Not a 4 star resort

Cuba = great beach and nice people. They need a new management. The room are not ready on time.First day no electricity in the room, and no cold water to take a shower. They fixed the water after 3 days. Costumer services seemed uncaring to complaints, not even an apology for the inconvenience . On the 3rd day 10 people were in the lobby complaining about cold and hot water. Thank you to the cleaning lady Maria and the icecream boy on the beach Maikel

Wow...Fantastic vacation!

This is the 4th the time to Cuba for my husband and I. We've now been to 3 different resorts and this was the best vacation in that country so far! The beach was beautiful, the food at the buffet and a la cartes very good, the resort and accommodations clean and the staff very friendly. It is not a 5 star resort, mainly because of a small few details. If you can overlook that, it is a strong 4.5. We would definitely return!

Entertainment fabulous!

Very good overall. The entertainment was fabulous and lots of variety. More toilets could have been working in lobby area. There were enough toilets but the staff said they were broken (for the two weeks we were there). Also a few more toilet seats would have been nice. The service at the snack bar near the relaxing pool could be improved. The beach area could be cleaned up in one section. Must have been a storm before we arrived. The pools were well maintained and the grounds beautiful.

Nice Resort

This is a very large resort and although very nice, doesn't seem to be able to keep up with maintenance issues. Some of the public bathrooms were without toilet seats, door locks, lacking in toilet paper and hand soap and broken faucets. Our room was very nice and was adequately cleaned. We were in the Privilege section and after several days of trying to get clean beach towels learned that we should leave them in our room and the maid would change them however, she took the wet towels off th [... read more]e floor and hung them over the room chairs. Very unprofessional. We had beach towels the day we arrived and found the beach towel area opened once during our week there. We had requested a king bed but ended up with two beds pushed together so not overly comfortable. The food was fine to good and being Cuba, often the restaurants would run out of items (bread one day, French fries one day, shrimp, etc.). Of the privilege package inclusions we didn't receive a refreshing towel on arrival, no "petits fours" in our room, no exclusive invitation to a Managers Cocktail and no assigned area at the main buffet. The beaches were beautiful, the pools looked great, staff was mostly friendly. I would not likely recommend this hotel to seniors because it is such a large resort and a lot of walking.

Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso

Great beach area resort was good. Food was good staff was wonderful. Daya from buffet was very nice the bartenders in privileged bar albertico and edwardo super nice guys. There were some problems during our stay beach towels we had to jump through hoops to get some and some of the privileged sections staff let non privileged in. One day our room wasn't done the maid was off but over all I would go back. Main pool area can get loud so if you want quite go to the other side of resort. Public toil [... read more]ets most don't lock some don't have seats or are broken. If your a late night person the disco bar opens after the shows are over. It's loud but a good time. A lot of people said the beach is smaller now it had a lot of erosion and resort is showing signs it needs repairs but no problems getting chairs or a spot on beach.

Amazing Resort !

We have been to Cuba before and can only say positive things about this resort. It is very clean and modern. People are friendly and service is great ! The sand is so soft and beaches are also nice and clean to walk. The water is crystal clear and a nice place to relax or have fun depending on which side of the resort you are located. Being close to the Relax pool was great ! The restaurants à la carte were very nice and food was great. We recommend the Valentin resort !!

Needs improvement

it is a new hotel so the place was very clean, room etc.. but it was very difficult to get a chair near the pool (near 24 hr snack area)... was not at all impressed with the nightly shows... maybe 2 out of the 7 were good. I think this hotel has alot of potential if it gets organized but the buffet area was soo unorganized... lines going everywhere...i stood in line for over 10 min for pasta and when i finally got up to my turn they ran out of sauce with 2hrs still remaining in the buffet hours [... read more].... Beach is far to get too and not easily accessible... best part of this resort was the overall cleanliness and the amazing pools. The hour and 30-40 minute bus ride was also very long

First time in cuba and not the last

I was very impressed with this resort. Even with all the bad things people say about Cuba and the food etc. I had no issues with food options and I'm a very picky eater. The room was clean and basic but nice. The back patio door did not lock so we had laid the ironing board along the bottom to keep it shut and told the front desk and they fixed it within a couple hours. Again impressed. The glass separating the bathroom and the beds is very see through so I made sure to bring a shower curtain to [... read more] hang for privacy. Everything was always stocked. The pools were great. Great and friendly wait staff. All the travellers seemed to be from Canada which was nice. Poolside entertainment should change up their morning dance and exercise routines and songs. Its the same thing everyday. The synchro swimming show was great. Magic show was very cool also. I loved the French and Italian restaurants. The French was very quick for service and food. I did find that alot of the lounge chairs were broken. That should really be taken care of in my opinion. Drinks were great. Beach was beautiful. Could have been groomed a bit more but not a huge deal. Grounds workers were alwats out making sure everything looked great. All in all I had a great experience in Cuba and can't wait to return.

Relaxing getaway!

My daughter and I just returned from a week stay at the Valentin resort and have nothing but positive things to say about the food, staff and facilities. The beach is amazing and the cleanliness of the entire place, inside and out, was impressive. Definitely would recommend anyone looking for an adult only get away to consider the Valentin Perla Blanca Paraiso resort in Cayo Santa Maria Cuba.

Beautiful resort!

The resort is beautiful, beach is stunning with a very long distance that you can freely walk and enjoy the soft sand and beautiful scenery. The rooms are up to date in decorations, beds are ok, it's not your comfy bed at home, but whatever! The food is plentiful, again, its buffet style, which is not piping hot and can become repetitive over 7 days, but again, it's is made up in other ways. The staff were amazing, always so happy and helpful, made you feel like family. We had a great time!

Awesome Experience

My husband and I went to celebrate our honeymoon and had an amazing time. Our only complaint was college students took over half way through the week. If you are looking for peace dont visit during winter break.

Great hotel !!

Hotel was great!! Clean well maintained and modern looking! Pools were fabulous, beach was small but very clean. Did have a problem with bugs biting the first two days. Would definitely go back. (Esp since it was adults only!) typical Cuba food. Not the greatest.

Best I've stayed at in Cuba

Really great resort, I don't know where other people stayed to write a bad review, the rooms , clean and modern , the staff friendly and very helpful, food , best I've had in Cuba . I have no problem recommending this resort

Wonderful resort

The grounds were lovely and well cared for, public area was kept very clean and well staffed, rooms were well cared for and clean. The beds were not that comfortable, a little too hard. I like a firm bed but with a soft top. The dining area was well staffed but some tongs were missing on some of the trays so you had to use the same tongs for 2 different deserts. The coffee was not very good. The special dinners were very good.The pools were wonderful and the beach was excellent, nice to hav [... read more]e the sail boats and paddle boats. Entertainment at night was excellent. Because we were the last resort the bus ride is 2 1/2 hours, very long, and tiring.

Okay for what we paid

Check in was two hours and there was no one really checking in. Three floors to climb when we asked for ground due to health issues. No elevators!!!! The resort is huge. Anyone with mobility issues will not like trying to get around. Drinks weak, but do have champagne if you ask for it. Food was fair only. Even breakfast wasn't great. No bread last three days. Hard buns only.Buffet was same day in and day out. Could have filled plate with eyes shut. Many complained their chicken etc. wasn't full [... read more]y cooked. Beach gorgeous but not visible from resort, you walk through mangroves to get there probably two hundred meters only to find that there are no bathrooms. So you know where everyone is "going". If you have any other issues you are out of luck! Many complaints I read about "rocky beach". No it's a nice sand beach with areas of the island/volcanic rock that jut out. The water is not rocky, nor is the beach for walking. You may have to go over some rock areas if you don't want to be in the water. There is no where to buy bottled water/sundries of any sort. The woman in the tienda sold my sister a pack of smokes for 3.75 CUC when they should have been 2.75. Buy them from the lobby bar seller. You sign for them, and pay on check out. They send minibar service, but five nights out of seven I had to call at six p.m. since we had NO water to drink or brush teeth with. The one chap who showed up was so RUDE because I saw him coming with cart but he was going into a room with it, and I think they were his friends. He hollered at me "what!". When I said "pardon" he screamed " WHAT????". Not what I expect at a 4.5 star! I wanted to report him but didn't. After he begrudgingly gave me water he entered their room and closed the door. Rooms nicely appointed. Hard beds! We were bit all over by something. I suspect it was in the room. Others who sat with us on beach/out at night/during day, had no bites! Last day my bed covered in ants. It may have been December that was reason for so many chigger/ant bites. Pools nice on left side. Quiet. Bathroom at pool had no seats/no SOAP or way to dry hands/no t.p. Disgusting! Got tired hearing about how their wage is poor and they depend on tips. Golf cart drivers who are going by expect a tip every time you sit on a cart. We gave nice stuff/brand new all week to maid and others plus they tapped out fifty CUC from us. We totally understand their plight but really who wants to hear it? The bus ride was HORRID! 2 hours! I wouldn't ever go back for that reason, plus the food stunk really. I've had better in Hoguin at what was once called a three star. I've been to Cuba ten plus years in a row, am not a high maintenance person and really think we got okay value for what we paid at 745. The place was half full only and they were running out of food etc. So not sure I would want to be there at high season. If you go for the beach you may be disappointed not being able to see it or stay on it if you don't want to use the water as your toilet! For walking the beach it was an amazing stretch! It's more like a four star at best!

Loved it

Valentin perla blanca paraiso Returned yesterday from this resort relaxed and well rested. Everything was fantastic at this resort. Clean well maintained property with excellent friendly staff. We booked the privilege package which was so well worth it. Aylis privilege concierge was very helpful. We had a couple of fantastic massages from yarri and her famastic team. All in all excellent resort great vacation.

Would go again

Let me start by saying I have been to Cuba approximately 20 times and have travelled extensively around the world. Your vacation is what you make it and we have never had a bad one. Having said that, my husband and I were at this resort November 18-25, 2016. The pool that we hung out at (quiet one) was beautiful and we loved that there were built in beds in the infinity pool and I used them often. We had a pool view room and it was very clean and because the resort is fairly new everything wa [... read more]s clean and in good working condition. As for the beach, it was beautiful however, very narrow between the water and the tree line. There was a bar on the beach but it would be quite a walk to get to a washroom. Our fridge was refilled every day with water, pop and beer. The lobby bar got quite busy in the evenings but there were enough bartenders to support the amount of guests so there was no long line ups to get your drink. There is a snack bar beside the pool and although the food was fairly good at it you could only get lunch until 3:30pm because it turned into an a la carte restaurant in the evening - we prefer the 24hr snack bars but it was no deal breaker. What was nice about the snack bar was if you missed breakfast at the buffet you could get breakfast at the snack bar until noon. The buffet for dinner got quite busy between 7:00pm and 8:00pm so we waited to eat a bit later so it didn't feel so overwhelming. The waiters / waitresses were very pleasant and always smiling. We would both return and would recommend this resort. Be aware that Santa Clara is approximately an hour and a half from the airport - not a big deal for us.

Really enjoyed my stay here!

Review of Valentin Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba Nov 24th to Dec 1st 2016 solo trip Took Sunwing this time, paid for Elite plus. Flight down was good except for some reason our plane had not had any "entertainment" loaded and I was a bit taken aback, also landing was rough. Trip back was uneventful thankfully but I think the runway at Santa Clara needs to be fixed. Never did get my "free" headphones. That was 2 strikes, really makes me think twice for next time as to the airline to use. At leas [... read more]t had the extra baggage weight and quick check-in. Santa Clara airport isn't too too big, but customs was pretty fast as was luggage unloading. Found our rep and then our bus pretty fast. Long trip (almost 2 hours) to the resort but I was aware in advance. For once we had a bus with a working toilet (probably the first one in 10 trips). Exchange rate was still quite bad, 0.71. Don't they realize they are only hurting themselves by not giving us Canadians a break? They don't like US$ so why compare to it? Less tips and less souveniers then. Check-in was great as I raced to the front, but there was only like 2 people at the counter. I had paid for Privilege and was not surprised to not see a separate check-in as advertised. ROOM: I had paid for, and received a pool view room (3rd floor). The hotel has 2 sections, one pool is Activity, one Relax. My room was at the activity pool. For the first time ever in Cuba my bathroom had face towels. Bed was hard (no surprise) and a lack of pillows (also no surprise) but I liked it, it was roomy, very nice bathroom and everything worked. Shower was rain style, and hot water was too hot! Burned myself a bit but that's my own fault, they even have stickers that say 50. Safe included as was mini-bar which was restocked daily. The A/C was good and cold too. GROUNDS - very well kept, lots of gardeners keeping it up. But said gardeners seemed to lurk around entryways a lot looking for handouts. Have noticed that at the last 3 trips to Cuban resorts now. BEACH - The beach was nice, nicer than Melia Las Dunas (went there Jan 2016) but there was more large rocks so water shoes was the norm for me. But the sand was gorgeous and water quite clear even though the waves were rough. POOLS - One is the quiet pool only and the other is for activities, both are configured very different and both have swim up bars. Both have snack bars too which is nice, along with bathrooms etc. Good number of loungers and lots of shade with permanent umbrellas. Pools were pretty clean as were the decks around them. BARS - in general all were quite good. There was wait staff service, especially at the main lobby bar, which was very nice and appreciated. I found the bar staff to be very professional, fast, and easy to get to know. SHOPPING - pretty much non-existant. Go to a market, there are 3 on the island (2 CUC there and 2 back by bus). BEACH SNACK BARS - I never got to use but wish I had as others said how good it was. BUFFET - in general not bad, stations were a bit slow cooking and things did run out but that's normal. Was very happy with the temperature of the food trays. As a Privilege member we had a reserved section of the buffet and got more personalized service, another nice feature. A LA CARTES - I had French ala carte at the Oh La La restaurant and enjoyed it very much. The lobster (privileged class), seafood, and Spanish all were at the Ole restaurant. The lobster was quite good, the steak that went with it was very tough, yet the next night when it was the seafood there was a steak with it that was done very good (med-rare). I did not do the Italian ala carte but some loved it so much then did it twice. I prefer ala cartes over buffet and enjoyed the atmosphere and food at the ones I went to. MAID SERVICE - very good and attentive. New towels frequently, bed made well every day and floor well cleaned. Restocked the mini-bar and ensured we had water every day. This was a breath of fresh air after our trip in Jan to another resort where the maid service (and customer service) was deplorable. ANIMATION STAFF and SHOWs I cannot comment on due to the fact that everything was shut down for 9 days of mourning after Fidel Castro passed away which occurred on my 1st full day there. PRIVILEGED - I saw lots of reviews that said to not get this, it all depends upon what you are looking for I guess, to me it was money well spent. I paid about $120 extra for this and this is what I got/should have got. - welcome drink - it was non-alcoholic but it was offered (to everyone regardless) - private check in - didn't happen...maybe because it was late? - late check-out - after confirming with the Priv Conceriege this was done, so instead of paying $10 an hour for 3 hours it was included - Concierge service - in the priv lounge and she was wonderful - luxury amenities - not sure what they meant by this but maybe the bath products were better? - fruit basket upon arrived - never saw this - petit fours once per stay - never saw this - beach towels in room - had to ask the priv concierge to intervene and she did it very quickly - lobster dinner - booked ahead of time - 4 ala cartes - priv concierge did thiws for m - exclusive access to Privilege Lounge - best thing of all! hours are 10am to 10pm, not 7am-11pm as shown someplaces online - reserved area a the Rancho Playa for breakfast - a godsend as far as I'm concerned...it was ala carte too - reserved beach area with personalized service - yes, there were a couple of areas, too bad the non-priv people would steal loungers or just sit there regardless even with the big signs - happy hour by the pool - due to passing of Fidel this didn't happen - outdoor white and black pool party - due to passing of Fidel this didn't happen - 30 minute massage - another awesome part of the package - reserved pool area - never saw this - champagne breakfast on request - yes, did this :) - fruite brochette around the pool: twice a day - never saw this Please feel free to contact us for any questions. Stayed Nov 2016, travelled as single would return with the wife.

Beautiful resort and great people!

The grounds are new and they are so beautiful! The beach was white and the colour of the water is something you can usually only dream of.... every morning looking at the water was so relaxing and it was so beautiful it almost looked fake. The people that were there are so fantastic! The service didn't make a difference whether you tipped every time or tipped every once in awhile... NOTE: DO NOT TIP LOONIES AND TOONIES!!! I made friends with a few employees and they are too nice to disclose to p [... read more]eople they cannot exchange it. They take it with a smile and appreciate the gesture but it just accumulates until a nice Canadian will change it to bills for them. One bartender had accumulated 120$ in loonies and toonies👎🏽 ....overall I would 100% visit this resort again👍🏽👍🏽 Food is pretty good.... it's Cuba.... but there was never a time I was left hungry due to lack of options... and I would say the area is beautiful but there's a smaller airport about 20 mins away I wish that was where we landed instead of the 2hour bus ride but the resort was so beautiful it was pretty worth it

Second time

The resort is amazing. It was our second time there. Its on an island with other resorts and nothing else. No stores, no nothing unless you take a taxi into the closest town about an hour away. The food is great. Lots to choose from. You will not go hungry. If anything, you will gain weight. Any vacation is what you make of it. only complaint is the weak wifi. But its Cuba. I love the resort, but not its location.