Saludos amigos!

We're off tomorrow! Can't wait. Here's a list of all the hotels we will be staying at. Thanks everyone for helping me with inquiries. Expect reviews and copious amounts of info when I return!

Barcelona - Hotel Silken Gran Havana
Monserrat - Hotel Abat Cisneros
Pamplona (sort of ... en route to San Sebastian): Parador de Olite
San Sebastian - Hotel Avenida
Santander - Hotel Chiqui
Arenas de Cabrales - Casa de Juan Sabeli
Madrid - Hotel Mora

Let me just say that the reservation facet has been great at all these hotels. Very good customer service over the phone. Did I say phone? No way ... I used Skype . A total money saver when it came to making these transactions. Only Hotel Chiqui has some weird phone number that Skype doesn't recognize.

By the way, I found dealing with hotels directly much better than spending hours looking at discount booking services. Also, Hotel Avenida was the same price direct as on Orbitz (128 euros for a triple, including breakfast buffet).

And for those of you in your golden years, the paradors give you a whopping discount. As my parents are "old" spring chickens, we got a triple at the Parador de Olite for a mere 130 euros.

OOOOO I CAN'T WAIT TO EAT SOME WHITE ASPARAGUS AND DRINK SIDRA! HAVE A CALAMARI SANDWICH AT EL BRILLANTE! :jump:

churrocaliente, YOU'D BETTER contact me when you get to Madrid! I'd love to FINALLY meet you after ALL these years. Hopefully I'LL be available while you're here. Enjoy that BOCADILLO DE CALAMARES!!

Can't wait to read your reviews (hopefully you'll have time to post them) after you return home and all things are quiet again - if they ever were! hehehe...

Yes, SKYPE is definitely the way to go (using the SkypeOUT function at something crazy like $0.024 (cents) per minute. I mean, that's just crazy! I noticed on one of the Madrid Hotel pages that they have a "SKYPE ME!" button where you click and make a Skype call to that hotel. And, of course, it's FREE with Skype-to-Skype.

Have a GREAT time touring Spain! Hope to meet you.

Saludos, MadridMan