Brian Taylor
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Hi Robert
We fared better on Monday the 10th coming back.
Instead of egates we were all put via manual kiosks to have passport scanned by the officer and then stamped.The registration machine were actually working near to egates and the overhead panels were telling us how to register and then use the egate, and the other side of egate was manned to do the passport stamping.
but the staff directed us to manned kiosks. It was a bit slow at manned kiosk, if lots of people, as the officer scanned passport and system was somewhat slowI suspect they will offer people leaving the option to register soon, as they seemed to have it all set up.
To do that you use the registration machine, scan passport, get fingerprints and facial, then go to egates – the kiosk after is to stamp passports as that will be done until April when new system fully operational.Brian
Hi Diane
Thanks – I spoke to a few people when I was out at Anfi the last 3 weeks and haven’t found anyone who can connect for UK TV services. Roger tested it last week and had no luck.
German and Norwegian TV seem Ok though they aren’t geo-bloacked like iPlayer, ITVx etcAnfi say their IT are looking to update configuration so fingers crossed, though I’m a bit doubful as to use UK TV you need a VPN service e.g. nordVPN, and there is lots online about VPN not working with Chromecast.
Kind regards
Brian
Thank you to the members who joined the meeting, sent apologies, voted and/or submitted questions. We had a good session at the end to discuss questions and also during the “formal” part of the meeting.
Formal Minutes and notes will follow and these notes are a quick summary of the OGM.
The meeting:-
– Approved the Minutes from the 2023 meeting
– Approved all the resolutions
– Approved all the recommended constitutional changes. A revised Constitution will be published on the web site as soon as possible.
– Covered any questions raised on the reports from the committee covering aspects of the club
– Approved the Accounts for 2024
– Approved keeping subscription and advert fees unchanged
– Committee changes
– David Ledger is stepping back from Chair role after 13 years and Bill Taylor will be taking on that role as well as Media Secretary – these changes will be confirmed after the next committee meeting as will appointment to other roles
– David Ledger was approved to become the club’s first Honorary Past Chair
– Richard Weston was thanked for his service over many years and confirmed his acceptance of Honorary Membership.
– Geoff Mathews was re-elected
– Bill Taylor, Kirsten Childe, Dr Onsy Morris, Court Rawson and Barbara Potter were elected to the committee
– There was then an informal discussion covering questions already submitted by members and those raised in the meeting.
the info below was published on one of the travel websites and gives a bit more about the phased roll out, though not specific to Gran Canaria
Passports will still be stamped until the roll out finishes next April (according to the gov.uk website)
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The EES system will be implemented gradually, with several key milestones expected over the next year.
The first phase will begin on October 12, 2025, with at least one border point in each country operating the new system. This number is expected to increase to 10% of border points within the first 60 days.
By December 2025, the system will include biometric checks at certain border points, capturing both facial scans and fingerprints.
In January 2026, half of the border points are expected to be equipped with EES technology, and at least one-third of passengers will be processed using the new system.
By March 2026, the plan is to have all border points operating the EES system, with half of the passengers processed using biometric checks.
The system will be fully operational by April 10, 2026, with all borders processing all travelers through the new system, including biometric data collection.
In addition to the new EES system, travelers are reminded of passport validity requirements when visiting Spain. The passport must be issued within the last ten years from the planned date of arrival. Passports issued before October 1, 2018, may have a date of issue more than ten years old, so travelers should ensure they meet this criterion.
The passport must also have an expiry date at least three months beyond the planned departure from the Schengen Area. While the issue date does not need to fall within ten years, travelers should still ensure their documents meet these requirements to avoid issues at border control.
Spain follows the standard Schengen Area rules, so visitors are strongly encouraged to check with their travel provider to ensure their passport and travel documents meet all entry requirements. Any discrepancies or expired documents may result in denied entry.
Border control officers will examine travelers’ passports and entry/exit stamps to confirm that they have not overstayed the 90-day limit for visa-free travel within the Schengen Zone. If there is any missing stamp, travelers may need to provide other evidence, such as boarding passes or flight tickets, to show when and where they entered or exited the area. They can then ask border control to record the date and location in their passport.
When passing through border control in Spain, travelers may be required to present several documents. These may include a return or onward ticket, proof of travel insurance, evidence of sufficient funds for the duration of the stay (with amounts varying depending on accommodation), a hotel booking or address confirmation if staying privately, or an invitation letter if staying with friends or family.
The new entry procedures are part of the EU’s ongoing efforts to enhance border security while facilitating the safe movement of travelers across member states. As Spain and other Schengen Area countries prepare for these changes, travelers are encouraged to stay informed and ensure they meet all necessary entry requirements to avoid any disruptions during their trips.
Please remember the new system for entry/exit starts to be rolled out from 12th October
– see details in the post above
– and gov.uk website for Spain
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/spain
We emailed all members to advise of the change of the OGM date to 4th October (still at 10.00 a.m.)
The OGM is the only meeting where Club finances can be approved, the rules can be changed and committee elected. It is important everyone takes part, either by attending, asking questions or exercising your right to vote. Please take a few minutes to reply using the form below.
At this OGM we have committee re-elections and some new committee members, some changes to the constitution and the normal reports on your Club and Anfi. Fees will remain unchanged.
We aim to cover the “formal” parts of the meeting as quickly as possible and then spend time on your questions and discussing issues.Please let us know whether or not you are able to join us this year by completing the OGM reply and voting form – use this pre-filled form and you can alter individual voting sections if you wish, then add your details and any questions. If you are attending the meeting you can vote at the meeting.
David
Neil had emailed Steve and I’m working with Neil to get his advert live.There were 6 adverts in Neil’s account all created in 1 or 2 days, and another deleted.
As far as I can see the “live” paid for advert was deleted, and the others are showing as not paid, because they are different adverts!
I have checked through and found one advert with text, and deleted the others.
I’ve emailed Neil and once he confirms the advert is ready to go, I can make it live.Members see their adverts in MyAdverts – https://anfiukmembers.co.uk/my-adverts/ – not in MyTimeshares
I’ve been sent a document showing both points system. Roger has published it on our members Facebook site and I’ll put it online in next few days.
However, if you do get the latest chart from Sales, please do share – or email me if that’s easier and I’ll put online – treasurer@anfiukmembers.co.uk
Another apsect to bear in mind about adding points – with the different points systems, when Sales offered me a deal to add another Gran apartment and trade in my Monte one, the points would be on the “new” system – I asked if that would add to my existing points and they said no – so, I’d have had one set of points on old system and another on the “new” sysem, both with different points values for the same resort/apartment/week
So in my case, the points would not add into one set of points that could be managed as a whole
Hi Erick
Good question about points – I don’t think we have though maybe able to get a tableI have a sheet of the old points system from when we bought at Gran in 2002 – there is also a new points system which has a different set of points values for resort/apartment & perhaps our newer members might have a copy to share. And there may be other points systems that Sales have used over the years.
I’ll check tomorrow via our Facebook groups to see what I can get and shareThis year I paid €300 for a one bed bienniel at Beach, so suspect they are offering you a studio. (as bienniel half what a normal one bed would be)
I’ve seen a table of what the Beach fees are for 2025 but can’t find it right now!Kind regards, Brian
Hi Erick
It still sounds a lot of money – though depends how much you need points and whether there are any other ways to get them. Or whether you can just rent the weeks you want?£500 maintenance sounds low, is that a Studio?
If you buy floating resale you don’t get access to as many weeks as if you buy direct & you can’t put the week in AVC, as you may know. But it’s a lot less money!
You may have read about the new system now coming in from 12th October with completion by 9th April 2026 – details on UK Gov website and on this page – the system will be in full operation across all Schengen countries from 10th April 2026.
“From 12 October 2025, the European Union’s (EU) new Entry/Exit System (EES) will begin. When travelling into and out of the Schengen area, for short stays, you may need to:
– have you fingerprints and your photo taken
– answer the Schengen Border Code questions
If you enter the Schengen area through the Port of Dover, Eurotunnel at Folkestone or St Pancras International, this information will be taken at the border, before you leave the UK. You may also need to provide either your fingerprint or photo when you leave the Schengen area.EES may take each passenger a few extra minutes to complete so be prepared to wait longer than usual at the border once the system starts.
Read more information on the EU Entry/Exit System and to understand which countries are in the Schengen area.”
There is also a detailed article on Euro News and on the EU’s own webpages
And more about the phased roll out on visasnews :-
“Starting on October 12, 2025, the new Entry/Exit System (EES) for travelers will begin to be rolled out at the external borders of European countries. Designed to modernize controls, this system will be fully operational by April 2026.The Entry/Exit System (EES) is a European program aimed at automating the registration of third-country nationals entering and exiting the external borders of the Schengen area.
While the various bodies of the European Union had previously approved a gradual rollout of the EES, a date for its entry into operation has now been announced by the EU.
The European authorities explain that “the new Entry/Exit System (EES) will start operations on 12 October 2025. European countries using the EES will introduce the system gradually at their external borders.“
The system will therefore be introduced in stages, with full deployment expected in early Q2 2026. ”This progressive implementation will last until 9 April 2026. From 10 April 2026, the EES will be fully operational at all external border crossing points of the European countries using the system,” says the European Union.”
We have sent an email to all members with details of the OGM which will be held by Zoom.
Please see this News article for a copy of the email with details of the OGM, and the link to the form to send in any resolutions, raise any questions, or nominate anyone to join your Club’s committee.Please note that Members’ Resolutions and Nominations need to be sent in by the 19th August.
You will receive a “formal” invitation to the OGM by the end of August, with the meeting registration link, any resolutions, and all relevant documents.
You are welcome to raise any questions about the Club or Anfi, using the form. We do have a list of questions from the last members meeting and will be publishing answers/comments in the August newsletter to some of the ones that are not covered in the 2 presentation packs – 1) Future of Anfi, and 2) Renting and selling, which are available on our News pages.
Kind regards, Brian – Club Treasurer
Anfi Administration and Lopesan ownership
An edited version of the presentation on Administration and Lopesan is here. Again we will check through questions raised and post updates.
Links have been added to show the source of a number of the points made.
Renting and selling
Here is a copy of the renting/selling presentation. We hope this covers many of the questions members sent in, and we will add an update later for anything that was not covered on this topic.Please note in the section on renting and payments, members have a few options and their choice will depend in part on the relationaship with the person renting from them.
Options include:-
– a 50% deposit as covered in the slides
– another common option is 10% or €100 deposit followed by full payment before releasing the guest certificate (given the guest cert can be €180 you may wish to have this in advance if the higher fee applies to your rental)
– an alternative is a small deposit and then the person renting pays the guest certifificate from the link
Many members renting prefer to have the full payment before releasing the guest certificate.https://anfiukmembers.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/How-to-Rent-Your-Timeshare-using-Anfi-UK_r3.pdf
Chris and Colleen
Thanks for the feedback, and highlighting the issues.
The individual Clubs have been asked to contribute to the running costs of the new gym, to avoid having to charge members to use it. I can certainly feedback to Anfi management the points you raise and also share with other committee colleagues.Regards, Brian
Club Monte Anfi Liaison Committee report: June 2025
The Monte committee met on the 24th June 2025.
The day before the meeting the elected representatives had a walk around with the Resort Director to look at the grounds and discuss progress. Peter, Fred and myself also had a separate meeting to review the last minutes and items arising. I also gained some feedback from some of the other resort committee members.
Key points discussed included update on administration / progress on replacement fund projects for 2025 / budget update for 2025 / lifts / furniture replacement.
Committee members:
Anfi management: Emilio Rodriguez (Anfi Legal Dept), Luis Martinez (Anfi Resorts), Maria Hidalgo (Anfi Customer Services), Natacha Dorval (Committee Services)
Elected Representatives: Mr Peter Siegler (Germany), Mr Brian Taylor (UK), Mr Fred Anderson (Norway).Committee staff
Heike Schirmer worked remotely from Germany for a few months and has now left Anfi. Natacha Dorval provides committee services including minutes.Budget
The main change is the wage awards agreed with the staff union. These include a one off bonus payment, an extra 2.75% as part of a pay dispute settlement, and a 2.25% 2025 pay award. The first two elements are not budgeted and will come out of the balancing of the replacement fund at year end, potentially reducing it by €150k.
The Club is slightly under budget to May, though that will change when the pay awards are processed.
Outstanding maintenance fees for prior years
We had asked for an update. The risk is the fees not paid may end up with Monte Club rather than Sales. We were told Sales are taking back some weeks and a more detailed updated on the aged debt would be provided in October.Administration
The Administration process is ongoing and an appeal has been lodged which the court will consider after the summer recess. If the court turns down the request then things might move more quickly, if not then it could be one or two years before the appeal is heard.Lopesan
Lopesan now own all of Anfi. The current Anfi management continue as before. You may have read that Lopesan have plans for the development at Tauro and also for a new hotel in Meloneras.Replacement fund 2025
– furniture replacement – the design and display of two demonstration apartments has been progressed and the apartments would be finished in the week after the committee meeting. Peter and Fred were still at Anfi and have had an initial look and submitted their views.
The replacement will be made during 2026-27 and the logistics of replacement are being considered. Total cost is circa €2m.
We will have to look at October meeting how this will be funded.– The civil works projects including improvements to the grounds have progressed. Artificial grass has been fitted over the gravel area and looks much better. Near block C some of the planters have been removed and work is underway to retile the area.
The reception staircase will be left in place but closed off. Too costly to remove.– The ceiling in the roadway outside Monte/Puerto reception is being repainted and funded from the communal fund that Monte, Puerto and the other resorts pay into. The work was about halfway through when we were there.
– Lifts – reliability continues to be good now that Schindler are back as maintainer, though in the week I was there the panoramic and one of the other lifts was out of service on and off over a few days. The update of lift displays and controls has again been delayed which is frustrating.
The Puerto glass lift has been refurbished and the other two main Puerto lifts will be refurbished over the summer.Overall RF expenditure in 2025 is forecast at €1m
TV’s, Chromecast and HDMI connections
The Chromecasts are installed in most apartments and undergoing final checks before roll out.I checked with reception about the HDMI ports given the problems in February and was advised if I wanted to use an HDMI port e.g. for Firestick, reception would send someone to the room to assist – I raised this in the meeting as seems completely unnecessary and wasting time, and only time will tell if IT sort this when Chromecast setup is finished.
I was able to test Chromecast and found that whilst it will “cast” from phone, I could not get it to do that when using a VPN & for iPlayer, ITVx, Channel 4 etc you do need a VPN as the channels are region locked. Peter tested German TV and does not need VPN and that worked OK.
Hopefully Anfi IT will be able to sort how the Chromecast shows UK channels.Proximity cards
The change is running later than planned and Anfi hope to complete the change of the cards used for door and gate access over the summer.
Entertainment team / Security / Lifeguards
Due to the company who provide the staff, and security staff, going into administration, there was significant disruption over the last few months. The security staff are now employed via a different company and you will see the uniform logos have changed.
Entertainment staff are being directly employed by Anfi using people who live on the island. The overall team of 14 plus two team leaders is about half strength with recruitment ongoing. In the week of the meeting there was entertainment scheduled for Monday to Friday.
Lifeguards – Anfi updated on the cover provided and mentioned that pool assistants are also trained as lifeguards and can cover for breaks.
Satisfaction Survey
27% of the questionnaires issued have been completed this year. A request to IT to alter the timing and send reminder remains outstanding.Housekeeping items
Anfi are looking at items that appear little used and we discussed our views on a list of items. The list included the DVD and hi-fi unit, and small items such as the dishrack, cheese dome etc. We felt the egg cups and butter dishes should be kept.
Anfi will collate views and discuss further at the next meeting.Soap dispensers
Wall mounted soap dispensers are now fitted to all apartments. Anfi will also provide dispensers at the washbasins to reduce the usage of soap tablets once current stocks are used up.Gym
The operation of the new gym needs some funding from the Club budget unless an entry fee is to be charged. We agreed to Monte’s share of this cost.Solar panels
Solar panels will be fitted to the roof of Puerto – it has yet to be decided if the power output would be shared with Monte.Anfi logo
Members may recall the Anfi logo near the road entry, which was destroyed by a storm some years ago. A suitable location near the old one has been found and it is hoped to be installed later this year.Brian Taylor – July 2025
For members who missed the meeting, I’m hoping we can publish some info this week.
We’ve done a slide pack on rentals and resales, which I’ll be putting online and will email info to all who registered & put a link in this forum too.The Lopesan/Admin part is a little more difficult due to confidentiality issues with some of the info – we’ll certainly do notes on some of the points – if enough members want it, we could try to run another session, maybe 30 minutes, just to repeat the Lopesan briefing – perhaps best to see what the notes cover versus your questions!
We have about 15 members who’d signed up but couldn’t join for various reasons on the evening, and another 10 or so who were away on holiday.
Pam and I went with Roger Byatt a few months ago, and Pam and I went by ourselves in June, the service was OK and they seemed to have extra people on – we booked for 7.30 and they had big tables set out which were occupied around 8 to 8.30 – they may have staffed up for the bigger tables.
The service in June was fine, the starters a bit too quick to be freshly cooked though tasted fine. Certainly didn’t have the problems others have raised, though it felt to me as if they have put in more staff, perhaps as a reaction to previous issues. The main course was good. Similar to Taj Palace.
We must have been asked if everything was OK about every 5 minutes!!
The meeting list is now closed and I’ll be sending out joining details in the morning if not before
last 10 places left and I’ll close the list Tuesday morning.
Hi Robert
I’ve flown with just hand luggage before without any issues from Gatwick, and nice to skip the check-in queues.
The link below gives some guidance, and says hair dryers and straighteners are ok.https://www.edinburghairport.com/inside-edi/for-passengers/hand-luggage-rules-explained-items see extract below.
Anfi were promoting easygoback where you can store case(s) offsite and have delivered/collected to/from Anfi – only really worth it if the cost balance or convenience work out – https://easygoback.com/
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Edinburgh – Electronics
It’s a yes for most day-to-day electronic items.So mobile phones, laptops, tablets, electric shavers and e-cigarettes are fine.
Hairdryers, straighteners and travel irons are also allowed.
You’ll also be able to get through security with spare batteries.
Remember. You should keep large electricals like laptops and tablets in your bag – no need to take them out.
Just a reminder of our meeting on the 9th July with information about Anfi’s future
We have under 20 places left before our Zoom meeting capacity is reached, so please be quick if you haven’t registered and want to join us! Use the link in the forum post above this message.
Hi Caroline
If you go to your advert via https://anfiukmembers.co.uk/my-wanted-notices/ and then click to edit, you will see an option to Delete the advertKind regards
Brian
Pam and I ate there in February along with some other committee members. There are reviews on the Facebook group.
The food was good though the service was a bit disorganised and not all courses arrived at the same time – we were a big group though.
Will definitely be looking to try again in June when back out.
