Train tickets and seat reservations

On Promo fares (Promo and Promo + fares) you cannot select the seat.
On Mesa fares, you pay for 4 tickets and you all get seated around a table (2 forwards and 2 backwards). You can select the table and coach you want after selecting "selección de asiento" and paying, you will be able to select 4 seats in a table from an interactive schema on a computer. Note only this applies to www.renfe.com , the official provider (they have Mesa fares exclusively for them). On all renfe.com purchases, you can cancel the purchase up to 2 hours since you bought it free of charge. So if you get it wrong, don't worry.

Thank you Joan!
I did not know about the 2 hour cancellation policy. I also noticed that on seat61, they have the renfe train diagrams that include seat assignments along with the direction of the train depending on the route. Does anyone know if this is reliable?

Update to my initial post.

I have since gone thru the entire purchasing process on Renfe. I looked up AVE schedules and chose the Flexible rate since they stated " Choice of seat,Changes 0%,Cancellations 5%" . Once I progressed to the next step where the passenger details are input, the Specific Seat section said the seats were automatically assigned. I went ahead and purchased the tickets hoping that I might still have a choice but no such luck. These are the only tickets I have found available on the Renfe site. I've even checked other days to see if it was only that Saturday since I was surprised there were only three to choose from from Madrid to Granada.

I've used the Renfe help service and I've looked at the very detailed explanation on Seat61, no luck.

What am I doing wrong?

Note that Madrid from Granada requires transferring to a bus at Antequera-Santa Ana. That is why you cannot choose a seat, as it is sold as a train with connection with a bus. If it was a train purely journey (like for example Madrid to Barcelona) then you could select the seat on Flexible fares and with a Mesa Fare. So what I would do is to split the journey. Get first Madrid to Antequera Santa Ana by train, select a Mesa Fare (it is cheaper for you and it lets you select a seat, do yourself a favour and do not buy flexible fare, that is too expensive for a spaniard) and buy it. Then, buy from Antequera Santa Ana to Granada via MD (it is a bus really, but they do sell it like a train).
That way, you can select the seats all the way. But it is gonna be more expensive. Also, look about combining timetables, the connection can be handled within minutes as they hold the buses for the people coming from Madrid. I supposse that you could also speak to the Renfe staff there and then they could let you get on the bus even if it isn't the timetable marked on your MD ticket.
Here is why you couldn't select the seats: trains with connection to something are sold with automatic assignement. As there is works on the Antequera Santa Ana to Granada line to make it suitable for High Speed, it is totally closed and all journeys must be made by bus to/from Granada. They said this only would last 6 months, but it has been closed for 3 years...

Most (all?) trains, at least the high-speed (AVE, AVANT, MD) the seats all face forward except the end seats which face each other, and are usually sold as a package - in other words, you can't buy 3, must buy all 4 - but the price is lower than the other seats. This article is the best guide/explanation for the Renfe site. Note that many US credit cards don't work, but Paypal does.

Thank you Joan,

I am getting better and better at navigating these options. Enjoying the challenge, like a puzzle.
An interesting thing I noticed when looking only at the MD bus schedules for the last leg to Granada, they do not have the buses available if they correspond with the incoming trains from Madrid. I am sure it's because they want to save space for the train travelers.
I believe you also mentioned possibly speaking to the Renfe staff to request a spot on the current bus. I’m not sure we want to chance not making that bus since the wait will be 3 hours till the next bus showing on the schedule.

Chani, thank you for the excellent article. You say all the seats face forward? It seems a reasonable thing to hope for. The train on which I ended up backwards was in Italy, maybe they are different? I’ve also heard others have similar conversations. It would be nice to not worry about the possibility.

Italy is indeed different. In Spain, the trains go through the stations. In Italy many stations are terminus stations, meaning the train has to reverse direction when it leaves.

Well, all AVE trains except series 100 (the first AVE trains on the network) can rotate the seats. This is done by the staff at Atocha before you board the train, while you wait at the waiting hall.
Here is a video about it: https://youtu.be/akcE41FZHnI
It is in Spanish, so you can practise a bit of it.
On that route they run almost all trains with reversible seats. If you took the french route or Madrid Sevilla then you would get AVE S100 series.
As said, do yourself a favour and get a good promo/mesa fare. It is super cheap and most people do not need to cancel or change their train.
Note that Renfe website uses European credit card security standards. Make sure your card has set up Verified by Visa or MasterCard SecureCode. In case of failure, use the PayPal option and it works nicely.