Valentin Imperial Maya

 We just returned from our wonderful stay at the VIM, and EVERTHING was above and beyond our expectations. We worked primarily with Ariadna who was sweet, professional, assuring, and top-notch. Ana also was with us during the ceremony and was also all of those things. The clarity of what I say may be lacking because I have a touch of the flu, but will give it my best shot:

Wedding coordinators: cannot say enough about how helpful and excellent these ladies are! They go the extra mile to make sure everything is perfect. Ariadna spent stayed with me and the bridesmaids before the ceremony, and Ana stayed with the guests, so everyone knew where to be and when and didn't have to worry about anything. Ariadna promptly met my every wish with a smile and even sent my bouquet and wedding cake back to our room while we continued the party in the plaza. Ana helped us negotiate a good rate when our flight was cancelled and we had/got to stay another night!

Flowers: I was really picky, didn't like anything in the catalogs but sent my own pictures, and the flowers were better than I could have imagined. I was beyond pleased. I paid a little extra to have orchids in my bouquet but would not have changed a thing.

Hair and Makeup: I took pictures of what I wanted, and I could not imagine a better interpretation. I was soooo happy with the outcome!

Ceremony: Kiko Florez was our minister and did a superb job, the yuppah was gorgeous, beach set-up was perfect, no complaints at all!

Food: While the food overall was good, I thought the soups were the stand-out at every meal and the main course at the rehearsal and reception were mediocre. Some guests raved while others were not so impressed. I wouldn't say it was ever bad, just not always excellent. Overall though, the food at all restaurants was above our expectations, and so were the drinks. Ginger (Japenese) was our favorite but they were all good. Our romantic six course dinner was the best meal I've ever had, and the French restaurant was a romantic, formal setting (Hurricane Paula knocked out the beach option which was fine, no bugs).

Reception: We used Doremixx for our DJ and thought he was well worth the money. Kept us dancing all night long!

Photographers:

Del Sol: We used Del Sol for our ceremony pics and haven't seen all of them yet. I will include a link to the slideshow for anyone who is interested in viewing Sol's beautiful work. I feel like we presented a big challenge as subjects because we were both tense until the reception when we finally felt like we could let loose.

Sol was easy-going, friendly, and professional and did her best to set us at ease. My husband is just really uncomfortable being in the spotlight. That said, Sol did manage to catch some beautiful shots, and I am eager to see more.

I recommend checking out their website if you're interested in seeing more work: www.delsolphotography.com/  Their trash the dress sessions are especially breathtaking and possess an ethereal quality (they take them in cenotes), but we couldn't spring for one and just used them for the ceremony. Also, they have a sticky on bestdestinationweddings.com under Riviera Maya vendors that includes slideshows from numerous resorts. See our link below for our slideshow.

Wedding Slideshow

Blue Lens (resort photogs) shot our reception and I was pleasantly surprised by how wonderful the pictures were. Ashley Posusta was our photographer, and she did an amazing job. Again, I feel like it's unfair to compare photographers because at the reception we were all relaxed and focused on having fun, whereas before, we were tense, nervous, and not ourselves (even though everything was perfect, and we should have been more relaxed, we're just not those people).

Resort: the grounds were beautfiul, the service was 110%, and we cannot say enough good things aout the VIM. We met several couples who are lucky enough to frequent all-inclusives all over and they all liked the Valentin best. One couple comes to Riviera Maya two times a year and the VIM is their favorite.

The Valentin is the perfect place to get married, celebrate an anniversary, or just spend some time in paradise!

I just returned from my wedding on Saturday, and I have to say, it's a bummer to be home-we had such a fantastic time!
My husband, Dennis, and I got engaged at the Valentin last summer, and we absolutely fell in love with the hotel and setting. We found it very fitting to go back for our wedding, which was on July 10. We had a great group of 20 people, most of whom stayed from Thursday July 8-Tuesday July 13. My husband and I stayed from Wednesday July 7-Saturday July 17. It was truly an amazing experience.
I have learned so much about planning a destination wedding from people on this forum, and reviews have helped me so much. I'm hoping that I can return the favor to new brides with my review :)

Travel: B
My husband and I traveled on JetBlue, which we love. We left from Boston, had a short layover in New York, and were in Cancun about 4 hours later. The flight and everything was fine, but when we went to get our bags, I had a mild panic attack when I realized that one of my bags was lost. This happened to be the bag that had all of the OOT bag contents in. I filled in the paperwork and everything but was really stressed out the first day. Luckily, it was delivered to my hotel the following day. Too late to have the OOT bags waiting in guests rooms, but we passed them out at our Welcome dinner and that worked fine. I know it's something we couldn't control, but I guess my point is that there's something to be said about direct flights!

Resort: A
Since we've already been to the Valentin, we weren't surprised with this. The grounds are beautiful, there's a great variety of restaurants, the bars, pool and beach are great. I could go on and on about details, but I'd put you to sleep :)

Check In: B
Check In itself wasn't so bad. I have to say, after reading reviews on TripAdvisor, and learning that just about every person had gotten a free room upgrade, I was a bit disappointed that nobody in our group got an upgrade. My fiance and I did pay the extra to have the same room we had as last year, and I'd say it was worth it for this trip, but we wouldn't do it again. They did put just about all of our guests in the same building, which turned out to be very convenient. As a side note for future Valentin brides, when you arrive, they will take your luggage and then you check in at the lobby. After you check in, you have to go back and meet up with your luggage and they will drive you to your room. Several guests either "forgot" about their luggage, or didn't know where it was taken and just walked to their room. The luggage was eventually delivered, but it was a bit of a stress for some. The Valentin doesn't really let you know about this process, so keep it in mind.

Rooms: B
I'd give the rooms an A in a heartbeat, but we had some issues with our room (#14206). The first few days we were there, we had no hot water. This wasn't really a big deal for us because after a hot day at the beach, all we wanted was a cold shower. We weren't able to use our jacuzzi those first few days, though. Eventually it was fixed, and all was fine. We also had a little bug problem. There were these little tiny ants in our room. It didn't really bother me until I found them around the sink and toothbrushes. We called twice to have the room sprayed-the first time I think they forgot, but after the second call, they did spray, and it made a dramatic difference. We had no problems after that. A couple of our guests staying in building 5 also didn't have hot water the first few days, but it was fixed for them.

Welcome Dinner: A
We had this on Friday at 6pm at the Mexican restaurant. The Valentin does not take reservations at restaurants, but the wedding coordinator was happy to make one for us, but it had to be early. She said that we would have to do two tables of ten, but when we got there, we just pushed the tables together and had one long table. This was a really fun dinner. The food was delicious-they brought out bunches of appetizers, and lots of chips, pico de gallo and guacamole (which is probably one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten in my life). The entrees were really good, too. We all did shots of tequila, then my family got a little crazy taking decorations off the wall and posing for pictures with them...it was a really fun time. They let Dennis and I take home the empty bottle of tequila, which was perfect (we collect bottles of alcohol from different places we've been). We had given the OOT bags to the wedding coordinator, and she had them waiting for us to pass out at the dinner. I couldn't be happier with this dinner.

At the Welcome Dinner:


Wedding Coordinator: A+
I've been in contact with Ariadna for just about a year. She has always been quick to return emails, very courteous and informative, and friendly. Dennis and I met with her the day we arrived, and she was amazing. She had the package we purchased on her desk and went over every single thing, asking when we'd like the breakfast in bed, when we'd like the photographer, etc. I thought I knew which cake I wanted, but she showed me new pictures and I like hers even better. She was extremely thorough with everything, brought us around to show us the locations for all our events, as well as "Plan B" in case it rained, she was just great. The day before our wedding, my mom and I dropped off all our stuff for the ceremony/reception. We had a LOT of stuff...chair bows, fans, programs, menus, place cards, lanterns, centerpieces, decorations for the tables, speakers...there was a lot. We thought we'd have to help set things up or at least prepare things. She did absolutely everything. I'm very much a Type A, very detail oriented, and I like to be in control and it was extremely difficult for me to hand over all these responsibilities to Ariadna. She did a phenomenal job-she set up everything exactly as I had pictured, and it was just perfect. She was there to guide us at the ceremony, and she stayed very late at our reception to make sure everything went smoothly. I cannot say enough good things about her. She is extremely busy, and plans about 3 or 4 weddings per week, but made me feel like I was her most important bride.
As far as I know, Lupita is gone. Ariadna has been promoted to Head Wedding Coordinator, and now has an assistant, Ana. Ana is also really nice, and, while we didn't work with her, it was clear that she is learning a lot from Ariadna.

Wedding Ceremony: A
We had an absolutely beautiful day for our wedding. I was so worried it would rain, but it was perfect. I tried my best to relax during the day, but it was so difficult to! I spent the morning at the beach with my parents and bridesmaids. I got my hair and makeup done, then met back up with my parents and bridesmaids to get ready in my room. Our photographer, Sascha Gluck, met us there, and took pictures of us getting ready. We ordered champagne for room service, and they rushed it there within 15 minutes. Ariadna came by with our flowers, and there was a car to take us to the Ceremony.
We got married on the beach, right between buildings 11 and 12. It was very private, and very beautiful. Ariadna was there to direct the music I brought, and sent us all down the aisle. The bridesmaids/groomsmen and Dennis and I ended up having to switch sides because the wind was blowing my veil in my face, and at the very beginning, the batteries in the microphone died and it took a minute to replace them, but it was fine. Dennis said he needed those things to take the edge off.
The judge was funny, but some of the guests said they couldn't hear/understand her (she did have a very strong accent). The ceremony we brought was pretty long, and we don't remember exactly, but we think she skipped the last two paragraphs we had. Again, no big deal. It was perfect the way it was. Just an FYI for future brides doing the legal ceremony: the signing of the papers took a really long time. There are at least 4 pages that the bride, groom, and all 4 witnesses have to sign. We had our kiss, recessed out, had a champagne toast on the beach and took some group pictures. Everyone left to go to the cocktail hour, and we took more pictures with Sascha.

The beach set up:




The kiss!


Recessional:


Group Pic:



Cocktail Hour: A-
Dennis and I didn't make it to this because we were busy with pictures, but we heard it was great. The food was good (we chose hot canapes), open bar of course, there were tables and chairs set up...the only thing people complained of were bugs. It's funny-we had packed bug wipes into everyone's OOT bags, but on the day that we all needed them, nobody brought them! Oh well :)

Cocktail hour at the Gazebo:

Reception: A+
Our reception was at the Lobster Pot, and lucky us, the restaurant happened to be closed that night, so it was very private. We got there a little late, everyone was already seated. Ariadna had set up the tables and decorations perfectly. I had given her the seating chart we planned, and everything was in order. The menu we chose was: mixed salad with tomato vinagrette, asparagus soup, surf and turf (steak and shrimp), and chocolate biscuit. Everything was absolutely delicious. They took their time between courses, which was good. Everyone says the bride and groom don't have time to eat at their reception, but we definitely did :) Our wedding package included a Mexican trio, which usually plays at the cocktail hour, but we had them play during dinner (Dennis really wanted to see them). We're so glad we did-they were phenomenal! Big hit with the older guests, they took everyone's requests and did a great job. We were sad to see them go. After they left, we put my ipod on-Ariadna had set up the speakers we brought, and it worked perfectly. After dinner, we cut the cake, which was delicious. It was way too much cake though, we could have easily done with just 1 layer. We had the tres leches (three milks) and it was really good. Dennis and I had our first dance, we did the father-daughter and mother-son dance, then everyone got their party on. We brought glow stick necklaces with us, which turned out to be a hit. Ariadna had originally told us we could stay until 11, but then the day of, she said 10:30. The servers let us stay until 11. After the reception, my mom took down some of the table decorations and packed them up. We left a lot of stuff there, though, and the staff at the Lobster Pot said they would clean everything up and we could pick it up the next day. We were getting eaten by bugs during dinner, and told Ariadna, and she returned quickly with bug spray for us-the bugs didn't bother us after that. At 11 we all made our way over to the Plaza for more dancing and drinking. It was the perfect night-couldn't have been better!

Table Set Up:


Centerpieces:


"Kids" Table:


Mexican Trio:


First Dance:


Cake (bottom layer was fake):



Hotel Wedding Services: A
I had ordered calla lilies for my bouquet, bridesmaids bouquet, boutonnieres, and corsages. They were beautiful, but a few flowers were a little brown around the edges. The flowers at the ceremony were beautiful. The hotel steamed Dennis’s linen suit, and that came out great. I didn’t have my dress steamed because I was afraid of what it would do to the taffeta. My package included my hair and make up, which I was really scared about. It came out fantastic. I brought inspiration pictures for my hair, and she did a great job-it looked exactly like the picture. It took me two days to get all the hairspray out, but this is the price we pay for beauty  I was really nervous about my make up-I brought my own just in case I didn’t like what they did. I didn’t bring any pictures with me, and I told the make up artist that I wanted a more natural look. She didn’t exactly give me a natural look, but I loved what she did, and didn’t redo anything myself. It was a very long appointment, though. About an hour for make up, and an hour and a half for hair. Totally worth it!

Best picture I could find of my hair:

I think that’s about the end-sorry this has been super long! We are so happy with our wedding experience at the Valentin. The rest of our trip was fantastic, and we’re sad to be home. I may lurk around this forum from time to time, but if you have any questions about the Valentin, photographers, etc., I’m more than happy to help-the best way to get me is by email: cait713 @ aol.com
Thanks for reading!

We came back from our dream wedding about two weeks ago. It was absolutely wonderful in every way you can imagine.

Resort: Simply romantic, very peaceful, and I loved the hacienda style decor. The restaurants are great, the grounds are gorgeous, the pool can either be relaxing or fun, depending on what area you decide to set up shop.  We plan on coming back for sure!

Checking In: This was the only area we had some issues. Our first check in was great, they had champagne and wet hand towels, and we were welcomed like kings. The issues we had were with our room changes, with keys and the bell hop service etc…but it got figured out…and Ariadna stepped in when some confusion on the bill came up.

Wedding Sites: We had our wedding ceremony in the Chapel, which is surrounded by a little lagoon, the cocktail hour was in the Gazebo which is just gorgeous, and the reception in the Fountain area, which turned out to be a big hit with the wedding party, however one thing I didn’t expect is that during dinner it was a little dewy/wet with the fountains on, but it wasn’t a big deal. Also, we had lighting under the tables and some lanterns but it was still a little too dark to see your food. So I would recommend purchasing more lighting.

Coordinators: They were amazing! We had spent a year planning the wedding and had a lot of details, but they were on top of every single item and preference. They kept telling me not to worry, and I knew I didn’t have to. They were also great with any last minute changes or issues. They were completely professional and friendly. I just can’t say enough about Ana and Aridana.

Food: My husband and I loved the food at the resort and at the wedding. We heard the cocktail hour was a favorite among our guests - we chose the Mexican Tapas selection. The only thing we did hear from some guests was that the food, at the reception, was a little cold (which I expected from an outdoor reception).

Flowers: I sent Ana pictures of what I wanted, which wasn’t exactly on the list they originally sent me. But the bouquets turned out beautifully! They even looked better than the picture I sent, actually!

Décor & Favors: They set everything up to our preferences and collected everything for us when the reception was over so we didn’t have to worry. Everything looked exactly how we wanted it to…just perfect.

Hair and Makeup: The spa staff was very nice and professional, though a little disorganized. I brought pictures and the beautician did exactly what I wanted and it looked great! Also, they made sure we had some mimosas and food, which I thought was really great.

DJ: Did a fabulous job….we danced the night away and every song we requested was played. Again just perfect!

Photographers:  We brought our own

Videographers: With everything going on during a wedding, there are so many things you forget. But of course Valentin remembered everything for us…the videographers had a beautiful edited video ready for us when we checked out.  Just a great touch!

Webcam: We decided to do a webcam for our friends and family who couldn’t make it. From what I’ve heard the streaming video was great and they all felt like they were there with us, which was so very important to us.

Priest: We had a Catholic ceremony. The priest went off script big time, but we actually all got a kick out of it.

Notes: Overall it was a “Once-in-a-Lifetime” experience, so the wedding package we chose was appropriately titled. The private beach dinner that was included was so wonderful and again another great touch…along with the romantic room décor, breakfast in bed, and all the other extras that we didn’t even think of but made our experience extra special. Our only wedding hiccup was that we prepared welcome bags for our guests. However, they were stuck in customs and it was a big mess. Basically, we lost a lot of money and the sentiment because it was too expensive to get them through. Valentin did offer a vendor to assist us with this issue, but by then our options were not affordable. If I had to do it again, I would have either hired a company down there to create them for me, or worked months in advance with this vendor. I am not even sure Valentin offers welcome bag vendors, but I learned that they may not offer it to you unless you ask and they can get it done for a price.

TRAVEL & CHECK-IN: A-

Our trip to Mexico was very smooth. We had 4 large suitcases in total, and 2 carry-ons, plus my dress. I had prepared receipts for all our wedding stuff (decorations, OOT bags) in advance, but we had no issues. We were practically the last ones to customs and light went green, and they let us through. Transport to the Valentin was included in our wedding package, but since we were traveling with Fi’s mom, we asked to bring her with us. They charged us $80 USD just to put her in the van with us, which is ridiculous considering a cab is only $35. Check-in was smooth - they met us with cool towels and champagne, and we were carted to our room with the bags. 

ROOM: B+

We were in building 7 and were upgraded to a Gold suite, free of charge. The room was very nice, with a nice view. The bathroom is kind of open concept, which is kind of uncomfortable and unromantic, so Fi and I worked out a system of leaving each other to have “private time”. I wasn’t thrilled with the housekeeping staff. The rooms were clean, but we never had any personal touches (ie: the towel swans and rose petals I’d seen). Fi went the the front desk the last night and requested it as a surprise for me. Fi’s mom (who was traveling alone), however, received a “Happy Anniversary” set-up and also a “Congratulations on your wedding” set-up with champagne on 2 different occasions - an obvious mix-up. Another couple commented that they hadn’t had their room cleaned in 3 days, and had to call to have someone come. They did a great job of putting all of our guests fairly close together.

GROUNDS: A+

Beautiful, lush, very well kept. I’d heard that this resort was very big, so I was a little worried because our mom’s have some trouble getting around, but front desk will send a cart to pick you up any time you need. I didn’t really find the resort that big at all, but I’ve never been to an all-inclusive to compare it to. We learned our way around after a day or two. All our guests kept commenting that it was the nicest resort they’d been to.

View from our room:

RESTAURANTS: A-

The French, Italian, Asian and Indonesian restaurants were our favourite. Some of the meals were amazing, truly gourmet, others were just ok. The staff is always amazing though, and you always feel like you’re eating at a high-end restaurant. The buffet in the “Le Marche” is the best I’ve seen. I never felt worried about food safety or quality, and no one in our group ever got sick. Dress up for dinner (most people do). They usually send men away if they don’t have a collared shirt, but I saw one or 2 slip through the cracks. Highlights: Wild Mushroom risotto and Ricotta stuffed chicken (Italian), French onion soup and Chateaubriand (French). 

STAFF: A+

One of the highlights is the staff. Everyone from the bell boy to the pool boy is friendly, helpful and smiling. It really made it feel like a warm place to be.

WEDDING: A-

Veronica was our coordinator. She was always quick to respond to emails and helpful the whole way through. She called us on Monday and we saw her on Tuesday to go over details for the wedding on Thursday. I brought her a suitcase of decorations and pictures of how I envisioned the set-up. She confirmed our selections, and I left feeling very confident that she would handle things wonderfully, and she did! 

I only have 2 complaints about the whole wedding process and this is one: the spa booked all 3 bridesmaids in for hair and make-up between 1-3pm. I needed to be at the room by 3pm for the photographer, and the wedding was to start at 4pm. Itzel did my hair and make-up was amazing! I can't sing her praises enough!! We did a trial the day before and it was great. Unfortunately, the other person on the wedding day (doing my BM’s hair) was not so competent, and didn’t speak english. Itzel had to keep stopping my hair to translate and show the other hair dresser what to do for the BM. Neither of my BM’s were really happy with their hair, and I ended up being 20 minutes late to the room. This pushed the entire wedding back 20 minutes and was the only time I was freaking out. 

The wedding starting late wasn’t the issue, it was the fact that the daylight was running out, and we didn’t have much time for photos. We were literally running from spot to spot to get photos before the sun went down. SO - I would recommend leaving a good 3 hours for hair and make-up. Also, it might have been better to start the wedding at 3:30pm. I was worried it would be too hot that early, but it would have been fine.

I gave Veronica my iPhone with playlists, and she handled the music perfectly. The ceremony was beautiful. The minister had kind eyes that put me at ease. Then we rushed through photos and made it to the last half of the cocktail hour. I didn’t get to try the food, but everyone said it was good. The mosquitos hadn’t been bad at all before the wedding, but that night they were AWFUL! My dad ran and got some bug spray, but I was covered in bites from walking to and from the beach. 

At 6pm we went to the Mexican terrace for dinner. My brother manned the sound system and music. From that point on everything rushed by so quickly, I felt like we were only there an hour or two. We ate, had the first dance, speeches, cut the cake, and danced a bit. The best meal BY FAR for me was the surf and turf. We’d had the steak at the Steak House the first night, and it was terrible so I was a little worried. But the wedding meal was a completely different cut and quality, and was one of the best meals I’ve had ever. Everyone was impressed. I heard the chicken was good too.

When people started to get antsy, we went out to the big plaza to light the sky lanterns (around 9:30pm). This was a huge hit! For anyone who cares, I made sure to get the 100% wire-free ones so it doesn’t hurt the wildlife (they use bamboo and string instead of wire). After this, we went to the plaza and danced and it was so fun! We had a blast!

SPA: A+

Aside from the issue mentioned above, we also had an issue with a credit we got from Expedia. We had a “$250 Spa Credit” from Expedia, so I booked nails and hair, thinking I would use that. When we got there, they told us we could only use the credit for massages, because the salon and spa were separate entities. We were not happy with this, but the Valentin said it was Expedia’s fault for not wording the deal properly, and we’d have to take it up with them. They gave us 30% off the services, instead of the normal 20%, for the hassle, which was nice. Again, Itzel was amazing. We did get the massages, plus the other massages that came with our wedding package, and both were nice.

PHOTOGRAPHER

This is my only other complaint about the whole week. Blue Lens came with our package. I’m really picky with photography, and I wasn’t 100% in love with their style, so we hired Juan Navarro for 3 hours for the ceremony and pictures, and had to pay a $300 vendor fee to have him come in even though we were still using Blue Lens for the reception. Fi knew how important photos were to me, so he agreed, but he was very unhappy with the vendor fee. Sometimes I felt guilty that a photographer was already included in our package, and we were paying an extra $1000 for another one. But, with our package, only 36 photos are included from Blue Lens. So to get all the photos, you end up paying $1000 anyway! I am happy we went with Juan, because it would have been the same price with Blue Lens in the end, and I just don’t feel (personally) the quality is worth that price. 

We had Ashley at Blue Lens take photos of the reception (I felt she was the best at Blue Lens), and she did take a lot of great photos. We met with her in the lobby to pick our 36 photos, but it was awkward because we felt pressure to buy the photos. By this time, we had already spent $1500 for photography and fees, and we weren’t going to pay more. She sat there as we went through 500 photos to pick the 36. When we had it narrowed down to 60 photos I think she got frustrated with us and just burnt us a CD with the remaining 60. Had I known about the vendor fee when we were choosing resorts, I may have chose a different resort with a better photographer to avoid that vendor fee. In the end, I’m glad I hired Juan (a separate review of him to come).

Bottom line: This resort is amazing! The wedding coordinators are fantastic! You will have a great time, and your guests will as well. If you have any issues, the staff is VERY quick to rectify things and make sure you’re happy. They had us fill out a 3 page survey on our experiences to get feedback, and even had a Manager’s Cocktail Reception to get feedback from guests. This resort really cares that you have a good experience. Overall I would give the entire experience a A-. I would highly recommend the resort, and I hope Fi and I can return one year for our anniversary.