others (like the cocktail class), but we missed some and others seemed to be canceled. (I must say that the entertainment staff are very nice and are a lot of fun.)

The main pool at the Valentin Maya is stunning and a wonderful place to hang out. The beach was always warm but breezy (which was nice - not too hot). The waves are moderate to quite big...it's definitely not 'like a swimming pool'! We split our time between the beach and pool which was perfect.

All in all we had a wonderful vacation. It's a great place to go if your main objective is to relax. If you want to do more than that, be prepared to spend quite a bit of money. No snorkeling trips, sunset cruises or other activities are included (as they were at the other all-inclusive we stayed at) and transportation from and to the airport is on your dime (we used prisma transfers, booked through [--], who were really good). Trips to Playa del Carmen cost $15 round trip p.p. but at least six people need to sign up from the hotel (on the day we wanted to go, no one else signed up). A cab will cost about $44 round trip.

Also, be prepared to tip...from what we understand, most service staff in Mexico get paid a very measly wage, and we felt bad not tipping. Over the course of a week, we probably spent $120 on this.

One last piece of advice, make sure you bring extra sun block - unless you are already well tanned, you WILL need a high SPF - take it from sunburned me (and I used SPF 40)! It's expensive to buy in the gift shop. Also, and this one's for the ladies... bring conditioner! After a day at the beach, the 'conditioning shampoo' provided by the resort left my hair looking like a rat's nest! (So I bought a small bottle at the gift shop for $5.50)

I hope this helps you make a more informed decision about your precious vacation. The candid information on Tripadvisor has been very valuable to me...hopefully I have 'paid it forward'.

Like many people we read the reviews before we left and all
I can say is that we had the best time. From the time we arrived
til the time we left we were pampered and the service was
outstanding. We went for our 30th anniversary and found that
we love the all adult aspect of the Valentine. We did room service
on several occasions and found it to be the best and the restaurants (esp. the Italien and french) were to die for. The
fact that they are air conditioned a plus and the personal service
was a wonderful touch.

The beach was great especially for walking. The pool the largest I've ever seen and plenty of places to lounge. I would
return in a heartbeat!!

My daughter and I spent a week in April at the Valentin Imperial and loved the resort. The resort, accommodations, restaurants were perfect just what we expected. The food was always delicious and the service attentive. We went to every restaurant for dinner and never waited more than 20 minutes to be seated. The breakfast buffet was really good, lots of choices and quality foods.
The pool is enormous but we spent most of our time on the beach. Unfortunately to get an umbrella you had to be up pretty early (people like to save chairs in the shade, chairs in the sun and chairs at the pool). The beach was great but only half was swimable.
The resort (adults only) was very quiet which we appreciated but younger people might like a little more action.
If possible I will return in Jan/Feb with my husband.