Mandrem is a hard place for wallpaper. The creek keeps the air humid, walls near it hold damp at the base, and the beach side adds salt; then many places close outside the season, with nobody there to air the rooms. Paper put on a wall that is even slightly damp will peel before the next season opens. Where a room does have a dry, sheltered inner wall, a hard-wearing vinyl on anti-fungal primer and adhesive can go behind the bed, well away from luggage. Keep a spare roll for repairs. For any wall with a tide mark or salt bloom, PVC wall panels are the better finish.
- Retreat bedrooms: one papered wall behind the bed in a plain, calm vinyl, and only if that wall is found to be dry.
- Rooms backing onto the creek: no wallpaper at all; PVC panels on a frame cope with the damp there.
- Reception and treatment rooms: a wipeable textured vinyl on an inner wall, with a spare roll kept back.
Mandrem is a quiet beach village in Pernem, where a creek runs behind the sand and is crossed by small bamboo bridges. It is known for yoga retreats and wellness resorts, with a village of old houses set back among the palms.
Stays here are retreats, small resorts and houses let for the season. The style is calm and simple, with a lot of outdoor living space.
The creek makes Mandrem humid and brings mosquitoes; the beach side is salty and breezy. The season runs from about November to April.
Sea-facing homes
Sea-facing walls take in salt and moisture, and paper lifts at the seams if the wall is not sealed. Use vinyl-coated wallpaper on an anti-fungal primer, and keep it to inner walls or walls that do not face the weather. Check for salt bloom on the plaster first.
Riverside and backwater homes
Walls near water hold damp at the base. Wallpaper should stop above any tide mark of rising damp, and the wall should be treated first. Vinyl papers with anti-fungal adhesive cope with humidity; paper-backed and fabric wallpapers do not.
What do you suggest for a yoga retreat in Mandrem?
Plain, washable curtains in calm colours, bamboo blinds for open-sided spaces, and mosquito nets on room windows near the creek.
Can open-sided halls be screened from rain and sun?
Yes. Bamboo blinds give shade and privacy, and clear PVC blinds keep rain out. Both roll up when not needed.
