Five Stars Doesn't Always Mean Luxury: What the Amanvari Controversy Can Teach Us About Luxury Travel

Luxury isn't defined by what happens when everything goes perfectly. Sometimes, you learn far more about a hotel by watching what happens when it doesn't.

I say this often, and it sometimes surprises people coming from a luxury travel advisor:

Five stars does not automatically mean luxury.

A beautiful resort can have an incredible location, stunning architecture, private pools, exceptional dining, and a nightly rate that makes your eyes water; and still fail to deliver a truly luxurious experience.

Because luxury isn't really about what a hotel has.

It's about how the experience makes you feel.

And the recent controversy involving luxury hotel reviewer Ryan Walker and the newly opened Amanvari resort in Mexico is a fascinating example of why that distinction matters.

If you're unclear on the reference, you can check out the YouTube video HERE

What Happened at Amanvari?

Amanvari Mexico Horizon Casita

Amanvari is Aman's highly anticipated first resort in Mexico, located along the East Cape of Baja California Sur. Shortly after opening, the ultra-luxury property found itself at the center of a very public controversy involving hotel reviewer and content creator Ryan Walker.

Walker had booked and paid for a stay at the resort. Shortly before his scheduled arrival, his reservation was canceled, reportedly as the newly opened property adjusted its initial operations and guest arrivals.

Walker says he did not see the communication regarding the cancellation before traveling to the property. When he arrived, he was denied entry, and the interaction escalated into an encounter that eventually became a viral video.

Since then, Walker and Aman have offered different accounts of portions of what happened, including disagreement surrounding the involvement of police and how the interaction shown publicly should be interpreted.

I am not interested in playing judge and jury based on a viral video.

I'm interested in something much more relevant to my clients:

What does a situation like this teach us about luxury hospitality?

Luxury is More Than a Beautiful Hotel

There is no question that Amanvari looks luxurious. The secluded location, beachfront accommodations, privacy, architecture and highly personalized concept check nearly every box we traditionally associate with ultra-luxury travel. But those are just the physical components of luxury.

The experience is something different.

To me, true luxury is anticipating a guest's needs before they have to ask.

It is clear and proactive communication.

It is personalization.

It is discretion.

It is consistency.

It is making complicated travel feel effortless.

And perhaps most importantly, it is recognizing when something has gone wrong, taking ownership of it and finding a solution.

A multi-thousand-dollar per night hotel room doesn't automatically create any of those things.

The Real Text of Luxury Happens When Something Goes Wrong

This may be the most important distinction of all. Even the best hotels and resorts in the world have problems.

A room may not be ready.

A transfer can be delayed.

A reservation can become complicated.

Weather can disrupt an experience.

A restaurant can make a mistake.

Luxury does NOT mean perfection.

In fact, some of my strongest impressions of hotels and travel partners have come from situations where something went wrong.

Why?

Because that is when you discover the service culture behind the beautiful property.

What happened next?

Did someone take ownership?

Did they communicate clearly?

Did they look for a solution?

Did they anticipate how the problem might affect the rest of the guest's experience?

Did they make the guest feel like a problem?

Or did they make the problem feel like the guest's responsibility?

That response tells me far more about a luxury brand than the champagne greeting in the marble lobby ever will.

Five Stars and Luxury Are Not the Same Thing

This is where travelers can easily get tripped up.

A five-star classification can tell us quite a bit about a property’s facilities, amenities and services. But it cannot completely tell us how staying there will feel.

There are gorgeous five-star hotels where the service feels transactional.

There are properties that photograph beautifully for Instagram but don’t deliver the same level of experience once you arrive.

There are expensive resorts where every interaction somehow feels like another transaction.

And then there are properties where someone remembers how you take your coffee after the first morning.

They notice that you prefer sparkling water.

They know your name without repeatedly asking for your room number.

They anticipate what your family needs.

They quietly fix a problem before you even realize there was one.

You don’t have to spend your vacation coordinating the details because someone else is already thinking three steps ahead.

That is luxury.

It’s not necessarily more stuff.

Sometimes luxury is simply having fewer things you have to think about.

Price and Luxury Aren’t the Same Thing Either

This is another misconception I see frequently.

Expensive and luxurious are not synonyms.

Price can buy square footage.

It can buy a private pool, a spectacular view, rare materials, exceptional food and an incredible location.

But price alone cannot guarantee hospitality.

I’ve experienced places where the physical product was undeniably beautiful, yet something about the service never quite matched it. And I’ve experienced properties where a relatively small gesture completely changed the way I felt about the stay.

That’s why I’m much more interested in the entire guest experience than simply finding the hotel with the highest nightly rate.

My goal isn’t to find you the most expensive vacation.

My goal is to help create the experience that feels most valuable to you.

There is a very big difference.

Why I Pay Attention to Stories Like Amanvari

As a luxury travel advisor, situations like the Amanvari controversy matter to me, but probably not for the reason you might think. I’m not interested in internet pile-ons, and I don’t believe one viral incident necessarily tells us everything about an entire hotel, resort or brand.

New properties also experience growing pains, and one person’s experience should never automatically become everyone’s experience. But I pay attention;

I watch how hotels communicate.

I watch how management responds when there is a problem.

I listen to what my clients experience.

I talk to other travel advisors.

I build relationships with hotel representatives and travel partners.

And over time, I look for patterns.

Because when I recommend a hotel or resort to a client, I’m not simply recommending a room.

I’m putting my name behind the experience.

The beautiful photographs matter.

The location matters.

The amenities matter.

The food matters.

But so do the things that are much harder to put into a brochure:

Service culture.

Communication.

Consistency.

Judgment.

Attention to detail.

And recovery when something goes wrong.

This Is Also Why the Right Travel Advisor Matters

Luxury travel isn’t simply about finding the most expensive hotel available. And my job isn’t to search for five stars, find an available room and send you a booking link.

It’s understanding which experience is right for you!

One traveler may value extraordinary dining.

Another may want complete privacy.

Someone else may care more about having exceptional guides and experiences outside the hotel than having the largest suite.

A multigenerational family may need a property that can seamlessly manage several generations with completely different needs.

And a traveler with mobility or medical considerations may require an entirely different level of planning, communication and attention to detail.

Two hotels can both be considered five-star luxury properties and still be completely different experiences.

The best hotel isn’t always the one with the highest price or the most recognizable name. It is the one that is right for you!

And sometimes the value of having an advisor becomes even more apparent after you’ve already left home.

When something doesn’t go according to plan, having someone who understands your trip, knows who to contact and can advocate for you can completely change the experience.

That’s a part of luxury that rarely appears in the photographs.

So, What Actually Makes Travel Luxurious?

I keep coming back to the same answer:

How it makes you feel.

Luxury should make travel feel easier.

It should feel thoughtful.

Personal.

Intentional.

Seamless.

You should feel like someone anticipated your needs rather than simply reacted to your requests.

You should be able to enjoy where you are instead of constantly managing the logistics of being there.

And when something inevitably doesn’t go exactly according to plan, you should feel cared for, not abandoned to figure it out yourself.

That’s why I’ll continue to say it:

Five stars can describe a hotel.

A high price can make something expensive.

But the experience is what makes it luxury.

And that’s the difference I’m looking for every single time I plan travel for my clients.

Every trip tells a story, let’s write yours.

Luxe with Lydia specializes in thoughtfully planned luxury travel, including luxury ocean and river cruises, custom-designed journeys, resorts, hosted group travel and travel planning for clients with mobility or medical considerations.