I just covered how Amanvari opened in Mexico, as the newest property belonging to ultra-luxe hotel group Aman. Well, it seems things aren’t off to a very good start. A hotel reviewer known for being fair booked a stay at the $6,000 per night hotel.
When he arrived, he was told he didn’t have a reservation, management refused to talk to him, and they even called the cops on him. This story absolutely makes my blood boil, and I’m not even involved in this. It’s not often I say this, but someone needs to be fired over this incident.
Amanvari claims guest has no reservation, calls cops on him
Ryan Walker publishes hotel reviews on YouTube, and he does a really professional and fair job. He doesn’t come in with any agenda, he seems to fund his own stays, etc., and he has a good, methodical system by which he judges hotels.
So Ryan booked Amanvari for earlier this week, on the second night that it was in operation. Unfortunately he didn’t exactly get to review the property, as he just uploaded an 11 minute video titled “Amanvari Called the Police on Me.”
In the video, Ryan can be seen pulling up to the gate at the resort. He informed the security guard he had a reservation, and the security guard responded “your name is Ryan Walker?” So clearly they knew his name, which seems like great, anticipatory service… right?
Well, not so fast. The security guard then informed the driver that they couldn’t enter. At that point Ryan was informed “we don’t have your reservation.” Ryan then asked how they knew who he was if they didn’t have his reservation, and the response was “I don’t know what happened, maybe you canceled?”
A security supervisor then got involved, and he said “you received another email,” and said “your reservation was not confirmed.” Ryan even showed the security guard an email from the Amanvari reservations team from that morning, confirming the anticipated arrival.
The supervisor just maintained the same position, claiming they didn’t have his information, and that there was nothing he could do. Ryan then understandably asked to speak to the resort manager, and the security guard responded that access can’t be permitted because they didn’t have a reservation, reminding him that this is private property.
He then again asked if a manager could come out of the property to speak to him, and they insisted that wasn’t possible, and the security guard then said “I need to talk to the police.” In other words, they were going to call the cops on him.
The security guards did indeed call the cops, and as he drove off, he searched his email inbox. He said he did find an email from the hotel from late the night before (while he was filming a video elsewhere), which read as follows:
“Having opened only days ago, we are 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.”
So literally the night before check-in the hotel canceled the reservation on him, because clearly they felt they weren’t ready for primetime. What’s even wilder is that after his reservation was canceled, they were still accepting reservations for that night, and several nights after that. So clearly that was a lie, and they just didn’t want him there reviewing the property, because they weren’t ready for what he’d say.
The person who claims to be the videographer also left the following comment on the video:
I am the videographer that shot this – this was truly a shocking experience. The security guard escalated the situation almost immediately and called the police on us for just trying to check in to the hotel. A mexican military police van stopped us on the way out of the area. Very scary situation that should have never happened in the first place.
I am in disbelief at the stupidity shown by this hotel
I’m furious on Ryan’s behalf here, and I’m in disbelief at how calmly he handled this. I’m someone who is good at maintaining my calm in bad customer service situations (I have a lot of experience!), but this is truly next level.
Let me once again emphasize that Ryan is a really honest reviewer. His reviews might not always be positive, but they reflect reality, so he’s not like a certain vlogger who tries to create drama out of every situation, regardless of the extent to which it reflects reality.
The level of absurdity here is just next level:
- He booked a $6K per night hotel
- The hotel informed him the night before of the cancelation
- Then when he showed up at the property they clearly knew who he was, then gaslit him, claiming he probably canceled his reservation
- No one from the hotel was willing to talk to him, and they even called the cops on him!
Guys, this is truly the most insane luxury hotel story I’ve ever heard. If the details are as presented, someone needs to be fired, both from a customer service and intelligence standpoint.
If you work at a hotel charging $6K per night, you have to be ready to deliver. And if you’re concerned about the review you’re going to get due to a hotel not being fully operational, what do you think the review is going to be like when you gaslight a customer and call the cops on him? Simply disgusting.
I really hope action is taken here, because this is inexcusable. And to travel advisors, I hope you think twice about booking clients here, with such a clear contempt for customers.
Bottom line
Amanvari just opened in Mexico, and it’s getting attention for all the wrong reasons. Hotel reviewer Ryan Walker booked a stay at the $6K per night hotel for the second night it was open. When he showed up, they claimed they didn’t have a reservation for him, and suggested he may have canceled it. They refused to let him speak to a manager, and then even called the cops on him when he didn’t leave the gate fast enough.
As it turns out, the hotel had emailed him the night before to indicate they were limiting the number of arrivals due to having just opened. Conveniently, though, they were still accepting reservations for the hotel, so clearly they just didn’t feel they were ready to be reviewed.
What horrendous customer service, and I’m in disbelief that they thought this approach is what would maximize a positive reaction.
What do you make of this Amanvari story?