💡 tl;dr – Marriott continues to grow its footprint of safari properties in Africa, and this newest opening will be under the Ritz-Carlton brand.
Scheduled for a debut in August 2025, The Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara Safari Camp is the latest addition to Marriott’s burgeoning safari footprint. If you’ve been reading You Are Travel for the last few months you may have come across a few pieces we’ve written about points-forward safari properties. I compiled a list of (possibly) all the current safari properties bookable on points (I’ve just updated it to include this one), and I reviewed Marriott’s newest property at Kruger National Park – Leopard Sands, which I visited last July. While there isn’t a ton out there on this Ritz-Carlton property right now, I did some super-sleuthing (called the property and spoke with a team member), and I’ve learned that Marriott will release a press release with more details on the property this coming Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Let’s dive into it!
The Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara Safari Camp
When the Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara Safari Camp debuts, it will be Marriott’s third-upscale safari lodge in Africa, joining the aforementioned Leopard Sands and J.W. Marriott Masai Mara. Notably, this property will come to market faster than the J.W. Marriott Serengeti planned for a 2026 opening. There’s also an intriguing darkhouse Tribute portfolio property, the Turaco Ngorongoro Valley, that opened in November of 2024. I wouldn’t describe it as a ‘luxury’ property, but its location warrants consideration. Located less than 2KM from the entrance to the Ngorongoro Crater, a place famous for having the highest density of large mammals on the planet (and, as a result, your best chances of spotting lions), it could be a decent pitstop should you be on a ‘do-it-all-see-it-all’ journey around Africa’s top safari destinations. But I digress.
Here’s some of the information I’ve learned from the chatting with the team/website:
The Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara Safari Camp is located right along the Sand River, near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. Here are the exact coordinates of the location.
There will be 20 rooms, the same number as the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge, and that’s not a coincidence, as the properties were developed and managed by the same company. (In fact, the current phone number listed for the Ritz-Carlton Masai Mara Safari Camp rings the JW Marriott Masai Mara Lodge).
The team member I spoke with confirmed that information will be available Tuesday after Marriott releases its official press release.
Currently, there aren’t any published rates – cash or points – for the property.
