A new luxury resort in Mexico that costs thousands of dollars a night is off to a rocky start after a reviewer with a reservation alleges he was turned away at the property’s gates. Ryan Walker, a luxury hotel reviewer on YouTube with more than 140K subscribers, posted a video earlier this week showing an interaction on Monday outside the brand-new Amanvari Mexico by Aman Resorts. The property, where stays for August 6 were listed on Aman’s site for more than US$6,000 a night, is located about a two-hour drive from San José del Cabo on the Baja California peninsula. Walker’s driver was told he could not enter the property, the video shows, although Walker said he booked the hotel stay weeks ago. The video, viewed more than 500,000 times this week, showed a screenshot of an email exchange discussing his stay. Conversations with workers outside the resort quickly escalated with one person captured on video saying she needed to speak with the police. Walker claims they did call the police. “We were stopped by an unmarked armed patrol truck with 5-6 armed officers,” Walker told CNN Travel via email on Thursday. “They did not speak to us, however the driver had us roll the windows down and keep them down. We were able to keep driving.” Walker told CNN he had not heard from Aman about the incident as of late Thursday. Aman did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. A public relations firm promoting the resort’s opening did not provide a statement. In Walker’s YouTube video, a man on site suggested that Walker check his email for a new message. Walker said he found a message from the resort sent the night before his arrival saying that the property was “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.” The email cancelled Walker’s stay and apologized for the disruption and short notice. Walker shared a reservation confirmation number with CNN and said he paid the rack rate for his room, totaling $4,662.86. He noted that the rate has gone up online since he booked. Walker speculated in his YouTube video that the resort’s first day of operations went poorly. “So this is how Amanvari is treating their new guests because they’re not ready to accept reservations at their property?” Walker said in the video. He went on to make his case for “why this is such a big deal.” “Independent reviewers protect the customer,” he said. “It is absolutely unacceptable and not OK to me to quiet someone who is trying to create a review during the opening week of your property,” Walker said, noting that he has reviewed other Aman properties in the past and has been a fan of the brand. Walker argues in the video that the hotel should have called him and had conversations with him directly if the property wasn’t ready for reviewers. He said he checked his call logs and had no missed calls from the resort. Walker called the incident “one of the most disappointing and embarrassing hotel experiences you could possibly have.” By Marnie Hunter, CNN
