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#1 of 1 all-inclusive in Albufeira
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Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Da Balaia stands on an ochre cliff in southern Portugal, overlooking a magnificent white sand beach. The Resort allies sports and well-being in an outstanding setting. It's a world to unwind in, perfumed by the woody scents of parasol pines, olive trees and eucalyptus. Comfort and cosiness are to be found everywhere, even in the reception area where marble floors and deep red walls set the tone. This is a Club Med Resort where families, golfers and Spa enthusiasts live together in harmony.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
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We had a fantastic week in this resort and would definitely love to return. The hotel is in beautiful grounds just above the beach. We stayed in interconnecting rooms in the Lisboa building which is the newest of the three buildings and in a quiet location with garden views. The original building above reception is called Belem. Coimbra is eight storeys high and would have good sea views but is above the bar. I particularly enjoyed the morning power walks especially the one to the pine cliffs on Tuesday and aquafit. I also did yoga with mylene who is very patient with beginners. We loved relaxing in the adult zen area and Joao was friendly at the zen bar where we enjoyed fruit cocktails. The resort manager Stephan was incredibly enthusiastic whatever the activity and ran everything from the bingo to the daily poolside dancing in an entertaining manner. Our daughter loved the teen club and in particular the flying trapeze sessions. The food in the main restaurant was generally excellent. I liked the duck on Saturday and the strawberry and pineapple chocolate fountain. The vasco restaurant has nice views but the food was a bit disappointing. We preferred the main restaurant. Thanks to all the gos for an incredible week. We were sad to leave.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I have had the most amazing week at Club Med Da Balaia, it was the perfect pandemic antidote with the sports, art and entertainment paired with general sense of community and conviviality. The food was excellent (special kudos to the Piri Piri chef and the pastry chef!), the hotel and garden were gorgeous and super well maintained, but for me the main highlight was the sports program.
The thing that blew me away most was the circus team led by the one and only Enes. Honestly, I did not ever see myself jumping off a platform at 10m up to do high trapeze, but Enes' good cheer and clear commitment to health and safety somehow compelled me. I was super impressed especially by Gabi and Maria, who were able to give me super pointed technical remarks that helped me achieve somewhat elegant form on the trapeze (somewhat, still looking mostly like jelly fish most of the time, to be fair). However, the most incredible learning from the circus trapeze actually came from advice that I got from Marcos, who somehow managed to make me about 80% calmer ahead of every jump. It's through Marcos' coaching about stress management that I learnt about why circus arts are so important beyond just the moment of doing them - I genuinely learnt skills that I will be able to use in public speaking and tense team meetings. The trapeze experience has in fact completely changed how I think about different sports and what I can learn from them. Everyone should absolutely try the trapeze - I am glad I did.
I also really loved Body Pump and Tennis. Lea (BodyPump) is a highly trained professional who delivered a high energy exercise session which really pushed everyone to work out super hard (but still have a lot of fun!; side note, Lea was also absolutely amazing in all her dance performances). Pierre's (tennis) amazing organisation of all the tennis tournaments meant that everyone, regardless of level, had incredible amounts of fun.
One thing that I wanted to also call out is the incredibly hard work that I know all the GOs put into all of the activities and cultural programs. It was amazing to me to see all the GOs do the sports during the day and then turn into performance superstars by night! Thank you to everyone who is making all these amazing efforts to make this happen.
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Date of stay: June 2021
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We were for the 2nd time here. Again we were impressed by the enthusiasm of the baby and petit club and special programm for them. From pirates treasure hunt to mermaid stories at the pool, to costumes lunches. Our daughters 4Y and 9m old baby, were treated like princesses and returned every day so happy, the oldest so proud to tell us all the petit club stories. Also in the evening the kids staff reconnected to us, which the kids loved, to feel like 1 big family with the animators. A very big thank you to Chiara, Anna, Catarina, Susana, Marta!! We will miss you so much, and remember you! Hopefully we meet again, somewhere in a club!
The golf experience for beginners was also fantastic, Luc was so helpful & friendly.
The best club med gastronomic experience, and we have done quiet a few clubs! Tuna, oysters, foie gras, calamares, we felt like in a Michelin star restaurant almost & so over fresh and delicious desserts as well!!
On top, this club has the best photo service, compared to so many other clubs. We go home with 2 gorgeous photo albums! Photo session on the beach, will stay in our hear for our life, as our babys first photoshoot. Thank you club med! Parents of Laura & Alyssa
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Date of stay: July 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
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Hi Liesbeth, thanks a lot for your comment. What a pleasure to read so many nice things about your trip among us! It is such a pleasure to know Laura & Alyssa had fun with our baby/petit club and that you had also a lot of fun! We're hoping to be seeing you soon in our beautiful village of Da Balaia. Have an excellent day!
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This was my first evr Club Med holiday, picked it last minute for my three children and myself ( 19/17/16 ). I looked up reviews on this site and elsewhere ( as was debating between portugal and greece ) and the reviews were mostly very positive.
well...firstly, the food was terrible ( and yet club med is known for good food ). The fruits were hard and tasteless. The cooked vegetables had no taste, and the dessert selection was dreafull. the lemon custard cake was worse than one would buy at a gas station convenience store. The breakfast choice was very poor, the croisants were obviously bought in bulk and reheated on the premise, nothing was fresh and yet this is portugal ( where most fruits and vegetables for europe are grown ). We stayed one week , that is 21 meals and not one single one stands out. I thought maybe with COVID19, the budget had been cut by the chinese ownership of club med but that was not true according to the staff I complained to.
The head of the resort is a friendly chap, who takes the time to greet each guest almost daily. His fellow GO are mostly friendly and helpful, but the staff in the kitchen barely smile and for the most part, are grumpy. It would seem so easy to make it a rule that as an employee, you are to always greet the guest and not wait for the guest to greet you.
The beach is very nice, we enjoyed the tennis , the 9 hole gold club is outrageously priced ( 180 euros - taxi, clubs + green fees ) for 2 people. All in all, i know some people love CLub Med, I dont get it . For a family of 4 it is extremely expensive, and this is a 3 star hotel, for the same price you can take two rooms at a any 5 star hotel anywhere in europe ( except for the food part ) and get far better accomodations , food would not be included but for the same quality, you aint missing much.
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Date of stay: July 2020
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We will not be returning to this resort. Unless you are French speaking you will struggle. The serving staff in particular Niccu in the pool bar area, were brilliant! but other staff including GO's did not have the patience to explain or have a conversation in English. Our children didn't join the the children and teenagers clubs due to the language barrier so we ended paying separately for tennis lessons which our children really enjoyed and the coach Eilan was brilliant. The resort was clean, safe and a lovely location. The spa facilities were excellent. The music was very loud of an evening but this was because our room was facing in the same direction, people with young children would struggle with these rooms. The menu in the the A La Carte restaurant did not change and only offered the same choice of three dishes each night, you paid separately in this restaurant for the steak and lobster which was very expensive, however the setting was lovely and the serving staff in this restaurant and cooking staff very happy and polite especially David. The main restaurant offered lots of different food selections, was very clean and fresh with and lots on offer for small children and babies as well. The resort manager was very happy and visible all the time. We would have preferred an arrivals meeting because we were just told to use the App on the phone so lacked lots of knowledge about the resort. The themed nights were slightly different to the ones on the web page so this needs to be checked upon arrival.
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Date of stay: July 2023
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello 457louise, Thank you for choosing Club Med Da Balaia for your vacation in Portugal. From reading your comment, you have greatly appreciated the structures of the village as well as our spa. We are also delighted to read that you were able to meet some of the members of our GO, GE and sports teams. We will pass on your comment to them, which will make them extremely happy. You tell us that the language barrier was a hindrance to exchanges with the teams. Although most of our GOs and GEs speak English, your point has been passed on to our teams to ensure that all activities are accessible, regardless of the language spoken. We're sorry that you felt a lack of information. Every day at 10am, we offer a village information tour to introduce you to the different activities and their locations. Every Sunday at 7 pm., you can meet the people in charge of services, as well as an information point with sports, excursions and the spa. Our team is also on hand during your stay to help you make the most of your vacation. We thank you once again for sharing your experience and hope to see you again in one of our villages. Louise, Club Med Team
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I never quite get the amazing reviews of this hotel, we stayed last year and couldn’t wait to leave. We also complained to the hotel after the visit & offered compensation however this was to spend on another club med holiday and we definitely wouldn’t go again. Our hotel room had an awful view & a balcony that you wouldn’t sit on, curtains were ripped etc. The food is average, the chef on the burgers handed my daughter a bread cake with the same gloved hands he was wearing handling raw meat, the outside snacks are sat in the sun & the sea gulls are always eating them, all staff do is bat them away & leave the food for guests to eat. On arrival at the hotel at mid day we were told to leave or pay an additional figure to use the facilities / food for 3 hours, we obviously paid as we had two tired children who were excited for there holiday. Our room was ready, which made the situation more disappointing and even though we were leaving early on our last day and therefore not useing the facilities we still had to pay. The air conditioning didn’t work but staff failed to acknowledge this was the case though the whole panel was covered in tape so you couldn’t use it. Worse of all the hotel is infested with cockroaches, they were in our room, in the dining room, we saw one under our table, running across the dining area & another around the pizza area, this was denied though we know what cockroaches are and following seeing so many we decided to stick with hot fresh food. The entertainment is really poor and the French shouting how ‘incredible’ is all the time gets annoying. My final thing to complain about is that the staff sit with you, I find this so strange as the guest has obviously spent a small fortune to be there yet the staff pile there plates up before dashing off or enjoying a leisurely lunch. One of the staff drained the water machine filling all his bottles for the day which left the machine empty for guests. Additionally the water bottles on the tables are never cleaned they just get topped up by the staff! Would we would return, not if someone paid us!
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Date of stay: May 2023
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Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Hyde-de-boo, We have taken your comments into account and would like to thank you for sharing your experience with us. However, we are sorry to hear that your stay did not meet your expectations and would like to apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced. First of all, we understand your disappointment regarding the view from your room and the balcony which was not usable. We are aware of the importance of a pleasant view and a functional balcony to fully enjoy your stay. We take note of your comments and will do our utmost to improve these aspects. Regarding the food, we are sorry to hear that you encountered problems with your meal. The situation you describe with the burger chef is not acceptable and we sincerely apologize for this incident. We will ensure that our team follows the highest standards of hygiene and that such situations do not recur in the future. Concerning the outdoor snacks, we are aware of the inconvenience caused by seagulls. Our team does its utmost to keep them at bay, but we will take extra measures to ensure that snacks are always fresh and protected from birds. We also regret any problems you may have experienced on arrival at the hotel. It is important to us to provide you with quality service from the very first moment. We will take steps to improve communication with our guests and avoid any confusion regarding additional charges. Regarding the air conditioning, we are sorry that the problem was not resolved during your stay. We will investigate this incident and take the necessary steps to ensure that all equipment functions correctly in the future. We also understand your concern about cockroaches. Cleanliness and hygiene are top priorities for us. We have already taken steps to address this issue and will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure a pest-free environment. As far as entertainment is concerned, we're sorry you weren't fully satisfied. Our entertainment team works hard to provide an entertaining and varied experience for all our guests. We will take your comments into account to improve our activities and meet the expectations of all our guests. Finally, we regret that you found our staff inattentive at times. Friendliness and respect for our customers are fundamental values for us. We will be taking steps to remind our staff of the importance of their attentive presence and professionalism during meals. We hope you will understand that these problems are not representative of our usual standard of service. We invite you to contact us directly to discuss your experience in more detail and find a satisfactory solution. We look forward to welcoming you back in the future and providing you with an experience that meets your expectations. Yours sincerely The Club Med Da Balaia team
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Our minds were blown, we travelled with a 3 yo and a 1 yo. Our 3 yo absolutely loved the petit club (make sure you book it at the time you make reservation otherwise it will be so difficult), and we were astonished by the level of care towards the children. So much activities and my daughter was absolutely in love Enzo cacahuètte. Happy kids happy parents = great holiday!
They have baby room and baby corner at the restaurant where you can help yourself to baby food 247 incl milk etc.
Staff are just so friendly all around, however keep in mind that majority of the guests are french speaking so I did feel like I was in France rather than Portugal.
A great team of event organising, food prep, waiter and waitress, even the photographer team were very pleasant and takes amazing photos of our family.
Thank you club med!
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Date of stay: May 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
I wanted a restful, stress free holiday and was recommended Club Med. It was a disaster! No communication before arrival. Staff completely overwhelmed, I couldn't get through to them on the days leading up, they never called back though they kept assuring they would. The room in the main building smells like old socks and sweat and the bed is one of the most uncomfortable I've slept in. I understand the appeal for families with kids but honestly why anyone else would want to stay here is beyond me. The price is exorbitant for the level of anything you get. The setting is so amazing they could do so much more! One bright spot in my stay was Cristiana who went out of her way to make the stay better for me.
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Date of stay: May 2022
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Aziza1982, Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback on your recent stay in Club Med Da Balaia. We are pleased to know that you enjoyed our setting. It is unfortunate your experience with the information services didn’t meet your expectations as we do our best to ensure the happiness of all our guests. We have shared your comments with our Managers and Staff in order to continue to improve the quality of our services. We thank you for your review and we look forward to welcoming you again. Sincerely, The Club Med Da Balaia Team
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Absolutely loved my stay at Club Med Da Balaia! From the incredible views, to the fantastic service, everything about the stay was a true 10/10. My arrival with Laura was great, and she also was super helpful several times throughout the trip at reception. I particularly loved going to the Zen Pool - such a relaxing space (adults only), with great views of the ocean and a bar with delicious smoothies and juices. The food was great, I enjoyed both the buffet and the restaurant. Everything was very COVID safe - I was very impressed by all the measures the hotel took to keep everyone safe. I also want to call out the great job Max did as interim CDV - he gives each and every guest VIP service and takes the time to really talk to and get to know everyone. He takes customer service to the next level!! Can't wait to come back next year!
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Date of stay: September 2020
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Bom dia Jules! What a pleasure to know you've enjoyed your stay among us! Our G.Ms satisfaction is our priority & your comment proves we're doing it right! We're hoping to be seeing you again soon, in this beautiful Resort or another! The team of Club Med Da Balaia wishes you an amazing day!
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Brilliant stay and fantastic resort so close to beach. Everything was fantastic and the staff are amazing. The app supports your stay and tells you what’s going on and allows you to request items for your room. A great setup. The food was amazing and the bar and pool phenomenal. There are events and themed events each night and they encourage you to dress to the theme. We were there during Belgian national day and the GOs got involved by dressing up and handing out crepes and there was a Belgian beer tasting in the evening. The only one thing we would say is that the mini club med (kids club) is largely French speaking and our daughter struggled to get involved but the activities were phenomenal if she could. We’ve fed back to club med that their advertising in the UK and corporate messaging hasn’t quite caught up with the delivery there. To be clear though everything else was amazing and we loved the resort, it’s so clean and accessible with a private beach so would not change our view and would come back. We loved it, just something to bear in mind if travelling with kids who only speak English. We also think it may have been better for the children with more UK Kids a week later as it would have been school holidays. Theo the resort manager is great as well, and gets involved in everything!
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Review collected in partnership with Club Med
Date of stay: July 2023
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chatham, United Kingdom4 contributions7 helpful votes
The main restaurant has a number of covered outside areas but proper alfresco dining is available on the grass area or terraces where a bottle of wine needs to be bought. There are quite a few steps to the beach but there is also a road that leads to the beach which has a gentler slope.
There are more places to choose from in the Albufeira area.
PRICE RANGE
€313 - €430 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
club med da balaia hotel albufeira, da balaia club med, club med albufeira, albufeira club med
LOCATION
PortugalAlgarveFaro DistrictAlbufeira
NUMBER OF ROOMS
372
Prices are provided by our partners, and reflect nightly room rates, including all taxes and fees known to our partners. Please see our partners for more details.
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