He booked a $6,000-a-night stay and arrived with gifts for the hotel staff. They stopped him at the gate and called the cops on him
Ryan Walker was hoping for a comfortable stay at the property, but couldn't even enter it
After driving for almost two hours in the wilderness of San José del Cabo, Mexico, hotel reviewer and YouTuber Ryan Walker (@ryanwalkerT5) hoped for a seamless check-in at the newly opened Amanvari hotel. However, upon reaching the gates of the $6,000-a-night hotel, instead of a warm welcome, Walker and his driver were barred from entering the property. What was supposed to be an exclusive first-look review turned into a nightmare. He later detailed the entire experience in a video posted on August 4, 2026, which has since been viewed over 790,000 times.
The trip begins
The video starts with Walker sitting in the backseat of a car as they drove toward the newly inaugurated Amanvari resort. Initially, everything was going according to plan, until the team couldn't locate the resort due to a lack of signs on the road. Nonetheless, despite this small hiccup, they were able to safely reach the entrance of the property. Walker was so excited to review the property that he even carried a celebratory gift to mark the opening of the resort. However, he didn't know what awaited him there.
Confrontation at the security gate
Upon reaching the entrance, security personnel abruptly stopped Walker's vehicle. When asked for a reason, they simply stated, "We don't have your reservation in the system." What was surprising was that they did so after recognizing Walker by his name. Soon, tensions began to escalate as Walker showed them his booking confirmation and clearly stated that he didn't cancel the booking on his end. The staff still maintained their stance, leaving Walker stunned and confused. When he tried to push them further, the staff threatened to call the police on him and his driver, even taking pictures of the vehicle.
Finding a last-minute email
After being escorted out of the property, Walker searched his inbox and discovered a late-night cancellation message. The email noted that the management made "the difficult decision to reduce arrivals over the coming days while we complete this work," abruptly rescinding his booking with no notice at all. In fact, they didn't even call him or his team to inform them about the cancellation. Frustrated by being left stranded out of nowhere, Walker remarked, "The fact that I'm not able to review the property is a review in itself." What baffled Walker even more was that bookings were still open, that too, for full price.
Refusing to communicate
Despite going through so much in a matter of hours, Walker hoped to resolve things by speaking to the management. However, even they refused to talk to him or take any kind of responsibility for this mishap. "The manager just hung up on me," he noted after several of his calls went unanswered. This prompted Walker to explain how independent reviewers, much like himself, protect the customer and help them make wise decisions. So, being denied such an opportunity was a major shortcoming on Amanvari's end, who have yet to comment on this issue.
Cost of goods remains a problem
While Walker and Amanvari navigate through this mess, it's worth noting that few hotels have genuine reasons for limiting their guests. According to the American Hotel & Lodging Association, U.S. hotels are welcoming fewer guests due to multiple factors, with the biggest one being the cost of goods, which has been flagged by 71% of owners. This is followed by labor costs reported by 65% of owners, as well as rising utility and energy costs, which are confirmed by another 50%.
The gaslighting
Viewers were siding with Walker and expressed their frustration with Amanvari in the comments. @jassass1n pointed out, "The funny part is this interaction and this resulting video is gonna do more damage to them than a bad review of an honest stay would ever do." Meanwhile, @WhisperingDeath commented, "$6,000 a night, and they call the police on you. This is why we need your reviews now more than ever. The bar is so low in 'luxury' travel these days that it's on the floor."
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