Is the Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya the right resort for you?

A TROPICAL, ADULT'S ONLY, OCEAN FRONT, ALL-INCLUSIVE RESORT

Did you know there's hundreds of resorts in the Riviera Maya area of Mexico? This can make it very challenging to decide on which one is best for you. I just got back from an 8 night vacation with my family to this adult's only resort and am excited to tell you my thoughts!

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QUICK FACTS

The resort is approx. 30-35 minutes away from the CUN airport. The resort has more of a "tropical" feel with lots of walks through the foliage, beautiful palm trees, mangroves and animals like coatis. This is not the best resort if you don't enjoy this type of ambiance.

With over 500 rooms, it has 2 daytime restaurants, with 7 a la carte evening restaurants with NO reservations. There are 11 bars, 3 pools with different daytime vibes for every person.

CHECK-IN

We arrived before 2pm so our room wasn't ready, so we went for a quick bite to eat in the buffet and then shortly received a phone call from the concierge telling us that our room was ready and we could come back whenever. This was perfect for us.

We opted in for the "club level" service which they call Prive, which includes a few different things, one of them being a private check-in area with top shelf liquor and lite bites to eat. The resort is pretty big so they drive you on a golf cart to your room.

Me & Tanner in the Prive Lounge at Check In

THE ROOMS

While not the most modern rooms in all of the Riviera Maya, they are definitely sufficient and still beautiful. Just know that if you're wanting the most modern and minimalistic rooms, this is not going to be the resort for you.

We stayed in the Golden Superior Junior Suite, which has a large balcony and a view overlooking the Golden pool. My mom stayed in the Emerald Junior suite that has a BEAUTIFUL view of the ocean with a jacuzzi tub with another view of the ocean. Perfect room if you're wanting to splurge a little bit and also have the beach view.

Our Golden room was very spacious with plenty of room for 2 people. All rooms come with a mini fridge stocked with beer, soda, chips, water.

There are many buildings and many room categories, for example some rooms don't guarantee king beds, so it's important to know exactly which room you are booking (if you book with a travel agent like me I can assist you with this!) See the below video for a quick room tour.

AMENITIES

The resort features a LARGE main pool with TWO swim up bars. This pool is so large that you can order a drink at the first swim up bar, and have it finished before you're able to float over to the other swim up bar. As is fairly standard in the Riviera Maya, they have pool games, and entertainment. However, if you don't wish to participate it's very easy to go to the other side of the pool and not be bothered.

The other main pool is the Golden pool. It's a lazy river "style" pool which also connects to the swim out suites. Although they say it's so lazy you have to paddle yourself. This is more of the "quiet" pool if you're looking for that vibe. Both pools have drink service and food you can order.

Chair saving is definitely an issue at this resort. If you are not up early saving your chair with a towel, you will not get the exact seats you want. The Prive package includes Bali beds that you can reserve for free with the concierge. If having a Bali bed at the pool is important, then Prive is a must.

There is no kid's club as this is an adult's only 18+ resort.

The beach is BIG! And the sand is nice and soft. The dreaded sargassum can be an issue here, but there's really no way to tell when it's going to be worse as the conditions change day to day. One day, it was so bad we couldn't even get into the ocean, and then the next day it was practically gone and swimming in the ocean was enjoyable. We never had a problem finding chairs on the beach. Below pictures show the beach. 2 different days, same vacation.

The gym was small for a resort of this size. However, not many people were using it.

Every night they have a show and then live music of some sort out on the square. So after you eat dinner you can go to the show or sit in the square with a drink. Some people dance to the music but it is mainly for mingling and listening to the band play.

This is the square during the day

We didn't indulge in any spa treatments this time, but they have a spa.

PRIVE PACKAGE

- We opted for the Prive package this time. It includes a private check in/check out lounge with top shelf alcohol where they will make any drinks for you.

- You CAN make reservations if you're Prive and then when you get to the restaurant you can skip the wait (highly recommend this during high season).

- Free lobster at every dinner

- Sparkling wine, fresh flowers, fruit plate in the room upon arrival.

- In - room top shelf liquor (4 bottles based on 2 people per room)

- Reserved bali beds at no additional cost

DINING OPTIONS

You will NOT go hungry here! I swear every time another meal came around, we were all so full still from the last meal. They have tons of options for every palate, the only thing they don't have is a kid's menu with chicken fingers. The restaurants are fully all inclusive, everything is included (even lobster if you have the Prive package.)

Breakfast:

Coffee shop with coffee drinks along with small bites like sandwiches and tarts.

Buffet (1) for breakfast with an omelet station and a crepe station, amongst other breakfast foods.

A la carte restaurant (1) near the beach with order off the menu options.

Lunch:

Food trucks (2) near the main pool.

Menu ordering by the Golden pool with smaller lunch items.

Buffet (1) which is my personal favorite for getting a quick bite to eat immediately after arriving at the resort.

Dinner:

A la carte restaurants (9) for more formal dining in the evenings. Dress codes are required but nothing too crazy. No reservations are needed unless you want to reserve a hibachi table.

In addition to everything above, they also have a churro cart near the square in the evenings so you can have a small appetizer before heading to dinner or a small dessert afterwards.

DRINKS

There are 11 bars scattered across the resort (I think! it's hard to keep track of all of them as there is no shortage!) they can make pretty much any drink you ask for and they have the standard options that most Riviera Maya resorts have, along with others.

SERVICE

The workers here do go above and beyond. The drink service at the pools can be a bit slow at times, but if you're worried about not getting your drink quick enough, I can assure you there's a bar within 30 seconds walk from wherever you are. A few things they did for us, they let me bring a cup of limes back to my room for in room drinks, they got us a bandaid for a blister from my sandals, they remembered us and were able to recognize us which just makes you feel good as a customer. Dinners are longer and slower than what we're used to in USA but doesn't take away from the experience.

IS THIS RESORT REALLY FOR YOU?

This is a resort that impresses people every day. They have a loyal following of people who come back every year, sometimes twice a year. It's a very solid choice, not ultra luxury, but definitely not budget.

- This resort would be good for couples, 18+, people who don't want a "sleepy" resort but also don't want to hear blaring music all day long. I think the demographic here is slightly older, 35-55 year old adults seemed to make up the majority. But just because they're older doesn't mean they don't have a good time.

- It would be good for people who don't want to be too far away from the Cancun airport.

- Good for groups of adults who want to have a fun time on vacation together (think couples trip!)

- Good for foodies who don't want to the price tag of ultra luxury

- Good for someone who NEEDS to have a swim up bar (they have 2!)

This resort is NOT for you if you want to have a clear, sargassum free ocean. The sargassum isn't as bad as others in this area, but you just cannot guarantee that it won't be there.

CLOSING REMARKS:

I hope this review gives you a better idea of the resort and what to expect if you were interested in having your next trip here! If this review was helpful, I would love the opportunity to book it for you! My services are completely free and I have access to direct contacts on the ground at the resort if issues during your stay arise. If you're still interested in Riviera Maya area but don't think this is the resort for you, let's get in touch and I can recommend a different resort that better fits your wants and needs!