Valentin Imperial Riviera Maya - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

20003 reviews

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  Excellent for the price

  Pros - Resort is stunning/jungly sprawl, extremely unique. A lof of thought when into the planning/design of this resort. Every path curves, and you can never see too far ahead of you. The resort is large, but the design makes it even feel larger than it is. It took us several days to figure out the most optimal route to the buffet restaurant. We were never lost, but just always took a slightly different route. If you don't like walking this is a poor choice. -The main buffet restaurant interior feels like you are in Disney World Jurassic park. - I heard the pool was famous, and it truly is something massive and special. Even their quiet pool is very unique and massive. - Value- for our dates the resort was cheap in off season <$300 for two per a night. - Service is good, though it's always good in Mexico. I would also say the waiters here especially are above average. Even in more expensive resorts, restaurant service is more "carribean"- here it is more similar to home. -Coffee shop was very good. I'm not a coffee expert by any means, but I think the best I've seen. - While being an older resort, with non modern styling, the maintenance is excellent. I did not feel like anything was overdue for remodeling. Cons - Having been to several resorts, the Valentine is very clearly in a lower class compared to many other luxury adult onlys (see below) - Dinners here are below average. Not bad by any means, but not particularly impressive, and often mixed in quality. If you just look at the menus online and compare it to more expensive resorts, the difference is obvious. To be clear we ate a lot we enjoyed, but the resort is clearly in a lower price bracket. - Pool service is below average. You have to bring your own towel, and there really aren't any pool concierges. Poolside waiter service is more limited. -Shaded spots are difficult to get at the main pool. - Drinks are average, and not measured. - The resort requries long pants in almost every dinner restaurant- which is both unusual and uncessary. Especially in August. At least in the summer, I don't see why they don't allow nice shorts. - The biggest con, is in public spaces you rarely see the ocean. It's very unusual for an AI to not have at least one ocean view pool. What's even stranger, is even the beach restaurant does not have great ocean views. For the most part unless you are booking an ocean front room (which i did not test), you are not going to see the ocean unless you are on the beach. The silver lining is the beach was unusable due to the seaweed anyways. Other Thoughts - The crowd here is a bit more lively than the average adults only. It is also more midwestern/texan heavy. Notably fewer non Americans/Canadians. Wouldn't call it a pro or a con, but just something to note. -For the price paid, I thought the value we received was fantastic, so 5 stars is deserved.

  Sep 08, 2026
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  Fantastic property all around, great food and staff.

  Fantastic property all around, great food, lovely staff.

  Sep 07, 2026
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  Have stayed at better

  We go to Mexico every year and decided to try the Valentin since someone had recommended it. Honestly, we’ve stayed at better resorts. We stayed in the Dunas private pool ocean view and it was a nice room. However, the pool water would always get low and we had to call maintenance a few times. It’s ridiculous to make people dress up for the restaurants when it’s 90 degrees and humid, especially making the men wear pants. I’ve seen several posts from people complaining about that and for years the resort says they’ll look into that. I guess there hasn’t been any change. We also hated the fact that they didn’t have a buffet option for dinner. To get around, we downloaded the app Indrive, which was much cheaper than getting a taxi since this resort is about 30 min to playa del carmen. We paid $15-$20 each way. The beach and pools were nice. The pool was actually really warm when we went and it was much more refreshing to swim in the ocean.

  Sep 06, 2026
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  Love this place!

  From the moment we arrived the service was absolutely top notch until the second we left, we were blown away at this resort, it’s absolutely beautiful all the way around! And the food was phenomenal! We especially loved the steakhouse on the beach we went there twice during our trip! We were there August 26-31st for our first trip and already planning another! Everyone was above and beyond there to serve with pride in their jobs and so nice! We can not recommend this place highly enough!! Fantastic all around!! Our swim up room location was awesome!

  Sep 02, 2026
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  We are picky and expect good service

  We just spent 9 days at VIM and have only fabulous comments and wonderful memories to reflect on. The staff is top notch ! Michel at the main pool bar was a saint. He took care of everyone and he knew our order before we did. The food is amazing! Cindy at Taman Sari was a gem. She’s a very accommodating and attentive. The Tierra Mar breakfast staff was just spectacular too. The breakfast options are way better than a buffet imo. I just wished the churro guy was there every night, we didn’t see him on 3 nights that I recall. The pools are perfect for those who want to relax or those who want to party. No complaints here. The pool bum food truck made it easy to eat lunch and get back to relaxing. Great staff at the pool restaurant seating area. We had a fantastic time. Will be back for a 3rd time soon.

  Aug 22, 2026