At the front gate, security stared at his phone screen again and again before saying: "We don't have a reservation for you." On the other side of the camera, Ryan Walker was holding the confirmation email Amanvari's reservations team had sent that very morning.
Walker, a hotel review YouTuber with over 135,000 subscribers, uploaded a video titled "Amanvari Called the Police on Me" on August 4, which racked up more than 550,000 views within days. He called it "one of the most disappointing and most embarrassing" stays he's ever had — the catch being he never actually made it through the door.
Amanvari is Aman Group's newly opened resort on Mexico's East Cape, featuring just 18 standalone beachfront casitas starting at around $6,000 a night. Walker said he'd booked weeks in advance and had exchanged several confirmation emails with the property in the lead-up to his stay. On arrival, security stopped him at the gate, claiming there was no record of his booking. When he asked to speak with the resort manager, another guard told him: "We can't let you in."
What happened next, according to Walker, was that security called the police. His accompanying photographer, Alex Brown, added in the video's comment section that security "escalated almost immediately," and that a Mexican military police vehicle pulled their car over as they were leaving.
After the car drove off, Walker finally dug up an email sent late the previous night — Amanvari explained that the resort, having only recently opened, was still in the "early stages of bringing operations to full capacity," and had therefore decided to reduce guest capacity over the coming days. They apologized for the impact on his travel plans and said they were unable to accommodate him as scheduled.
In the video, Walker points out the contradiction: the official booking system was still open, and the casitas were still listed for sale at full price. He believes that if hospitality groups can selectively turn away independent reviewers who pay their own way and publish honest coverage, they gain total control over the narrative the public sees. "I think hotels, resorts, and yachts should all allow independent reviews to exist — it's necessary to maintain the integrity of the entire hospitality industry," he said in the video.
As of press time, Aman has not responded to Robb Report's request for comment, nor has the company issued any public statement on the matter. Comments on Amanvari's Instagram posts are currently disabled, and the LinkedIn profile of resort general manager Diego Lozano Vara is no longer visible.
