We Went to Mexico and These are Our Honest Opinions of the Valentin Imperial Maya

Sharing is caring!

We almost always take a trip (not always for days at a time or to a foreign country) for our anniversary.  This year we joined our friends in Riviera Maya at the Valentin Imperial Maya for a week of shenanigans!  I am always seeking unbiased and truthful reviews and opinions on places, so I want to make sure that I share our honest opinions of the Valentin Imperial Maya!

Growing up, my parents would always take adult only trips.  I think this is a big part of why they are still married for almost 35 years.  They nurtured their relationship and made sure to make memories in special places without their children.  My husband and I adopted this idea only a few weeks after our first child was born.  So we hopped on a plane to Mexico and enjoyed time with each other, living, laughing and growing our love even more!

Valentin Imperial Maya Resort

I have stayed in some amazing hotels in my life.  The Ritz Carlton in Florida, The Langham in Pasadena and so many more, but the Valentin Imperial Maya was beyond expectations and GIGANTIC.  This is our 3rd time traveling to Mexico for an adults only trip and our 3rd resort, so I had a pretty clear idea of what to expect.  However, the Valentin Imperial Maya blew those out of the water.

I have never been so overwhelmed in my entire life with a space.  Everything was so spread out and over the top.  I mean I like over the top, but truly, it was sensory overload in many instances.  Check in included, being escorted to a sitting area with h’orderves and champagne while you wait for them to call you to get your room key.  Once check in is completed, they put you in a massive golf cart and drive you to your room, where your luggage is already waiting for you.

The entire resort is spaced out and has so much to offer.  We were there for 5 days and I think we only saw 30% of what was there.  It was overwhelming.  From water features and ponds, to shops, to pools and lazy rivers, there was a new thing to look at or check out at every turn.

Although the resort was beautiful, I felt like I spent a lot of time walking to get to places.  Want to go eat? 10 minute walk.  The beach? 15 minute walk. The pool? 5 minute walk.  I mean I am all for walking and exercising, but this place was gigantic compared to the rest of the resorts we have vacationed in.  We have always been able to see the ocean from our room and this place was so huge that we couldn’t see the beach.

It took me a few days to get oriented around the resort and thankfully there were signs everywhere.  However, I had to carry a map with me to make sure I was going the quickest route places.  For me, I would prefer to carry sunglasses, sunscreen and my drink and that is it.

The lazy river also was a bit disappointing.  I was looking for floating tubes on an actual river.  What we got was a really long pool with some floaties in it that you had to propel yourself around on.  Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful and nicely shaded from the hot hot hot sun, but not exactly what I was expecting.

We stayed in a deluxe junior suite.  It was very nice, the bed was comfortable, we had great room service and a beautiful balcony looking into the dense jungle.  The bathroom had a glass door to the toilet and a curtain separating the bathroom from the main room, so that was interesting.  I mean if you are a new couple, this might not be the suite for you if you know what I mean.  Otherwise, I really liked the room and ended up spending a lot of time in it.  More on that later.

The Posse

Our adult trips have been something that we look forward to for years!  We have made a point to go every other year and each time the people that join us are a bit different.  It all started with my husband’s aunt inviting us and my best friend joining.  The following year our other best friend joined and this year it was my best friends and the boys.  We all joked that our adultier adult was not with us and we had to be the grown ups.  We definitely missed all our people, but we had a great time as well.

10 Years Already

When we booked our trip, they always ask if anything special will be going on.  We of course were celebrating our 10 year wedding anniversary and so at every turn we were surprised with a dessert or song or drink.  It was really a nice touch!

The husband and I have been together for 17 years and married for 10 of those.  He has always been a prankster.  It drives me insane some days, but I know that is just him and if he is not making jokes, he is not happy.  I guess I should have expected a nice photo to commemorate our anniversary, to turn into a terrifying moment.

You can see he clearly is in his element here and that he was fully prepared to go into that pond…with the entire restaurant watching and eating around it.  Everything is fine here, I’m good, we’re good, life is…ahhh who am I kidding someone save me!

As always, this husband of mine, did “save” me and I uttered a few choice words (which I am sure based on the photo you can guess which ones).  Definitely can say that after 10 years of marriage this man still keeps me on my toes, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

The Beach

We do not have the ocean in Colorado, so when you get a bunch of us near one, we basically live in the water and on the beach.  I mean if we had to choose between eating dinner at a reasonable time and the ocean, we would always choose the ocean.  The beaches in Riviera Maya are stunning.  Beautiful sand, pretty clear water and well maintained.

I am not the biggest fan of my current body, but look, just wear the damn swimsuit. Two kids, four pregnancies, 3 surgeries and diabetes gave me this body, so I am going to rock it…on a beach…with my husband…

…and our best friends.  Living our best life.  I could stay here forever.  I fully want to retire near the ocean.  Its not likely, but I can dream it.  I wish I could have our beautiful Rocky Mountains and some crystal clear beaches close together. Ok, ending the rambling.

This beach was perfect, plenty of shade, wait staff bringing you great drinks, lifeguards keeping us from drowning, swings on the beach and laughs with great friends.  We had the best time and truly the beach was my favorite part of our stay at the resort.

Excursion!

A little backstory to this day.  Apparently, I am not allowed to go to Mexico without throwing up for 24 hours.  It is just a thing that my body has decided it needs to do.  We had never done an excursion before and so we decided that we needed to finally take the plunge and do one.  Our original excursion was scheduled for a Wednesday, but of course, I spent the entire night dying and questioning why I even decided to eat anything.  So we had to postpone, which actually turned out to be the best choice for our entire group!

We moved our excursion to the 7:00 pick up time (yes that is AM) which is what they had available.  We were not eager to wake up and go, but we made the best of it.  We ordered room service, I loaded up on anti nausea medication and off we went to snorkel, explore some caves, ATV and zip line!  Going earlier actually gave us much more quiet privacy at the snorkel spot.  We were literally the only group there and the fish were so alert and fun.  By the time we finished, there were 3 other groups at the dock.

From snorkeling we headed to the cenotes!  These are freshwater caves with the most crystal clear water I have ever seen.  I grabbed my snorkel mask and went right in.  It was INCREDIBLY cold but it was easily my favorite part of the entire excursion.  Even in crystal clear water the fish were translucent and blended in.  There were bats flying around and it was so beautiful and serene.

After changing, we jumped on some ATVs and took a little tour through the jungle.  For people that do not own or have experience on ATVs, I am sure this is a blast.  My husband and I own ATVs and have taken on some truly terrifying trails, so this was underwhelming for us.  It was cool to be inside the dense jungle and see everything up close, but the trails were created and were just a calm drive for this thrill seeking couple.

We ate some lunch and then of course we had to end with the zip line.  I had never been zip lining before, but for some reason, I was not nervous at all.  It was a lot of climbing to get up to the platforms and honestly a lot of work to keep myself straight.  I did enjoy the heck out of it and would totally do it again.  We ended up purchasing the photo package to get these photos, but it was well worth it!

Overall, our trip was a phenomenal way to kick off year 11 of our marriage and to celebrate how much we have overcome and accomplished.  We were so lucky to spend it with great friends and are excited to start planning our 2020 trip! Oh and more mini-beers!

Sharing is caring!