Amanvari, the new $6,000-per-night Aman resort in Baja California Sur, canceled a hotel reviewer’s reservation at the last minute, denied him entry after he arrived, refused to let him speak with management, and then called the police. The property has yet to offer any public explanation, and its general manager should take responsibility.
Amanvari Called The Police On A Hotel Reviewer After Canceling His $6,000 Stay
I had never heard of hotel reviewer Ryan Walker until One Mile At A Time covered this story, but we reviewers have to stick together…at least the respectful ones who pay for their own stays, report honestly, and enter a hotel without an agenda.
Walker booked a stay at Amanvari, the newly opened Aman resort on Mexico’s Baja California Sur peninsula, during its first week of operation. With rates approaching $6,000 per night, Amanvari is positioning itself among the most exclusive resorts in the world.
Walker had apparently communicated with the resort in advance about filming his stay. Amanvari knew he was coming and knew he was a reviewer…as any hotel would have known with just a smallest amount of due diligence even if he had not reached out.
Then, late on the evening before his arrival, the resort emailed him to cancel the reservation.
The explanation was that Amanvari had opened only days earlier and needed to reduce arrivals while it finished settling into full operation.
Walker says he did not see the late-night message before departing the following morning for the roughly two-hour drive to the resort. That was unfortunate, but what happened upon arrival was inexcusable.
Amanvari Knew Exactly Who He Was
When Walker’s vehicle reached the entrance, security personnel immediately identified him by name, am important detail.
The resort could not credibly claim that it had no idea who he was or that there was simply no reservation in its system. Its staff was clearly expecting him. Nevertheless, Walker was told that the resort did not have his reservation. One employee even suggested that perhaps Walker had canceled it himself.
He then produced an email from Amanvari’s reservations team that referenced his expected arrival that morning.
Rather than acknowledge the obvious confusion, apologize, and ask a manager to come to the entrance, security continued to deny him entry.
Walker calmly asked to speak with someone from management. He did not demand access to the resort or attempt to force his way onto private property. He simply wanted a manager to come outside and explain why a confirmed $6,000 reservation had been canceled at the last minute.
Management refused to speak with him.
Then security called the police.
According to Walker’s videographer, a Mexican military police vehicle later stopped them as they left the area.
Here’s his take:
Amanvari Was Still Selling Rooms
The resort’s explanation for the cancellation also deserves scrutiny.
Amanvari claimed that it needed to reduce arrivals because the property was not yet ready to operate at full capacity. But Walker found that the hotel was still accepting new reservations at full price for the same night and the days immediately afterward.
I suppose there is a remote possibility that there is an innocent explanation. Perhaps the available inventory represented a different room category, or perhaps the booking system had not been updated. Aman Resorts has not publicly explained it.
But the obvious suspicion is that Amanvari realized an independent reviewer was arriving during a chaotic opening period and decided it would rather cancel him than risk an unfavorable review.
Of course, that would be bad enough.
Calling the police after he arrived and politely requested to speak with management transformed a questionable cancellation into an international public-relations disaster.
Walker’s video gathered more than 136,000 views in less than 24 hours. Aman Resorts and Amanvari offered no public response during that period…they still have not addressed this matter.
Their silence speaks volumes.
Reviewers Must Behave Respectfully, But Hotels Cannot Demand Only Praise
I recognize that the word “influencer” often causes hotel employees to roll their eyes, sometimes with very good reason.
Some self-proclaimed influencers demand free rooms, upgrades, meals, and special treatment in exchange for exposure. Others manufacture conflict because outrage generates more views than an uneventful stay.
That conduct deserves no defense. Oh how I loathe those people!
But an independent reviewer who pays the publicly available rate, treats employees respectfully, and reports what actually happens is simply a customer documenting the experience….I’d certainly prefer if he did not try to coordinate filming beforehand, but I would also think every guest dropping $6K/night during the hotel’s opening week is going to want to document the experience with a lot of photos and video.
Hotels should not get to welcome reviewers only when the property is polished and banish them when the truth may be inconvenient.
At the price Amanvari charges, guests are not merely paying for a nice room and a private pool. They are paying for judgment, discretion, service recovery, and management capable of resolving problems without summoning armed authorities.
Even a limited-service hotel should know how to handle this situation:
- Call the guest directly when canceling at the last minute
- Confirm that the guest received the message
- Apologize personally
- Arrange and pay for comparable alternative accommodations
- Cover transportation and other expenses
- Invite the guest to return when the property is ready
Instead, Amanvari sent a late email, allowed Walker to make the long journey, pretended not to recognize a reservation it clearly knew about, refused access to management, and called the police.
That is astounding incompetence.
Look, once again I can understand why the hotel would not want a prominent reviewer there when room, common areas, and restaurants may not have been ready…sure, I understand. But the way this was handled? Pathetic.
Amanvari General Manager Diego Lozano Vara Must Take Responsibility
The general manager of Amanvari is Diego Lozano Vara.
The buck stops with him.
I do not know whether he personally ordered the reservation canceled nor do I know whether he instructed security to call the police or whether he was even physically present during the incident.
But that ultimately does not matter.
A general manager is responsible for the culture, procedures, and judgment exercised by the team. This was not a total institutional failure involving reservations, security, management access, guest recovery, and ultimately law enforcement.
As I see it at this point, Lozano Vara should step down immediately.
Perhaps Aman will eventually produce evidence that substantially changes the story. It has had ample opportunity to respond, and silence is not an adequate crisis-management strategy when a video documenting the incident is spreading so rapidly. If Walker was aggressive or demanding, I can see my assessment changing…and then it will be him too that loses all credibility.
At a minimum, Aman should publicly explain:
- Why Walker’s reservation was selected for cancellation
- Why new reservations apparently remained available
- Why no one telephoned him before his journey
- Why management refused to speak with him
- Why police involvement was considered necessary
- What corrective action has been taken
Until those questions are answered, I would not consider booking Amanvari, and travel advisors should think carefully before sending clients there!
CONCLUSION
Amanvari canceled Ryan Walker’s $6,000-per-night reservation hours before arrival, denied him entry after he completed the long drive to the resort, refused his calm request to speak with a manager, and called the police.
The resort then remained publicly silent as his video attracted more than 136,000 views in less than a day and probably now grown another 1-2K while I’ve written this story.
Reviewers are not entitled to special treatment. But neither should a hotel be permitted to intimidate a paying guest because it fears what an honest review might reveal. It is reasonable to prohibit guests from filming other guests, but not from filming the facilities themselves.
Amanvari failed at the most basic element of luxury hospitality: treating a guest with dignity. At $6,000 per night, that failure strikes me as disqualifying.
Anyone spending $6k a night for a hotel has too much money as the liberals like to say. Short of being giving the company of a hot companion, there is nothing worth that rate. But the good thing is the Trump economy continues to make average people very rich daily.
As for this clown, he’s lucky he wasn’t disappeared by the Mexican police. You just don’t mess around with them in 3rd world countries, you quickly do anything to de-escalate the situation.
If you watch the video, I think he handled it very well when denied access to the property.
What does this have to do with politics at all? Sound like a bot account to troll and rage bait.
I agree with Andrew, Matthew. I’m not sure Kyle is real. If he is, I’m sorry for his “friends” and family. I get it; maybe he helps your hits. But it’s a high price for the rest of us.
Kyle does not help with ratings/clicks at all – I believe the answer to speech is more speech, which is why I allow his comments, as long as they attack issues and not individual people.
Kyle is a female Russian government subject who has a thousand different names used on various websites.
What’s the matter with you, Kyle ? Seriously. Your constant MAGA slants on every single thing that comes up is obnoxious.
And in Trump’s America he would have been shot in the head.
It’s private property. Whiners should cry to mommy, not youtube.
Matthew, I have spent some time in Mexico and I also have close friends who are Mexican, forgetting everything else, ime, Mexican private security may have been instructed to not let folks in without reservations, no ifs ands or buts.
I have found that many front line rolls (in countries like Mexico) like security do not think, they do not reason, they are specifically told not to, so you can argue till you are blue in the face, if securiy is told no reservation, no entrance, it is no entrance.
Now, none of that speaks to cancelling the guys reservation nor the who whole host of other mistakes the hotel made, but the security incident was never going to end in the reviewers favor.
Years ago now, my wife and I were visitng my friends in Mexico City, their building has 24/7 armed security as most nicer building in CDMX have.
Our friends had told security to expect us at “X” time (I forget the exact time it has been many years) and we were able to catch an earlier flight, so we arrived at their building earlier.
Security would not my wife and I in because my name did not appear at that time we had arrived, it appeared later, but they did not care.
I could not reason with them, it was useless, they said leave or they would call the Police.
Eventually, I was able to get a hold of my friend, he called the building’s front desk and my wife and I were allowed in, but I have learned that in many countries, groups like security are not paid to think or reason, they are paid to just do.
Very interesting anecdote. But I find people like that, who seem to lack common sense, a threat to others, not an asset.
I get your logic but it doesn’t apply in this situation. They knew who he was when he pulled up. Furthermore if you’re blaming this on security alone then that doesn’t work because they kept hanging up on him and screening his call after he left the property. It is extremely reasonable to speak to a manger in this situation and at the very least speak to the manager on the phone. The fact the videographers call got answered is very telling.
I’m very curious how Aman handles this. This is not how you treat any guest spending this amount of money at a resort like this.
Manufactured drama and fake everything.
Stop giving these assholes the attention they depend on. Shame on you both.
Bruce: AITA?
Everyone: Yes.
Speak for yourself, Let everyone else do their own typing.
@Bruce: Your take is really bad. This isn’t Nonstop Dan or Aljoscha Wendholt…
Anna Sorokin (“Delvey”) tried defrauding La Mamounia in Marrakech for $62K and they treated her better than these people treated Walker. Unreal.
Amanvari is about to receive a masterclass in the Streisand effect. Calling Ryan Walker a typical “influencer” misses the mark—he is an independent luxury travel expert whose reviews combine high production value with an informative commentary. While Amanvari may have had valid reasons for wanting to limit filming during his stay, whether due to ongoing construction or high-profile guest privacy, it is hard to imagine a more detrimental execution. This was a catastrophic way to handle the situation for the brand, property ownership, and overall reputation of Aman & Irongate. I truly hope Aman will make this right.
Agreed.
Matthew, I was surprised by this, too. When they suggested this property was “exclusive,” I didn’t expect “exclusionary” to actual guests who had confirmed reservations until the hotel unilaterally cancels them last-minute. Your suspicion that Amanvari may have “realized an independent reviewer was arriving during a chaotic opening period and decided it would rather cancel him than risk an unfavorable review” is possible.
Then again, in this era of the attention economy, even a controversy like this can produce ‘buzz’ that otherwise would have cost them real money on advertisements. As I said at OMAAT when Ben posted about this, I’ve seen firsthand how Aman is usually pretty good at ‘making things right’ in the end, so I’m very curious what their resolution here may be. Like, I don’t think this is the end of the story. At least I hope not. Looking forward to any follow-ups if/when there are any.
The GM’s LinkedIn page claims that “Diego’s foundation in hospitality was built through diverse roles across Latin America, Cambodia, and the United States, including MGM Grand Las Vegas and several Belmond properties. Across every market, he has focused on people-first leadership, culture building, and delivering seamless service standards that create lasting guest loyalty”. That may well be the case, but he has royally screwed this one up, and if I was Vlad Doronin (owner of Aman) I’d be replacing him ASAP.
I discovered Ryan Walker a few days ago and have found his reviews informative without the usual “influencer agenda”. The property was completely out of line here. If they were uncomfortable with him filming, they should have let him know with enough advance notice rather than sending a late night email shortly before arrival. Whoever handles this company’s corporate communications should be looking for another career.
At best, this was just a sloppy situation made worse by the Mexican rent a cops. I agree with other posters in that most likely the resort outsourced perimeter security and that team just says whatever English they know to get rid of guests who are ‘not confirmed’.
For the resort to cancel the reservation for anyone 24 hours before check-in is beyond sloppy. But if you look at the video and see what is in the background this resort looks far from being ready to open, let alone at a price point per night of several thousand dollars.
Given how remote it is, it’s price, and the fact it was just opening I find it very surprising Mr. Walker didn’t call and confirm his reservation (or at least check online) prior to his long journey. That sounds a little suspicious. He just happens to notice the email once he’s there and the camera’s are rolling?
Hmmm…. not sure what to think of his motives and credibility.
I agree. His story also has some odd facts that are kinda hard to believe.
i dont buy that he didnt see the message, an influencer’s job demands that he constantly check his phone
i also think it is perfectly fair to cancel an influencers reservation, he isnt coming to enjoy himself just to shakedown,
anyway i dont think any video, regardless how many views will affect their business, as their crowd is booking what their agents give them and agents are well informed whats really going on, not through social media
Drama Queen .
Even though I agree that Ryan Walker should probably check his mails more often, I don’t think that it affects the outcome at all.
First of all is absolutely possible that this one mail slipped through. After all it came late in the evening and preparing everything for a shoot in a different country with a driver, a camera person (everything already agreed upon with the hotel management), background research and everything else is quiet distracting.
Secondly it’s more important how they handle the situation on the ground. You never know who is coming to visit and how or if any last minute notifications are being red. This was the worst possible way to handle the situation and not taking Mr. Walkers phone calls, while taking calls from other phone numbers makes it even worse and proves some kind of maliciousness.
Maybe we will get more information as soon as Aman gives our a statement but up untill then this case is a demonstration of the worst way to handle the situation
You called out the hotel manager by name. He deleted his Linkedin profile very recently.