Curtains for Homestays & Airbnbs in Goa

A guest room only needs to fail once on darkness to get a comment. Blackout-lined curtains, made a little wider than the window with an overlap at the centre, are the most reliable fix. If light leaks at the sides, a track that returns to the wall closes the gap.

Avoid stiff, coated blackout fabrics that crackle and smell of plastic in the heat. A modern blackout lining sewn behind a soft face fabric looks and hangs like a normal curtain.

Choose polyester or poly-cotton blends that wash well and dry quickly in Goa's humidity. Mid-tones — sand, olive, soft blue, terracotta — hide marks far better than white or black. A small pattern hides more still.

Ask how the curtain should be washed before ordering. A curtain that must be dry-cleaned will be left dirty for longer than one that can go in with the linen.

The least expensive curtains look fine in the first photograph and tired by the second season — thin fabric fades, linings separate, eyelets pull out. The most expensive are wasted on rooms where guests drag suitcases past them.

The sweet spot for most homestays is a mid-weight, washable fabric with a good blackout lining and a strong heading. It costs more at the start than a ready-made pair but lasts through many more washes and seasons.

If your rooms have similar windows, standardise curtain sizes. One spare set in the store cupboard means a curtain stained by a guest can be replaced the same afternoon and the dirty one washed without pressure. It also makes the annual pre-season refresh far simpler.