u/Exciting_Capital_326

Quick tour of our overwater bungalow with premium mountain view at FS Bora Bora

Quite enjoyed our stay at the property.

Sharing a room tour of our lovely room.

The best part was there were no bugs at all. Breakfast was quite decent though it was cold on one occasion.

We arrived at Fairmont Jaipur a couple of days prior loved the welcome!

Great property for a staycation especially in this weather.

Food is quite nice, had a couple of meals at Raffles as well.

WSJ covered the ongoing Feud with inputs from both Aman and Walker

Link: https://archive.is/1f5pL

A New Luxury Hotel Canceled a YouTuber’s $4,663 Stay. Then Came the Viral Feud.

The dispute between Aman and content creator Ryan Walker illustrates the growing tension between commercial enterprises and influencers

It was supposed to be the hottest hotel opening of the year.

The travel world was abuzz over the coming Aug. 1 launch of Amanvari, the first Mexican resort from Aman, the multibillion-dollar, ultraluxury hospitality group, whose mythos is built on seamless service, total tranquility and fierce guest confidentiality. Set within Baja California Sur’s private Costa Palmas community, the resort promised 18 beachfront casitas, holistic wellness temples and fine dining.

Less than a week after its debut, the hotel was at the center of a viral controversy. In a social media video titled “Amanvari Called the Police on Me,” YouTube luxury hotel reviewer Ryan Walker alleged staff at the resort barred him from entering and summoned law enforcement when he tried to check-in for a one-night, $4,662.82 stay on the resort’s third day open.

An Aman spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal, “The deceptively edited video created by someone unauthorized to be on our property does not reflect the circumstances of the incident accurately.”

Their dueling accounts reflect a new reality where cameras are always rolling, virality can outpace truth and public perception is shaped less by what happened than by who posts first.

On July 7, Walker booked a stay at Amanvari. The YouTuber with more than 150,000 followers has built a brand around paying full price for hotel rooms to guarantee honest reviews, standing out amid influencers accepting free trips in exchange for positive content. “I’m honest and transparent,” Walker told the Journal. “I tell you exactly what to expect and why.”

He had previously paid roughly $26,100 for a Four Seasons Yacht trip that he panned in a May review for sewage-smelling water in his cabin and inattentiveness to his bean allergy. Four Seasons Yachts declined to comment. That same month, Walker posted a positive review of Aman Tokyo.
He traveled to Amanvari on Aug. 3.

To hear Walker tell it in the video he shared the next day, he was the victim of a hospitality nightmare. His video, which rapidly surged to more than 750,000 views, shows his vehicle approaching an unfinished wooden guard hut with stud walls still visible on the outside. In the interactions that follow, which appear to take place between two different gates, staff recognize him, inform him he has no reservation and—according to Walker—eventually call the police to escort him away.

As Walker drives off, he finds an email he says he missed. Sent the day before, it apologizes for canceling his stay due to scaled-back capacity during opening week. Not looking closely at the timestamp, he tells viewers the email arrived late the previous night. When later pressed by the Journal, Walker revised his timeline, saying it arrived the previous morning. Walker did not amend the timeline in his video or in a subsequent livestream.

The internet quickly took Walker’s side. Viewers of his YouTube channel, including people who identified as Aman loyalists and travel industry professionals, expressed disbelief. “Will never book another Aman property again,” read one of more than 5,000 comments, many of which expressed similar sentiments. An Aman spokesperson said the company does not comment on bookings.

Inspect the footage closely, and questions surface—notably, around an absence of the police invoked in the video’s title. Aman says it didn’t call police and showed the Journal an incident report that made no mention of law enforcement. In the video, at one point in the encounter, a staff member says “I need to call the police now.” Walker sees her on the phone, says off camera, “Yep, she’s calling the police right now,” and leaves.

Later, he told the Journal he did not see police arrive on site. When the Journal told Walker that Aman said it had not called police, he said he hoped that was true and that the information would make him reconsider how the resort had handled the situation.

There is also the arrival gate that does not look like a typical five-star welcome. The Aman spokesperson said Walker bypassed the main entrance, ending up at staff access points instead. Ambient audio in Walker’s footage captures someone saying: “Este es el acceso de colaboradores.” (“This is the employee entrance.”) Walker told the Journal that he never heard the remark, and that his driver followed GPS directions to the first entrance shown in the video.  

Internal documents provided by Walker show the resort emailed him five days before his visit, telling him it was unable to allow stays involving content coverage until after a month-long media blackout, and suggested he postpone his travel. Walker replied that staff should consider him a standard guest. The property replied that it was prepared to welcome him, noting he could post content after the media exclusivity window, but filming public spaces was prohibited and filming private spaces required approval. The Aman spokesperson said Walker made no arrangements with staff to film. 

To Walker, the email about where he could and could not film was a sign that he was still welcome. “To me, that felt like, ‘Great, we’ll wait until I get on site and we’ll coordinate,’ ” Walker said. 

He says that after receiving the email about terms, he didn’t hear anything from Aman until seeing the cancellation email on camera. A spokesperson for Aman said the resort also sent Walker a WhatsApp message about the cancellation. Walker said he didn’t see the WhatsApp message until the Journal asked him about it.

The Aman spokesperson says the resort refunded Walker’s booking in full, pledged to cover additional travel and cancellation costs and offered to help him rebook his stay. Walker said he received the refund but didn’t take Aman up on the other reimbursements.

The dispute highlights growing tension between commercial enterprises and content creators looking to record on private property. Jack Ezon, CEO of luxury travel advisory Embark Beyond, noted that hotels maintain the right to cancel reservations or deny access. He added that properties immediately after opening should be approached cautiously. “You don’t need to be the guinea pig,” Ezon said. “Give it six to eight months to grow, minimum.” Luxury travel advisers may make commissions from hotels when booking clients.

In this case, nearly every claim has a competing account. Did Amanvari overreact to a content creator’s opening week visit to prevent an honest review? Or did Walker turn a misunderstanding at the gate into a viral story?

The luxury world may still value discretion. The internet values whoever speaks first.

Throwback to our stay at the Fresco Suite in FS Milan!

It was beyond gorgeous and very pleasing. Best property in Milan.

Loved the service and the breakfast there.

Quick room tour of the FS Hualalai as we've just checked in.

Absolutely blown away by how close the room is to the ocean.

Is this the best hotel on FS Hualalai?

Stayed at Oberoi Rajgarh Palace end of May.

It was absolutely stunning, the famed Oberoi service was on full display.

Loved the pool and the beautiful property. I believe this would be marquee Oberoi resort soon.

The Gritti Palace is heaven. It is such an amazing treat.

Been coming here for 15 years now and it hasn't lost its charm.

Which is your favorite in Venice?

We'd a lovely stay at the Amanyara.

Had heard a lot about it but it exceeded our expecatations. Very serene resort.

Please suggest the next Aman to visit?

We were at the JW in Ranthambore a couple of weeks prior.

Fantastic property. Despite being new, no major hiccups. Service was infact the highlight.

Planning for another trip in December when Safari seasons start again. Though prices shared by the property are much higher vs direct ones.

The most gorgeous resort we've stayed at.

Arrived the day before and we've already spent a lot of time on the beach.

Loved the sunsets here - amazing viewing spots.

This might be our new favorite resort in St Lucia.

We were at Fairmont Udaipur last week and found its pool view to be one of the most stunning especially in the monsoon season.

Overall, we had a great experience. The food was a definite 10/10 and hospitality stood out.

Just checked into the property yesterday and in love with the stay so far.

It had opened a few months ago and we were quite excited to try it out. Sharing our room tour as we saw a few here.

Has anyone else been here recently and would have any reccs?

We're here for our mini moon. Like the welcome amenities given.

Room gives nice old-fashioned vibes.

I'll try to get back with a detailed review later.

Just checked in yesterday to FS Taormina - really enjoying the property so far.

Excellent views and amazing service. If anyone has been here, any recco on things to do?

Which would be the best FS property in Europe?

Found Oberoi Amarvilas more gorgeous than I'd expected.

We were there for only 1 night stay but definitely top notch. I'd plan to come back and stay longer.

Loving this magnificent suite at Aman NY! It's the best one I've stayed till now in New York.

What are some other suggestions you'd recommend checking out?