Valentin Imperial Maya Brides?

[bluelenscaribe]

Hey Chelsea! Thanks so much for the great review, we had so much fun with you and Freddie Hope you are enjoying the photos!

 

 

 

 

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• ChelsH 
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• offline

• 19 Posts. Joined 12/2010

Congrats Nikki!  Have fun and enjoy!  The weather called for rain the entire time we were there but it didn't rain during the day until the Monday after the wedding.  Hopefully it will be great for you guys.  Can't wait to hear about it when you get back!

 

I posted a review for our wedding and some pics under the resort review section.  I tried to post it here as well but it hasn't gone up yet.  Maybe you can view it through this: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/valentin-imperial-maya/reviews/5137

I also did one for Blue Lens: http://www.bestdestinationwedding.com/products/blue-lens-caribe-wedding-photography/review

 

 

[JBean]

 

I can’t believe I’m writing the review and it’s all over! I found all the reviews so helpful, and I hope other brides will as well! We stayed 2 weeks for our wedding/honeymoon combined, and though I was ready to come home, I was sad to leave. 

 

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 timeâ€. 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.

 

A couple photos (haven't got Juan's back yet):

 

 

At the plaza:

 

 

 

[Mary Pintos]

Hi

 

I'm a travel agent and I had a wedding  2010 at the valentin Maya and it was great. I also had a chance to see the propertie and it really amazing ..!

 

If you like  you can reach me at 416-486-7055

 

Regards,

Mary

[jblove]

New Bride Here! Just booked the "Star Love" Package at Valentin on Sunday May 6th. So far Veronica has been awesome about getting back to me.

 

I do have a couple questions.

 

1. We booked a normal deluxe suite with the hopes of being able to be upgrade one category block (based on what it says in our package). I was just wondering if other brides were actually upgraded or if you showed up and there was no availability. I'm worried the normal room will feel too small to get ready in or not special enough.

 

2. I am so torn on what photographer to use. Does Blue Lens allow you to guarentee that you have a specific photographer through them (Ashley)? If you decide to go with another photographer, do they allow you to take the price your paying in the package and apply that money towards other additional services? I really want to use Ivan but have a hard time just wasting the pictures we are already paying for in the package.

 

Any feedback anyone could provide would be very helpful.

 

Thanks!

[kristen6212]

JBean your wedding looked beautiful. Love your dress- we are dress twins and you looekd gorgeous! Congrats

[bluelenscaribe]

Here are some pictures of Blue Lens Caribe last wedding at the Valentin Imperial Maya

 

 

 

 

[futurMrsQuigley]

Finally married!!!  Here is a quick review:

 

The Resort: I thought it was beautiful!!  It was very spread out but it was perfect for our size group (35).  We didn't have to be on top of each other for the entire trip.  Anyone that had trouble getting around could call for a ride and someone would be there in no time.  That was nice for my Nana and my father.  The landscaping was amazing and they took really good care of it.  The beach was beautiful!!  Big waves though.  We never had a hard time finding a spot : ) 

 

The food: was good.  Some places better than others.  The Japanese place seemed to be a hit with our group. Another favorite was the French.  Lunches were my least favorite....but I am kind of picky.  Breakfast was always really good with lots of fresh fruits and juices.  I usually ate a late breakfast and waited until dinner.

 

Check in/check out: Everyone in our group seemed to get through pretty quickly.  We did on one day have 27 people arrive at the same time so that slowed down the check in process....but what do you expect.  We did have some charges on our room when we checked out that weren't correct but they took care of it no problem.

 

The room: We had an Emerald Jr. suite.  We chose this one because it was the closest to the beach....but it was the furthest away from everything else.  The room was really nice though.  You couldn't really see the beach just a sliver of water.  There really wasn't any beachfront rooms at this resort.  Everyone else in our party was in building 5 and 6 so it was easy to find people.  The one thing I wished they would have done is given a phone list to everyone there.  You could easily lose track of people. 

 

The Staff: WAS AMAZING!!!!  Special props to Ana!!  I had Veronica as a wedding coordinator.  She e-mailed me the week before my wedding and said she was leaving her position and that Ana was taking over.  It made me nervous to say the least.  Once I talked with Ana in person she put my mind at ease.

 

The Wedding: Again I can't say enough good things about Ana.  She was very helpful and answered all my questions.  I brough decorations for the dinner and she set them up perfectly.  I had Itzel do my hair and make-up and she did an amazing job!!!  I thought the make-up was a little heavy when I was indoors but after I saw the pictures I loved it.  My mom and bridesmaid also had their hair done and both looked beautiful!!  They steamed my dress perfect.  The photographer (Blue Lens) showed up an hour before the ceremony in my room.  I will detail photos more later.  The ceremony was on the beach.  It was perfect!!!!!  I had given Ana my ipod and she played the music just as I asked.  The minister Kiko did an amazing job as well.  We all took some pictures then the rest of the crowd headed for the cocktail party which was in the gazebo.  The bugs were awful!!!!  Ana was handing out bug spray to everyone.  We arrived late to the cocktail party because we were finishing pictures.  I didn't get any of the appetizers so not sure how they were.  From there we went to the Mexican terrace for dinner.  Our dinner was incredible!!!  Best meal I ate on the resort.  Well worth the money.  We did the ceaser salad, lobster bisque, surf and turf and some chocolate thing for desert.  Then wedding cake.  My cake was beautiful!!  I didn't really like it but everyone else did.  At that point I was full anyway : )  From dinner we went on the the plaza for a late night of dancing.

 

Photography: I was nervous about this too.  I had encountered a few Blue lens people on the resort before the wedding and they were not friendly at all.  The photographer I got was awesome!!  I can't remember his name off the top of my head....He was very complimentary and really knew what he was doing.  My fiance isn't the most photogenic person but you would have never thought it after looking at our photos.  Our wedding was on a Friday and we had all the digital copies in hand Sunday morning.  The only thing we didn't get yet was the video.  Here are a few pics below.  They are hard to put on here for some reason. 

 

All in all it by far beat my expectaions!!!!!!!!  They did great.  If anyone has any questions at all I would be happy to answer any : )

 

[nikkiness819]

Hi ladies! Another new Valentin bride! Long time lurker and finally made a commitment to go destination. We booked the "Moonlit Memories" package and our wedding date is July 10, 2012. Thanks for all your reviews pictures and advice so far- it really helped us decide on this resort. 

[TammyWright]

 

Hey Ladies,

 

We are putting together our webinar schedule for BDW.  These webinars are great because not only can you get YOUR questions answered but also hear answers to questions from other brides that you may not have even though of

 

Webinars are a great way to not only hear directly from the wedding department but see the wedding packages that they offer, ceremony/reception pics, etc.

 

I try to only limit the webinars to once every 2 weeks so we of course can not do all resorts.

 

Please vote on which resorts you would like to have webinars on...you can choose more than 1.

 

Vote for your Resort Webinar HERE

[vlane]

Does anyone have any advice on how to schedule a site visit at Valentin Imperial Maya?

 

Thanks!