Hotel Sahara unfolds in a sun‑baked desert oasis, where a once-bustling hotel suddenly empties as news of the Italian advance in North Africa reaches the staff and guests. Emad, [Peter Ustinov], the hotel’s owner, wants to flee with the chaos around him, but his fiancée, Yasmin Pallas, [Yvonne De Carlo], urges him to stay and fight to save everything he built. Alongside them hold the hotel together: Yasmin’s mother, Madame Pallas, [Mireille Perrey], and Yusef, [Ferdy Mayne], the capable major‑domo who runs day‑to‑day operations with quiet resolve.
The Italians move in and Capitano Alberto Giuseppi Del Nobile, [Guido Lorraine], is soon infatuated with Yasmin’s charm, while his orderly fixates on Madame Pallas. The tide of the campaign shifts when Del Nobile’s force suffers a defeat, and his detachment is ordered to retreat while destroying anything that could aid the enemy—including the hotel itself. Emad acts quickly, sabotaging their truck to stall the retreat and, with the help of Yusef, disconnects the demolition charges just in time to spare the hotel, as Yusef fires a shot into the air to hurry the Italians along.
When the British arrive, Major Bill Randall, [Roland Culver], and Captain Puffin Cheyne, [David Tomlinson], compete for Yasmin’s attention. Randall’s remit is to recruit Arabs to work for the British, but Emad explains that they value goods more than money, prompting Randall to send Cheyne and Private Binns to requisition supplies. Cheyne, however, lies about the nylon socks they’re supposed to fetch, claiming they couldn’t be found, and keeps them as a gift for Yasmin. Once Randall discovers the deception, he dispatches Cheyne back to the hotel with Emad to negotiate a conference with the local Arabs, hoping to persuade the Arabs to push the British away.
While Randall and Yasmin share a moment by the hotel pool, a dozen German soldiers arrive and the British must withdraw, leaving Randall stranded in his swim trunks. Lt. Gunther von Heilicke, [Albert Lieven], requisitions the hotel for his own purposes and initially seems immune to Yasmin’s allure. He triggers Randall’s booby trap, but walks away unscathed. Emad and Cheyne later return on camels, accompanied by Arabs; Cheyne appears in Arab dress, complicating the disguise game as Heilicke arranges an Arab feast and insists on meeting the sheiks. Yasmin, ever resourceful, distracts him by dressing as Fatima and performing a belly dance while Emad takes Cheyne aside to plot an escape on a camel.
The Germans retreat after spotting a large column approaching, only to be followed by the arrival of the French. Both the German lieutenant and the British major secretly consider disguising themselves as Arabs to reconnoiter, but by the time they mount their ruses, the French have moved on. A radio update hints that the North African war is nearing its end, and when the three men cross paths, they begin trading fire. With ammunition running low, Heilicke flees, chased by Randall and Cheyne.
As Emad and Yasmin savor the prospect of reclaiming their hotel, a new sound cuts through the desert—an American voice, signaling fresh developments and the uncertain horizon beyond the dunes. The hotel’s fate, the fragile alliances, and the stubborn hope of those who refused to abandon it blend into a tale of wit, danger, and perseverance under the vast, shifting skies.
