Sand is the enemy of anything with moving parts, and in Palolem it gets into the chain and brackets of every blind. Simple mechanisms cope: a chain-operated roller with few places for grit to lodge, wiped down between guests. Slatted and delicate blinds fare badly under a stream of visitors. Any metal part should be aluminium or stainless, and plastic is safer still, as salt hangs in the bay even on calm days, and real wood slats are a poor choice. Cafes and guest-house balconies can use clear PVC monsoon blinds to stay usable during early and late showers. Rollers have another virtue here: they can be taken down, labelled and stored when a place shuts for the rains.
- Guest rooms and homestays: blackout rollers on metal brackets with plastic chains, each replaceable singly if a guest breaks one.
- Beach cafes: see-through PVC blinds along the open sides, rolled down in a shower and removed for storage through the monsoon.
- Small hotels in the back lanes: sunscreen rollers in common areas, which wipe free of sand and salt film.
Palolem is a crescent-shaped bay near Chaudi in Canacona, with a wooded headland at each end. It is the busiest beach in the far south, lined in season with beach huts, cafes and guest houses, and with homestays and small hotels in the lanes behind.
Much of the accommodation is seasonal: huts are put up after the monsoon and taken down before it. Permanent buildings are guest houses, small hotels and family homes that let rooms. Furnishing is simple, bright and has to be easy to store or wash.
The bay is sheltered from the heaviest surf but not from salt or humidity. Sand gets into everything, and the monsoon is long and very wet.
Sea-facing homes
Steel parts rust within a season near the sea. Ask for aluminium head rails, stainless or plastic chains and brackets, and avoid real wood slats, which warp in salt damp. PVC, faux-wood and coated polyester roller fabrics wipe clean and do not hold salt.
Holiday lets and guest houses
Guests are hard on blinds. Choose chain-operated rollers with metal brackets over delicate slatted blinds, in a blackout fabric for bedrooms. A single damaged roller is quick to replace between bookings.
Can you supply curtains and cushions for guest houses in Palolem?
Yes. We make washable curtains, blinds and cushion covers in quantity, and can quote for a set of rooms together.
What can be stored through the monsoon and reused?
Blinds that roll up, curtains that are washed and packed dry, and outdoor fabric cushions. All are made to be taken down and put back.