Hôtel Gourara

Timimoun and the hotel were both more basic than I had expected from the initial research, from reading guide books and from the reviews here. Once you realise this, there is no doubt this hotel makes for the most pleasant accommodation and dining in this part of the desert. Beautiful desert views from rooms and the restaurant. Nice pools. Mind you that if you (like us) arrive after 14:30 (or return from a day trip after 14:30), there is nothing to eat anywhere. Even the bar didnt stock olives, nuts or chips or anything. Then you have to wait for dinner at 19:30. They also ran out of beer the last couple of days, which is more understandable in a muslim country in a remote location (but could probably be planned for). We liked our two nights and two days, but had to adapt to circumstances more than expected. We had some problems figuring out how to book a desert day trip, but in the end it all worked out. There was a mix up with the Expedia reservation that consumed some time and had us worried. We were told to pay directly at the hotel (which would have been less than half the price) although the money had been debited my account at the time of booking. Some intermediary might have created this hick-up.