Brian Taylor
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Yesterday Anfi updated their website to say closure of Beach is until at least 28th Nov.
There is certainly fairly low occupancy at present though at times the reduced number of sunbeds are nearly all taken.
I’d heard that the availability of 2 bed apartments might be a deciding issue for when to reopen another resort. Puerto remains closed (though perhaps Anfi could consider opening the pool if the sunbeds at Monte and Gran get too busy)
Also the Monte children’s pool with a slide remains closed – reception say it is causing a leak into the parking area below and they expect work to start on it soon once some other work is finished. The only pool open with a slide is the one at Gran.The concrete flower boxes above Beach on the road from Monte have not had any work done on them yet – we’d heard the work would be carried out in November, but that appears unlikely given the scale of work needed.
Hi Harry
Thank you for the info. There are also some reports on the Canary News and Canarian Weekly that you and other members may find of interest about the migrants.
The latest Canarian News article is on this link about the migrants arriving over the last few days – and an article last week about the plan to close the Arguineguin reception centre – the islands are planning to open up old military barracks to provide better holding space – the Arguineguin port tents have been used to house up to 600 people while they are tested for coronavirus and then moved into temporary accommodation elsewhere whilst there applications are processed.
The Canarian Weekly reports over 7500 migrants have been transferred to mainland Europe so far.I’ve been at Anfi for the last few weeks and the tents at the port are visible from the beach at Arguineguin. Although the islands are close to the African coast there are reports quite a few boats have travelled from further down the African coast and have travelled up to 1000 miles.
There are two small coastguard boats often seen in the Arguineguin harbour and, as I write this, a larger coastguard ship has been offshore between Anfi and Arguineguin for last day or two.
Every so often the ships head out to see to rescue migrants from their boats.Regards, Brian
Hi Kevin
Roger has posted about the Gran Anfi fees on this post – the discount of 10% may look small, though I understand it only relates to savings in the months of August and September, as the savings when Anfi was closed (weeks 11 to 30) are being returned to those affected by the offer of a voucher or a 60% saving on 2021 fees.
Savings from the October to December period will be finalised after the end of year and used to reduce 2022 fees.I’m sure members will have more questions around this and perhaps Roger or Richard will be able to give more detail. It would have been helpful if Anfi provided the background when sending out the maintenance fees.
Kind regards, Brian
Hi Doreen
I have moved your query to a separate post – we don’t have a rental adverts section in the Forum though we do have a separate section for adverts that the public as well as members can see (also if you look under the rentals heading you will see a rentals wanted section where members can ask for weeks they are interested in renting, so check if anyone is looking for your week).
Rentals adverts do involve a fee – the FAQ section has info in the steps involved – I’ve copied that below
Rentals have been very quiet in last few months but hopefully with quarantine lifted and the new testing regime for tourists giving some reassurance, rentals may pick up.
Trust that helps but do let me know if you need any more information
Regards, Brian
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The easiest way is:-– to ensure the week you want to advertise is added to Your Timeshares under you member profile (even if points or floating as you can edit the advert later).
– Then in the My Timeshare section of your account click to create a rental or resale advert – the system copies your timeshare week into the advert
– edit it as you need and there is a box for extra information
– you don’t need to share your phone or email details unless you wish to, as the system will forward enquiries to your email address
– save your advert as draft or click to list and pay for the advertYou can return to your adverts at any time in the My Adverts section of your account
NB
There is a short video on the help section https://anfiukmembers.co.uk/website-help/
Hi Ian
From other articles I’ve read I believe the Canary Island government has flexibility on the test – extracts below refers to PCR or negative antigen test (need to read up exactly what that test is!!) – so best to look closely at what they ask for.
The article also said if tourist turns up without it, they will be referred to a test centre on island and not allowed into accommodation until tested. A previous article said antigen tests in Spain cost about 25 to 30€The problem as you say with PCR is speed of getting result if required 48 to 72 hours before and cost of £100 – 150 in UK. As you have Saturday flights you are at least better placed than those with Monday flights, as some private labs shut over weekend.
I’d hope the industry gets its act together and offers a cheap alternative to PCR that is easy to get – the Spanish article referred to getting very quick results.“saying that the rules will be open enough so that certificates issued by health organizations or clinics from all the countries of tourist origin will be accepted and so that, if technological progress provides new rapid diagnostic routes, it is not necessary to reform the articles of the new covid test certification legislation.”
“Tourism Minister Yaiza Castilla said the Canary government has now recognised it cannot directly impose a test on travellers from the rest of Spain or from another country, but they can exercise their right of admission to regulated accommodation, which will ask clients for either a PCR or negative antigen test done between 48 and 72 hours before arrival.”
Hi Ian
It looks like the new law will be in place within 10 days – well worth reading the latest Canarian Weekly news article, and I’d expect the Islands Government to publish more details and that airlines will be in contact as well – see this post
Regards, Brian
See latest from Canarian Weekly news – subject to approval by parliament today the new law is likely to come in within 10 days and require tourists to have taken a test within 72 hours
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The Governing Council yesterday approved the decree law to try to minimize the risk of contagion by Covid-19 in the expectation that winter tourism will reactivate in the Canary Islands, saying that tourists staying in regulated or licenced holiday accommodation need a negative test result.Following this, it still has to be approved by parliament, hopefully later today, and printed in the Boletin Oficial (BOC) to take effect, and will be activated “10 business days” after the decree law enters into force.
——————More details in the article
I’m copying and updating this post from Anfi Beach into the “new normal” as will affect future travel, and the testing will hopefully reduce and risk of increases in the islands and make travel safer: –
The Canary Islands have been looking to introduce testing for some while, they have recently given up on EU travel testing deal and are looking to bring in local legislation for travellers to have test prior to or after arrival – two recent articles in Canary News refer – possibly new arrangement in place within two weeks:-
Also news in Canarian Weekly – saying law could be approved tomorrow (30th Oct) and come into force between 8th and 15th November.
Other articles mention that the Netherlands are removing the islands from its banned travel list and that TUI are paying for tests for people travelling to the islands from the Netherlands. Perhaps TUI will soon do that from UK too.Hi Ian
You may have read that the Canary Islands have been looking to introduce testing for some while, they have recently given up on EU travel deal and are looking to bring in local legislation for travellers to have test prior to or after arrival – two recent articles in Canary News refer – possibly new arrangement in place within two weeks:-
Since the UK government removed quarantine for people returning from the Canary Islands from Sunday 25th October, we will hopefully see some pick up in members able to travel to Anfi or to rent out their weeks, and support for local restaurants, cafes and businesses.
We also have to hope that the islands do not see a pick up in infection rates from tourists – the overall downward trend in the 7 day rate, that we had been seeing for some weeks, has levelled off and started to increase slightly.
EasyJet has increased it’s flights in November onwards, as has BA. Yesterday (Sunday) the scheduled incoming direct BA flight from Heathrow was reported to be full, whereas the return to Heathrow had 22 people onboard – business must have picked up for BA as they also put on a 2nd flight later in the day which was only added after the government announcement.
And TUI have flights arriving on Monday evening from Gatwick, Bristol, Bournemouth, Newcastle and Birmingham.Regards, Brian
Yes, great news about the removal of quarantine. And Germany removed the islands from its at risk list, and Denmark and Sweden have done similar.
It’s certainly very quiet out at Anfi at the moment. I’m told that whether Anfi Beach will reopen on 14th is dependent on how numbers pickup – Monte and Gran Anfi still only have a fraction of total apartments occupied.
Anfi have lots of hygiene measures in place. Feels safe.I see that easyJet are stepping up flights in November, so hopefully numbers will pick up. Local towns are very very quiet – Puerto Rico and Arguineguin have some shops open, Puerto Mogan was so quiet, with only a few families walking around the pathway by the marina and the beach with under 10 sunbeds in use. All feels a bit odd, but good if you like a quiet holiday.
Limited restaurants open, but I was pleased to see Valentinos open and Montsemar at Patalavaca. Valentinos have 3 staff working out of 11, to give you an idea of scale of business.
Hi Ian
If Beach is still closed you will be redirected to an apartment at Gran or Monte – as David says Beach has been closed for a few weeks now. When we spoke to Customer Services about a week ago they were not sure that Beach would open on the 24th, so perhaps they have changed their mind.
One of the problems, as Roger Byatt has mentioned in another post, is that people are not letting Anfi know if they are travelling or not so it is hard for them to estimate the level of occupancy.I’m due out next week in Beach and Anfi are putting us in Monte, though I haven’t had the apartment confirmed yet.
The UK government, as you will know, is still advising against travel to the Canary Islands – hence travel insurance cover issues for many policies, and quarantine when back in UK.
Seems odd to me as the 7 day coronavirus incidence across the islands has dropped to 38 per 100,000 and Gran Canaria is 28, and is well down on the August surge – the current rates are a fraction of the overall UK rate and even more below the UK areas going into, or being considered for, tier 3 and tier 2
The Elmbridge area not too far from me is 138!
In Gran Canaria most of the cases are in the Las Palmas area in the north and most are in people under 30 – in Mogan the active cases are around 15.[The German government uses a risk level of 50 – and as the level has been below 50 for over a week, and is dropping down, the German government looks for 14 days under 50 and will then take the islands off their “at risk” list by early next week – so we could well see a surge in visitors from Germany, and Belgium took the islands off its at risk list a week or two back]
If you travel you have to fill in a Spanish health form before you go – this is very quick to do.
The other potential problem is airlines cutting back flights and whether your flights align with your Anfi days. As Anfi have a lot of unused space you’d hope they would align your week(s) to when you can get flight, though you may need to persevere as I don’t think their system supports this too easily.
I’ve had reports from a couple of members out at Anfi over the last month or two, one of whom got back about a week ago, and all reports have been positive, though quite a few restaurants are closed. The Spanish COVID rules mean you do have to wear masks a lot other than when at sunbeds, in pool, your apartment, or when eating/drinking out.
General feedback has been that worth going if you can live with restrictions and with quarantine on return.Hope that helps
Regards, BrianHi Ian
I’ve just logged into members area now and my points are showing as zero. Looks like system not working.
Regards, Brian
Hi Ian
I just tried to check mine and can’t get into the members area, seems as if the site is down. I’ll try later
Regards, Brian
That’s a good outcome Ian, as other members have definitely had points cancelled and not rolled over. It seems to depend on who deals with your enquiry. Perhaps they deemed that the points were affected by the lost weeks and could roll them over, have you also looked at the points on the Anfi website to make sure they are shown not expiring this year.
Thanks for the updates Wolfgang
Members can see the latest charts on the the Anfi Club German websiteWith the incidence rate at 40 lets hope it drops further soon – though it’s good news for our German members as the 14 day period will soon be reached and the region taken off the at risk list
Those of us in the UK will have to wait longer if the UK government is looking to see a rate below 20 (though 40 feels safer than UK which currently averages over 130)
Anfi have said they are planning to open Beach again on 10th October. I’ve put a copy of Anfi’s statement on another post – on this link.
Though the OGM is deferred Anfi have published the candidate names and statements. The candidates are:-
- John Meykel
- Giancarlo Tommasi
- Inger-Lise Weld**
- Ruth Breitkopf**
- Fiona Harding
- Geoff Mathews**
**In conjunction with the other European Clubs we would ask you to consider voting for:
- Geoff Mathews (UK)
- Ruth Brietkopf (Germany)
- Lise Weld (Norway)
Statements from candidates are as below (plus see above for information from Geoff and for voting recommendations)
Anfi have decided to postpone the Club Puerto Anfi OGM of 29 October 2020, because of the uncertainty of the general situation at present, and the possibility that candidates and club members will find it difficult if not impossible to travel to the meeting.
The meeting will take place in 2021 although Anfi do not yet have a definite date.
Although the official documentation has just been sent out, all members will receive a further communication informing of the postponement of the OGM.
Hi Karen
You’ll find more on another topic in July – link – and this one March to May
The topics are a little split as got linked into Anfi pressurising people on the lost weeks voucher/refund, and also with new contracts being sent out.
I doubt there is a general consensus, as the pro’s and con’s vary depending if your direct contract is all you have, or if you have resale weeks(s) as well.
If you only have direct purchased weeks I’m not clear there is any benefit to us as owners in signing, with one exception, see below.
Signing legalises the contract, and removes your right to pursue court action at a future date. Most of the original onerous clauses have been taken out.
If you have resale weeks – Anfi will bring one resale week into AVC for each direct week you have and sign contract for (at least that is latest we know)Also if you have fixed weeks or floating bought direct, which you will lose this year and are outside the lost weeks 11 – 30, e.g. August to December, and you are unable to use or rent, Anfi are rumoured to offer you vouchers if you sign new contract. Likewise I think with points if you can’t use them & sign new contract.
Do let us know how you get on.
Kind regards, Brian
Hi Brian
Thank you for the update – sounds good! How did you find the flight?
I’m due out later in October.I had an update from a member who just got back a few days ago with some comments and recommendations, it sounded like they had a great time too:-
From Anfi UK member at Monte 15th – 29th August 2020:-
Resort beautiful as always
There are some works going on in Puerto a big hole has been dug in the corner of the block, not quite sure why, but noise has been very minimal so not been any big deal.
There’s been a lot of misleading information on Facebook, best ignored.
We haven’t been asked to sign any new contracts as yet, that was something else some people weren’t happy about.
Plenty of room for distancing, sanitiser everywhere and pool area being cleaned all day.
Plenty of sunbeds as it’s really quiet. So all good, not looking forward to going home to quarantine!
Some of the restaurants are open. Steak House is closed but Italian and Tapas are open.
Restaurants in Puerto Rico are very hit and miss, they are doing major refurb of the old shopping centre, so most of the restaurants in there are closed.
There is one open there called De Pinnochio, would recommend it, food really good! Part of the old shopping centre going up the hill on the left.
Some of the hotels are still closed.
If you go to Amadores Beach, there is also a good restaurant there called Blue Beach.
—————————————————–Hi Ian
Welcome to Anfi UK. Your “journey” with Anfi Sales will be familiar to many members who bought direct!
There are some other posts on the Forum about Anfi’s position on re-booking and your September booking. To summarise:-
- Anfi’s offer of voucher or partial refund was for the “lost weeks” (11 – 30) when Anfi was closed
- Anfi’s current position is they are open, flights are available, so no special treatment.
- If your points are from this year you can of course cancel the booking (with ?2 weeks notice) and take points into next year
- If your points are from last year, they will expire at end of the year as normal (seems unfair as a you couldn’t book for many months, but that is Anfi’s position)
[potential exception is if you have yet to sign a new style contract and decide, after careful thought, to do so, Anfi seem to be offering many owners a voucher for the week they can’t make – but do check if you are looking to go down this route to ensure you’d get a voucher, and of course that you are happy with new contract.)
My only other thought is if you contact Anfi as, if you’d left your April booking unchanged, you’d have got a voucher or partial refund, by changing it with good intent, you may end up losing points – perhaps Anfi have a different position for members in that situation?
Kind regards, Brian
Hi Ian
Yes there is a scheme which Roger Byatt posted about a couple of weeks ago – https://anfiukmembers.co.uk/forums/topic/free-covid19-travel-insurance-provided-by-canary-islands-government-from-august/#post-58308
Roger’s article is based on info in the Independent – there is also article in SchengenVisa info
The scheme is by Canarian government with AXA, and provides cover if you have a COVID related illness, it does not cover anything else like loos, theft, accident or other illnesses, so in that sense is limited.
As you may know as FCO advice is against travel most insurance policies will not provide cover – I’ve read that Battleface do have a policy – other members may know of others?Do let us know what you decide!
Regards, Brian
You may have heard about the recent spike in coronavirus cases in Gran Canaria – still mainly in the Las Palmas district and only 9 in Mogan using the Canarian government data
The first chart shows the daily cases, the second shows the current breakdown by district – there are currently 1292 active cases in the island.
Anfi have on the 14th August posted the follow up to the government announcement of further restrictions on anfi.com, details are as below and the full statement is on this link:-
Key points:-
Preventative Measures Against Covid-19 from the Canarian Government – Anfi, 14th of August 2020
– the Canarian Government has announced the following additional measures are to be enforced as of Friday 14th August and until further notice, in view of the Coronavirus pandemic http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/boc/2020/164/004.html
• The use of a face mask is compulsory in all areas, whether in open or closed spaces, even though the social distance of 1.5m can be adhered to. Only children under the age of 6 years are excluded from wearing a face mask.
• Smoking is not allowed in open spaces if the social distance of 1.5m cannot be adhered to.
• Meetings or gatherings are restricted to a maximum of 10 people, whether inside or outside in the open air.
• On the beaches and around swimming pools, a face mask must be worn whenever you move within these areas; a mask is not necessary whilst sunbathing or swimming.
• In bars and restaurants, whether sitting inside or outside, the use of a face mask is compulsory unless you are eating or drinking.
The Government has established fines of up to 300€ if not adhered to.
We are aware of how uncomfortable some of these measures must appear, but we would ask for your total understanding of this situation and apologise in advance for any inconvenience.
