After many hours of reading the wonderful & informative reviews, I've selected a few hostals for reservations.

Some have returned email quite promptly and others have not responded after 2-3 days. Is the non-response 'normal'? Should I give up on email and call? One of non-responders is Hostal Adriano - which surprises me based on the many positive comments it has received.

And as far as providing credit card information to confirm the reservation. What is the recommend method for providing that info? Over the internet (in multiple messages?) over the telephone?

Thanks for your advice. We will be in Spain the latter part of March and I'm trying to finalize our lodging arrangements in various cities - then on to the transportation methods!