Tami at Tripsurfer tries to match any discount price you find.

We always go through Deltavacations.com and have gotten good rates. They claim they will match any rates out there. You might want to check them out. One thing about going through Delta is we have never had any problems. (Hubby was a Delta platinum for years before he retired--don't know if that affects anything.) But we have always been satisfied.

Thanks all for the replies. I feel much more stable after having had the rug pulled out from under us the other day by human error. I am so grateful that the error was caught before we showed up on the Grand's doorstep in November. Having been to the Grand I had a vision of arriving and being told that we were in the wrong place and our trip was going to be a lot less "Grand" than our last trip of extreme pampering.

I have filled out a quote request with Tami at Tripsurfer and will await her reply or will give her a call after the holiday weekend.

Tried Mr. Iberostar and was taken to Travelocity at a $700 savings but do not feel comfortable booking that way.

Grannyto5Cats from South Carolina :) ... Deltavacations - I put in the airfare and it was double that of US Airways. Couldn't get the hotel info but reluctant to deal with a corporate entity at this point.

We will wait to hear from Tami as I see that many recommend her and I feel more comfortable with that. If not we will go direct to IGP for pretty much the same price as our above mentioned travel agent gave us. The airfare however was $100 cheaper doing it on our own then going through her.

We did do our own bookings in February for our trip to Costa Rica and that turned out really well. Just trying to learn the ropes of traveling. Starting to think that the less middle men involved the better but will give Tami a shot due to her reputation at TA.

Again much thanks for the replies.

Tami is our agent and has been for years now.

I have used ORbitz for years and have never experienced any problems booking flights, and resorts thru them, plus they have a promo code that takes off $150 from your trip.

I've used Orbitz and Expedia in the past. The only disadvantage I find with them is that you typically have to pay the entire balance up front, not matter how far in advance you book. If the price difference is significant enough, or if the trip isn't too far in the future, we will gladly book through them.

Most travel agents we've worked with take a deposit (usually the airfare + a small hotel deposit) right away and the balance is paid ~30 days before departure.

Okay it is a done deal. We booked the Grand with Tami who we feel very comfortable with. Our flight is booked as well as our first 4 nights at a cozy little place in Villadolid.

LOVE the information provided by the savy and generous travelers on TripAdvisor.

Much thanks!

Oh good. I'm glad you got everything you needed and felt comfortable with Tami.

Thats wonderful! Hope you enjoy your trip!