A travel influencer says his planned stay at an ultra-luxury Mexico resort unraveled at the entrance, alleging the hotel canceled his booking at the last minute and called police after he arrived.
Ryan Walker, who regularly visits and reviews high-end hotels around the world for his YouTube audience of more than 147,000 subscribers, shared the account with viewers in a recent upload.
In his latest video, Walker said he traveled to Mexico for a stay at Amanvari, a newly opened property from the Aman hotel group. The resort, which debuted on August 1, is located on the East Cape of Baja California Sur.
But the trip quickly took an unexpected turn. Walker said that when he reached the gated property, where nightly rates are around $6,000, he was shocked to be told he would not be allowed inside.
According to Walker, security staff said there was no reservation under his name, even though he insisted he had booked the stay weeks earlier and had been communicating with the hotel before his arrival.
He further alleged that security would not allow him to speak with a hotel manager and eventually contacted the police.
Walker later said he realized the hotel had emailed him the night before check-in to say his reservation had been canceled, but he had not seen the message before arriving at the resort.
Reflecting on the incident, Walker called it “one of the most disappointing and embarrassing hotel experiences” he had ever encountered.
Travel influencer Ryan Walker has claimed that a luxury resort canceled his reservation last minute and called the police on him when he arrived
In a recent video, he explained that he had jetted off to Mexico to stay at the brand new Amanvari hotel (seen)
‘I was so excited to check in to the Amanvari Hotel that just opened this week,’ he began in the video.
‘If you don’t know me, I am a luxury hotel reviewer here on YouTube. I specialize in very honest reviews of the world’s best properties.’
He then shared footage from his trip to Amanvari, which showed him arriving at the hotel after driving roughly two hours from the closest airport.
However, upon pulling up to the property, he was stopped at the front gate by security.
‘Your name is Ryan Walker? Yes I know you. Allow me to verify your information, okay?’ the security guard told him.
But when the security guard returned, he revealed: ‘Excuse me, Mr Walker. We don’t have your reservation.’
Confused, Walker offered to give his confirmation number, but the security guard reiterated: ‘We don’t have your reservation in the system. I don’t know what happened. Maybe you canceled?’
‘No, I didn’t cancel,’ Walker insisted, before pulling up an email that showed his booking. ‘Here we go, we booked it weeks ago.’
However, when he arrived at the new property, where rooms cost around $6,000 a night, he was left stunned when he was told he couldn’t come in because security couldn’t find his reservation
The hotel reviewer said he ultimately searched through his emails and noticed that the night before he had received an email from them that he had missed
Soon, a supervisor came over to help, who asked Walker if he had ‘received another email’ and reiterated that they could not find his reservation in their system.
Astounded, Walker replied: ‘What do you mean? We drove two hours and you don’t have a reservation on file?’
He was then told that without a confirmed reservation he wouldn’t be allowed to enter because it was ‘private property.’
Walker asked if he could speak to a hotel manager, but when he pressed, the security said they’d be calling the police.
He showed footage of one of the staff members talking on the phone, seemingly contacting law enforcement. It then cut to Walker driving back to the city, where he explained he booked another hotel to stay in.
The hotel reviewer said he ultimately searched through his emails and noticed that the night before he had received an email from them that he had missed.
It said: ‘I’m writing to you personally regarding your reservation with us, arriving tomorrow.
‘Having opened only days ago, we’re still in the earliest phase of settling the resort into full operation and we have taken the difficult decision to reduce arrivals over the coming days while we complete this work.
‘Regrettably, this affects your stay and we are unable to welcome you as planned. I appreciate this news arrives at very short notice and I’m sorry for the disruption.’
Walker stated: ‘They didn’t call me, they sent this email and just assumed I would read it before I arrived here today?
‘They called the police to escort us off of the property. So, this is how Amanvari is treating their new guests because they’re not ready to accept reservations at their property. This is how they handle it.’
He theorized that his reservation had been canceled because he is known on YouTube.
‘I [believe] it’s because I am a hotel reviewer here on YouTube. I [believe] it’s because they feel they’re not ready,’ he said.
‘To not even have the human decency to come out and have a conversation with me directly … that to me is not just poor business. That to me is a lack of empathy, a lack of human acknowledgement.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Amanvari for comment.
Owned by Aman hotel group, the resort opened on August 1 and is located on Baja California Sur’s East Cape
Walker also claimed that he had told them beforehand that he planned to film a review of the property and was told it would ‘not be a problem’
Walker described the ordeal as ‘one of the most disappointing and embarrassing hotel experiences’ he had ever had
Walker also claimed that he had told them beforehand that he planned to film a review of the property and was told it would ‘not be a problem.’
‘In fact, they confirmed via email that they would help facilitate filming where it doesn’t bother other guests,’ he said, while sharing an alleged screenshot of an email from the hotel sent days prior that said: ‘Should you have any interest in capturing content during your stay, please do let me know so we can make the necessary arrangements.
‘While photography and/or filming of public spaces, guests and team members within the resort is not permitted, we very much enjoy your content and I would be delighted to coordinate with the on-property team to facilitate filming within approved private spaces.’
Walker pointed out that ‘independent reviewers like himself help make sure’ that what’s being put out about the hotel is a ‘balanced narrative.’
‘If you silence independent reviews and cancel their reservations before they check in, what happens is now the narrative is fully controlled by the corporation,’ he added.
‘But I think the fact that I’m not able to review it is a review in and of itself. If they’re not ready to have reviewers, they should not have launched.
‘I think it is imperative that properties, hotels, resorts, yachts allow for independent reviews to preserve the integrity of the hospitality industry as a whole.’
Walker branded the situation as ‘absolutely unacceptable and not okay’ and said they should have let him know ‘more than 24 hours in advance’ that his reservation was canceled.
‘I was very excited to showcase this property. I love Aman as a brand,’ he concluded. ‘To threaten us and call the police to escort us off the property is a level that I never anticipated they would take it to.
‘I cannot recommend staying at this property whatsoever because if they’re so adamant to not have a review, there must be a reason.’
