Thank you to this beautiful resort, was not our original destination but we arrived during a power outage and they were able to accommodate our first week stay while power was restored ( they ran generators to accommodate the power needs) …. That being said it was a beautiful resort, very intimate being a smaller resort then most but great staff, the food was lovely , the gardens were awesome getting us fresh coconuts, cut fresh infront of us and making us stunning hats and other things from palm leaves . We were put up in the elegance area of the resort the rooms were great and the private pool, bar and restaurant were great . Would definitely make a booking there . They have many daily activities to enjoy in the resort during the stay and great service all around. Really appreciated the special Canada Day celebration dining experience, where they had live music with a violin playing great songs, with our favourite being “ beauty and the beast” which we were encouraged to dance to in the dining area which was incredible. The beach was beautiful and had a bar about 20 feet from it. What more could you ask for lol

I came back to Valentin again for the 3rd time from September 4-October 2/24, with an Air Transat 4 week All-Inclusive PCKG, this time I stayed a month. I will be mainly saying what has changed or is new since I was last here in September 2023 Check-in: When I checked in and I waited for that Blanca the Alegancve manager introduced herself. I received a yellow band instead of a grey band for upgraded clients, so in Alegance for my first week Roxanne made sure everyone checked people had the yellow band and was also checking what room numbers they were in. The issue was some people had the white side of the band, it was upside down that means reception wasn’t consistent with the yellow bands so made no sense. Rooms: I found out Roxanne (concierge) and Blanca the new Alegance Manager knew I was arriving and they looked into that I stayed in room 4413 my original room from 2022, when I checked in I was happy, they told they put me there. Changes in the Alegance rooms were new doors, a new sink and paint, nothing else different. Bathrooms: Alegance building and pool, the main pool, and front lobby bathrooms had new doors to the room, last year they had broken, swollen, and terrible doors but now they're metal, the main pool bathrooms the broken hand dryers gone Driveway/Walkways: the driveway to the lobby was painted green, many of the walkways to the main pool and spa, the circle and walkways on both sides and the front of the spa and to the pergola, also areas by the disco were red; The roundabout walkway was green, front of Alegance lounge and the pathway behind the building taking you to the beach was red. Pool Chairs: People complained about the old pool chairs, but now they finally had new chairs, many of them; Roxanne told me it took 2 years to get them, they finally received them a few months ago; the chairs themselves were Italy-made and had a beautiful mesh and they are beautiful as a whole, the only problem I had, was the locking mechanism was poorly designed to keep the chair upright, when I leaned against the chair the lock snapped going backwards, I brought it to a 20-30 degree angle and it kept happening, I saw a lady have the same problem, I heard her scream and I looked that’s when I saw her straight back as well like I was. Beach, Benches and Lights: Beach was awesome, great views; very rocky from center main walkup to Alegance side, maybe more so than last year for the first 3 weeks, the 3rd week the ocean was very active, large waves, the tide was higher up the beach creating pools of water on the beach, due to the hurricane the ocean destroyed the beach, burying the chairs in the sand or some were thrown around and wet, by the time I left the ocean receded 5-7 feet giving back some beach. All walkways had lighting this year, no burnt out lighting (some lights at pools not lit up though), both pools had flood lights for lighting for people to walk around safely, many complaints on here about it being too dark around pools; there were flood lights on the spa pergola where it was so dark last year. All benches throughout resort were wooden before but now they have nice metal ones though be careful when sitting on them in the middle of the day, the sun will make the metal extremely hot. The main thing about Mike’s coffee shop is that the hours were 9am-4pm instead of 6pm due to low occupancy, the coffee machine broke a couple of times as well, so they closed. Tips & Items To Workers: This year I accomplished my goal for more gifts to workers, I brought more candies and oral hygiene products and gave them to several people; Also, tipping I gave the drivers more tips and even at the beach restaurant and lobby bar as I never did before. Spa: As an Alegance guest I got 20 minutes free and I bought 25 minutes for 45 minutes massage, they had a new guy Adrian he was okay, being new he was too light, I was hoping to get Danilo but he was on holidays my first week, when he came back, he burned his finger with grease so he didn’t want to massage anyone while the burn was healing, he still did his managerial duties, he gave me an extra 20 minutes with a 50 minute relaxation massage which I had Alex the other main guy (Roxanne told me to use Alex because he was very good), Alex told me the reason Danilo gave me this extra free time was because I was a loyal client that obviously brought money into the spa at this time of year. When Alex massaged me I said beforehand hard pressure, he did just that, my upper back was stressed, knotted and I needed the release. He used a light rub at first to prepare my body then he used a firm massage, for the knots in my back he pushed his elbow firmly into my back releasing the tension and knots, afterwards I felt so much better. I still wished to have Danilo massage me but I am glad Alex did a really great job this time around so thanks Alex for that, thanks to Danilo for giving me that extra 20 minutes free. There were a couple of changes in the spa this year, first being, the original Jacuzzi they closed it off, put bowls on top and the other was a new Jacuzzi across from the original one. Next to the spa was the gazebo, last year the gazebo flooring was broken but they fixed that and put all new lumber so it was nice to see it fixed. Drivers/Carts: The two main drivers are Yoel and Dayan, there was change from last year, this year each driver worked 24 hours then a couple of days off, they also had two other drivers that work during high season but I think the one guy I vaguely recall him last year, the 4 of them rotated shifts but on my 1st week, Yoel got very sick with that Oropouche virus and it shocked me and it saddened me because I only heard about it days before I left to come to Cuba and then he ends up catching this bug and for almost 3 weeks he wasn’t able to work and that when I left he had at least another week of recuperation due to body weakness. When I arrived he was the first person I saw, we greeted one another and at least I was able to see him and tipping him a couple of times for giving me a ride but I felt so bad for him, the other 2 people had to cover for Yoel during his recuperation. Lastly, the cart situation there was still only the one working cart and the other one was on blocks next to the charging station in the front lobby area and I have no idea what actually is going on with that and when and if it will be fixed or replaced because in the month I stayed the single cart broke down several times and so I will assume that maybe they are waiting for parts for the other cart (between a year and a year and a half wait so far) or a few new carts I hope. Entertainment and special party: On September 19/24 I was invited by the hotel prior to this date for a special occasion to a party at the Varadero Marina to celebrate Canadians with entertainment, food and a nice time which it was a nice time but the following week it was a rainy day and the party was inside and unfortunately I was told that they didn’t have the circus acts, music dance and all they had was a disco which they were so disappointed about that but there was good food, which we had finger foods. Entertainment in the lobby, had similar acts like last year, but nothing new, the only other thing I want to say is that the times did change a bit, most of the entertainment started at 8pm or 830pm and the group dancing started at 930pm, but later on in the month some of the evenings, they started late or there was nothing at all based on the entertainment board and of course repetitive for the whole month. Trouble/Issues: This woman claimed a worker assaulted her on a catamaran and she had another woman who had just arrived a day or so earlier claim it happened to her as well, so Roxanne said that several steps need to be taken including letting security and immigration know of the incident and that she also needed to write down what happened and she did, there was other steps and later on she refused to talk to the police so when I found this out I later remembered that she told me a few days earlier that one early morning she woke up and was hungry and went for something to eat at the beach restaurant, she sat down on a beach chair which is minutes away this person supposedly hit on her, tried to touch her and whatnot but looking back she was clearly lying about everything (she was going to ruin a Cuban persons livelihood and life for no reason); The first week I was there someone posted on Social Media a bunch of photos and videos of terrible conditions in an area with food, the kitchen and back garbage area filled with 1000's of cockroaches and broken areas, when I saw this the videos looked like a 100 other places and had no distinguishing features to show it was Valentin and so I had to deal with this situation because it was an absolute crock and it was just that someone was out to try and destroy the resort or resorts or Cuba as a whole and I will tell you that yes the country has cockroaches and so does the whole world, but they way this person was trying to show that this resort or even other resort had an infestation of roaches was not true, I was able to see into the kitchen from the window of the door to the kitchen in the lounge and it was the cleanest kitchen I have ever seen, and the same thing outside the back door where they put the garbage to be picked up was mainly clean and only ever had some garbage from the night before and it was picked up daily and the area cleaned, and the buffet I was able to sneak a peek into the kitchen when the door was open and no one was around and it was a very big kitchen and looked very clean as well and it looked like they had many prep areas for different things they would make so as for roaches here I wasn't able to see anything There were a few things that I want to mention, minor things that happened, first, one day I ordered a cola and for some reason they put alcohol in it, they knew I don’t drink and my reaction to the drink Amelia came up to me and I just said there’s alcohol in this and she apologized multiple times for the wrong drink and I said it’s okay it happens though in part I was still surprised it did; another minor issue was that one morning I ordered breakfast as usual but this morning after 15-20 minutes nothing, 2 tables came in and ordered way after me and I still never received my order and those 2 tables got their orders so I went to chicky, she grabbed my food. The last thing that was unusual was during dinnertime one evening this woman was acting weird, she walked up to me speaking in Spanish, then, walked away and came back I said I never understood what she said and she said never mind, a few times more she would walk by me and spoke loadly and even other tables looked at her like what is with this person. That same meal I ordered from Fernando my starter, main course and dessert, after a bit I only received my main course and when the other lady asked if I wanted dessert I said actually I would like to starters because I never received them, she looked at me like she never understood me, Fernando happened to walk up and I told him about it and he said sometime in Spanish to her and I received my starters then my dessert afterwards. There was a small issue I didn’t like at the end of my stay, there was an issue with my bank and I wanted to call them as it’s not the first time I called a 1-800 number and so I asked reception which I had to see them, the lady tells me that I’d be billed for it and I asked what she meant I would be billed she claimed it’s policy and she puts a piece of paper in front of me and I looked which I never seen it but noticed later but I thought to myself that paper could have been written a week earlier and after a few minutes of me saying why did they let me call last year and I wasn’t billed for calling my credit card company she couldn’t give me a real answer other than in a condescending tone, that she’s worked at the resort since it first opened and it’s been policy since then, she refused to budge and even Roxanne who was near reception walked over listened to the lady in Spanish; it wasn’t like Roxanne was going to take my side but even when I tried telling Roxanne why they allowed me last year but suddenly it’s policy, and I also told her so does management pick and choose when they allow people to make calls which is free, Roxy’s response was she doesn’t know why they allowed me to do it last year but at this point this year it’s policy to charge clients for calls… Funny thing is that lady said she’s worked there since the resort first opened but in the last 2 years I have never seen her until that day and the several times a day I came by reception for almost 4 weeks I had never seen her before, and even after this incident I never saw her afterwards, yet the short chubby lady that checked me in I saw her multiple times and said hi every time. This lady just refused to listen to me and was the only person that I didn’t like just because of her poor attitude after I questioned her which she couldn’t give me any viable response, I mean she could have just told me simply I don’t know why you weren’t billed last year but unfortunately you will have to pay for the call this year and I would have accepted that but she didn’t do that, she stopped listening and refused to say anything else, just a poor attitude overall. I’ve never had an issue with anyone in 3 years I’ve come to this resort until this ridiculous woman and like I said she says that she has worked here since the resort opened and yet I’ve never seen or met her, so I think she was full of it. Otherwise this year was calm for incidents. Food/People: Most of the food was the main types of food as last year where they tweaked the way they plated it and the sauces and the odd different sides, some of the food they had was eggs, toast, hashbrowns, fruit, meats, cheese, cheesesticks which was an item that they brought in last year, beef, fish, pork, there was ceviche, chicken soup, burger, breaded fish or chicken, actual chicken, seafood mix, pasta, profiteral (puffed pastry), fried ice cream, rice pudding, chocolate mousse, cake and there is so much more. They changed the way the A La Carte, Alegance dinners and buffet worked during the low season but before I say about those the other thing they changed was there is a lunch menu in the Alegance lounge which like dinners you have to book with the concierge, so on to the A La Carte and buffet; due to the low season they changed a few things with the buffet they had it open during breakfast and lunches and for dinner there was A La Carte and Alegance on one day and Alegance and buffet the next day so it switched every other day, and the buffet was condensed to a small area due to under 100 people on the resort. So when it was A La Carte and Alegance the restaurants available mainly were gourmet, oriental and Caribbean and they would only use the 2 of the buildings, the one for gourmet and the other for oriental and Caribbean. For the snack bar this year they used the El Ranchon beach restaurant instead of the one by the main pool which they closed down. So this year I noticed that many of the workers were moved around so let’s start with the restaurants, Fernando and I don’t know her name but the chubby taller black lady worked in the oriental restaurant and in gourmet the older skinny lady and a couple of others and that was the main ones there except the time with the weird lady, in the Alegance there was Amelia, Mulan, Chicky, Cootie, Yamilka, several different cooks, Roxanne, Yoli (concierges), and Blanca the Alegance manager, Anely was off for a while when I was there, I guess she asked for a little time off and the only other person they let go during the slow time was Cuqui and she would have been back around November. I remember Yamilka from the lobby bar last year which she served me several times during the entertainment and she was put in the lounge this past year, same with Chicky and Cootie, I think Chicky was in the lobby bar but I wasn’t sure when I tried looking at the photos I took last year of the lobby bar and the topper was Cootie,, I was there for 3 weeks and when I went to the buffet to take video of the buffet on my last week, a short time later I had a revelation about him, I remembered that 2 years ago in September 2022 when it was my first time here I remember that I was in the buffet for dinner one evening and this guy came up to me and asked if I was Privilege and I said yes showing my wrist band, he told me I can sit in the room which was for Privilege at the time and he served me then, I told him about it and though he never remembered me I said it occurred to me he was the one back then that served me in the buffet Privilege room, he served many people there so that’s why he never remembered me. Osiel worked at the beach bar originally but they put him at the lobby bar due to low client numbers and the beach bar I only know it was closed near the end of my stay and I wasn’t sure if it was open at all since I never went by there in the afternoon when more people were at the beach, this other lady named Yanet (I just found out her name) I remember her and I don’t know exactly where she was working but this time she worked in Mike’s coffee shop as does Sahily, the tall black man I mentioned seeing him in the snack bar by the main pool last year, my first day back to the resort I saw him at the lobby bar where he was just standing on the one side and I walked over to him and he raised his hand and we high fived but grabbed hands in the high five and a quick friendly hug asking how each other was doing, afterwards I would see him we would high five and man he had a hard snack that my hand almost hurt. I want to say about Henry in Alegance bar, I had never met him before this year but we are now amigos and he’d make me a pina colada, I asked him early in my stay where was Roberto, which he was on holidays but he came back on the last week before I left, when I saw him I walked up to Roberto and said hey there amigo long time no see and gave me a handshake and he asked me about the band color for Alegance, which I told him yellow but by this point my band changed to white, the yellow disappeared because I said I have been here 3 weeks, so now that Roberto was back he worked 2 days and Henry worked 2 days, rotating shifts. So almost a week in I get a knock on the door and Yoli was there smiling and in her hand was a bottle of Havana Club rum which I never realized that I got a bottle of rum being in the Alegance side and so I took it home and gave it to someone I know. General Details & Other Information: Overall, despite not being impressed with the attitude of the woman at reception and the minor issues I mentioned earlier I still loved being here for a month, I noticed several people throughout that I never met before or never recognized and some of them were in the restaurant and even the reception including that woman that said she has worked here since the opening of the resort and I never seen her before that day or after that day. I will come back here in the future but not in 2025 because I have plans to come to Holguin, Cuba in early 2025 and Europe in later summer so I hope that if I come back in September 2026 there should be many more changes (more renovations on the rooms and the tiles around the Alegance pool which are looking rougher) than they have already done this year which I am so glad to see these great changes in the past year. Thanks everybody that I consider my El Patriarca familia except that one rude reception person, I hope to see you again in late 2026.