The new safari lodge promises to offer a ‘front-row seat’

The Ritz-Carlton's first safari lodge opens on Friday in Kenya's Maasai Mara reserve, offering tented suites with private decks overlooking migrating wildebeest from $3,500 per person.

However, a director of a Maasai conservation institute and researchers say the true cost of these sublime views will be far higher, risking significant damage to one of the world's most renowned ecosystems.

On Tuesday, Meitamei Olol Dapash from the Institute for Maasai Education, Research and Conservation (MERC) filed a lawsuit in a Kenyan court against Ritz-Carlton, its owner Marriott, the project's local developer Lazizi Mara Limited and Kenyan authorities to try to block the scheduled opening.

Dapash alleges in the lawsuit that the 20-suite camp, which boasts plunge pools and personalised butler service, obstructs a crucial migration corridor between the Maasai Mara and Tanzania's Serengeti. Researchers say migration allows wildebeest to find food and maintain genetic diversity among herds.

The lawsuit also says there is no evidence that an environmental impact assessment was conducted. Dapash's lawyers asked the Environment and Land Court in Narok to suspend the lodge's opening and hear the case on a priority basis.