The old Hotel Saoura, now usually called L'Oasis Rouge, sits on the cliff edge above the sebkha and is as much a piece of Timimoun's architecture as it is a place to sleep. Built in 1917 in the same Soudano-Saharien style as the old town below, with thick rust-red walls, arched arcades and a long terrace looking out over the salt flat, it was for decades the only proper hotel in this part of Algeria.
Even without staying you can walk in, take tea on the terrace, and admire the carved doorways and the slightly faded grandeur. The view from the terrace at sunset is the classic Timimoun image. Inside, the corridors are decorated with old French colonial photographs of the town that are interesting in themselves.