Da Balaia Portugal

I've yet to have a bad stay at Club Med. This was our first trip without kids and it was lovely. The Zen pool with natural filtration and little fishies was the first I'd seen like that and really cool. The beach and ocean were quite nice, and it was easy to get lounge chairs in the shade. We enjoyed archery, pickleball, yoga, and pilates - along with just reading by the water and relaxing. The buffet was as fabulous as always. Our dinner at Vasco was a bit disappointing - nice atmosphere, but the food was better at the buffet. My only real criticism is that our bed had a warm comforter with no top sheet. I was too hot to sleep with the comforter on, and too cold if I had no sheet or blanket at all. Despite that, it was the wonderful Club Med combination of being very active and totally relaxed at the same time.

We visited the Da Balaia resort in September with our four-month-old and 2.5-year-old and had a wonderful week. The food was excellent, with a good choice at every meal, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was lovely. The staff were also fantastic.

The facilities, particularly the kids’ club and Zen Zone, were perfect for us. Our 2.5-year-old really enjoyed the kids’ club, which we found to be very professionally run.

We stayed in a family room with two bedrooms in the fado da Lisboa section and had no issues with noise.

The resort is older, but we felt this gave it character rather than being a negative. Overall, we had a fantastic stay and would happily return. We would highly recommend this resort for families who want to have a relax, but also have the option to take part in the many activities put on.

The cocktail mixing class led by Hanna and Ludovic was fantastic! They divided us into small groups and explained in detail how to prepare two cocktails. We received background information, along with useful tips and tricks for making great drinks.After the demonstration, we had the opportunity to prepare the cocktails ourselves and taste them. We then each made our favourite cocktail while chatting with classmates and sampling each other's creations. It was a lot of fun, and we learned so much. Highly recommended!

The circus crew were great, very helpful and friendly. Thank you Ambre, Louna, Sven, Apoline, Nicolas and Angelique

We like Club Med because our kids love the trapeze and trampoline activity. We have been to Les Miches, Cancun, Punta Cana, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. Decided to try Da Balaia in Portugal and it was great. The circus team of Ambre, Laura, Nicolas and Angelique were excellent. They taught our oldest daughter some advanced moves on the trapeze and worked with our son who is pretty good on the trampoline. They made sure that everyone completed their moves - some even got three attempts to complete a catch!