TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This is our third vacation at the Valentin. It is still has beautiful rooms, excellent dining and entertainment. The staff is exceptional from the waiters, bartenders, housekeeping, and even the Don Miguel bar at night made phenomenal drinks, love the Imperial martini! The pool entertainment was so much fun and the grounds are stunning and immaculate. You can walk on the beach or take a dip in the ocean or play pickleball, I would suggest you get some more courts. I want to give a big shout out to our wonderful concierge in our building #4 her name was Erandi. She was so helpful and went out of her way to keep calling in case there was a cancellation at the hibachi, which there was and she got us in. Always smiling , just a joy! We met wonderful people and we thank you for an excellent and memorable vacation and anniversary!

This was our second time to Valentin and, while our first trip was so amazing it made us return, this second time around was even better! This trip was March 22 - March 27, 2024. We traveled in a group of four. Both parties had Golden Swim-ups in building 7 and it was perfect. Btw, the remodel is fantastic...the colors they used and the upgrades to the lights/blue tooth systems were spot on. Food: - Taman Sari was our groups favorite restaurant. I don't recall the exact name of the dish but I had the friend Mahi Mahi and that single handedly has me wanting to return. And make sure to get the ribs. - La Hacienda was a close second favorite. I had the molcajete, would highly recommend it, and wanted to try a few other menu items but did not get the chance. - Mar y Tierra was a very good restaurant but my favorite part of that place was simply the location. The food was good....but it was the environment that made it for me. - Insiders tip: go to your restaurants early and they'll give you a buzzer that you can take with you to a bar while you wait for a seat to open up. We didn't know they did this until our last night there. - The hibachi grill (inside Ginger) was fun and the chefs there are far more skilled than the other hibachi grills I've been to around our home area. - Poolside food trucks: perfect for lunch. I had the hotdog and it was grilled, slight char, and was perfect. The nachos were also very good and satisying. - Churro cart: you are required to try one of these...I wanted to take about 20 of them back to our room but my wife wouldn't let me. - Breakfast: we actually went back and forth each day between Mar y Tierra and the buffet...both were fantastic and you can't go wrong. - Worst food: okay, none of it was 'bad'...but our group unanimously decided that the Golden Pool snack shack had the worst food. My shrimp burgers bun was rock hard and dry. We ate their once and then did not go back. Entertainment: - We spent numerous nights enjoying the Imperial Band...they are so good and they do take requests. And don't forget to leave them some tip money! - Went to the "Urban Show" (aka: break dancing) and that was fun. - Fireshow was packed and since we didn't have a place to sit, we left early. - Foam party: I was the youngest in our group at 50 yrs old. Glad we saw the foam party (did not participate, just watched) but we all agreed that we're good now. We saw it and probably don't need to do it again. It looked like everyone was having a blast but I intentionally stay away from Vegas pools in the summer time...this reminded me of that. - Isabel with the GoTeam is a gem!! She was always around making people smile. She was one of the highlights in terms of their staff. Saw her MC'ing the urban show, she was involved in tequila tasting, and she also did some games and socialized at the Golden Pool. Fun story about Isabel: after speaking to her a few times around the resort, when we saw her across the Golden Pool and hollared out to her, she waved, smiled, and jumped right into the pool in her khaki shorts and red polo shirt just to come over and say hey!!! It was hilarious and so unexpected! Thanks Isabel! - Cigar bar: wow...I got the cheapest Cuban they had and it cost $87!! And before you think VIM was price gauging...they weren't: I compared the price at VIM to the exact same cigar sold at the airports duty-free area and VIM's was actually a few dollars cheaper! But, it was all about the experience so I enjoyed it despite the cost. Best parts of the trip for us: ALL the staff were great. Lets get that out of the way. - I already shouted out Isabel from the GoTeam. - We also really enjoyed getting to know Angeles at the Golden Pool. We asked her to surprise us with her choice of shots from time to time and she did not disappoint. While I'm not going into details about what she got us, I can tell you that she has a GREAT sense of humor and the shots she chose were perfectly inline with our sense of humor as well. When we left, we sought her out to say goodbye and thank you. She sent us off with a short blessing and a hug. Great person and I look forward to seeing her when we return next year. Wildlife: they have noticeably thinned out the Coati population at VIM. You will see them but not nearly as many. But still, the birds are glorious and the iguanas are so fun to have around! We're from the Pacific Northwest so to see so many tropical animals around is a dream come true for us. Iguana's were poolside and yes, we did see the infamous Kevin (from a distance)...and he is HUGE!! There is an iguana (who I believe is Kevin) that seems to live in the jungle/swampy area behind the Golden Pool and he appears to be around 6 ft or more in length...the distance between his front and rear legs is probably pushing 2.5 feet. Lighting: my wife and I are kinda weird about good (and bad) lighting. VIM has perfect outdoor lighting and I highly recommend you take a walk at night time. The Plaza and the path to the beach bar (open till 10pm!) are our favorite places at night...but seriously, the entire resort is perfectly lit with soft, dim lighting all night. The lighting in most restaurants and bars, however, should be improved. The cigar bar, for example, should just have some dim lighting from lamps and turn off the darned LED's in the ceilings....they are so bright! Same with Don Miguels. The rooms, btw, have great lighting...no complaints there. Food: seems to have improved since our last trip. The food was really really on point this trip. (except the Golden Pool snack shack) We got up each morning and walked a few miles around the resort...sooooo pretty and secure. We walked from our room all around the resort and to the front gate area. Easy to get 3+ miles in without repeating your route. Anyway, thats about it for this review. It was the perfect vacation. We did a little of everyting. Ate everything. Experienced things. Spent time at the beach and the pools. We are looking forward to getting back next March and would go more often if it wasn't such a pain in the butt to get there from our town.

One of the friendliest resorts I have been to. Traveled with my husband, family and friends and everyone enjoyed this resort. The atmosphere was incredible, surrounded by nature which I love. The lazy river pool is a must for relaxation, and the drinks kept flowing there. Service was first class. Visit the French Resturant and be sure to get the French onion soup, you won't regret it.

This is a beautiful resort. The main pool is huge. The service (front desk, poolside, restaurant) is fantastic. The entertainment staff is super energetic and works so hard to ensure guests have a great time. There are many different activities going on at the pool to ensure guests don't get bored (dancing, aerobics, plus live music, synchronized swimming show, etc.). There was even a 5K one morning. There is a house band that performs most night which has quite a range! A D.J. usually starts around 11:15p which is fun as well (although wouldn't mind it starting a tad bit earlier!). Note the drinks served at the pool/beach are super weak, so if you want a normal drink, bring money and insist on a double. Also, unless you are part of the privilege club, you can only attempt to make reservations for the hibachi grill. Everything else is first come, first serve, so if you have a large group, expect 90 min waits for dinner. The food was great though! This is our second time here and would happily return.

Our 4th time to the VIM, it never disappoints. Our last stay we upgraded to Emerald after we arrived, this time we simply booked Emerald, requested building 12, 2nd floor. Arrived & not only did we get building 12 & the 2nd floor but we were put into the same suite, 12201, corner unit. The suites have been refreshed & it was fabulous. Being only a short stroll to the quiet beach with its own bar & server, was wonderful & the view can’t be beat! We were also provided with both a bottle of red wine & a bottle of bubbly and offered a bottle of liquor of our choice. We also received some sweets once in our room. We went to all the restaurants, only one very short wait one evening of about 15 minutes. We went any where from 6:30 to 9:00. Our favourite this trip was the beach restaurant, now serving ala carte for breakfast & lunch as well as dinner. Strange but this visit our least favourite was the Indonesian, which in the past has been our # 1. The French is lovely & the service was top notch, food was quite good. We usually spend some time at the golden pool but didn’t go there this time, we can sit at a pool anywhere, we enjoy the beach. It was a great holiday, and yes we would recommend this resort to anyone