Da Balaia has recently been refurbished so the rooms are lovely and spacious. We did have interconnecting rooms with the dc and it worked well. There are 2 doors between you so we'd have one door open so that we could hear them. Each room has a balcony so you can always take a bottle of wine back to your room and drink it whilst they are in bed.
I would say that the food was better at Da Balaia (4 trident) than Napitia (3 trident) but it doesn't have any watersports which Napitia has. I would say that 3 trident is more like 4 star and 4 trident more like 5 star.
Napitia is more of a villagey feel and is a lot bigger. There are 2 child friendly pools and 3 restaurants so it is a lot bigger than Da Balaia which only has 1 pool and 2 restaurants.
If money is an issue then I would go to Napitia as it really was lovely.
We book our flights separately and use Easyjet and Ryanair as they fly direct to the closest airports. The CM ones are always indirect which means wasting a lot more time at the airport and the risk of losing luggage. If you don't book flights with them you have to arrange your transfers. There is a company they recommend who are excellent.
The guests are mainly French as it's a French company. Then it is locals (Italians or Portuguese) and then English, German and Dutch. I would say that the guests are probably 'middle class' although that sounds snobby.
The staff are really friendly and enjoy being with the kids. Our kids were danced with and played with and had a fantastic time.
I do find that the advantage of an all inclusive is that you leave your purse in the safe in your room and can just relax. I love their mojitos so go through quite a few and the kids have ice cream everyday.
There is a lot of choice for food and you do self-service so you can make up meals how you like. At Da Balaia we had beef wellington, bbqs with langoustine, fresh tuna grilled as well. They have a pizza bar and pasta bar and loads of choice of starters and main meals which change daily. The cheese and bread are flown in from France. They have baby food which is freshly made at every mealtime.
I really think the food is excellent as does my dh who travels a lot and stays in top hotels.
We went to Napitia when my dcs were 4 and 2. For under 2s they give you a baby bath and cot etc. Da Balaia have baths in each room with a shower attached. Napitia only have showers and I would say that the rooms were quite basic which was my only criticism of the resort. Da Balaia feels much more luxurious but then as I said it's just been refurbished. The rooms, bar and restaurant have all been done and look fab.
I can't compare it to other holidays as it's our first hotel type holiday but we love it.