Reclining on a pool lounger at Summertime, a Balinese Airbnb in Calangute, I was mulling life choices. Nap or swim? The water in the infinity pool rippled. All around me was lush greenery. Considering how content I was after a glorious lunch at Avozin—a Goan restaurant 20 minutes away—a nap seemed like the right choice.

Rated five stars on Airbnb and awarded “Asia’s Most Romantic Boutique Retreat 2016” by World Boutique Hotel Awards, Summertime is one of the most sought after properties in Goa. Located on a hilltop, the two-acre property is not by Calangute’s touristy beach but in the area’s ‘last green lung’—as owners Hans Tuinman and Sucheta Potnis put it. The couple has designed the property keeping in mind their preferences for a holiday home—lots of space and comfort—which explains the infinity and plunge pools, master suites and bathrooms the size of a studio apartment in Mumbai. “A house that is not lived-in is not a home,” says Sucheta. “And for all its guests, it could perhaps safely be said, Summertime becomes home.”