renfe vs raileurope, 1st class vs 2nd... general train ??s madrid-barcelona

We traveled from Madrid to San Sebastian last year. Our trip was five hours and I opted for first class for our family of four as it was only, as i recall, 11 euros more per ticket when I got the discounted rate. It was great as they have a special waiting room for first class travelers at the Madrid train station. Inside there was a hostess, nice bathrooms, and lots of free snacks and drinks. Once onboard we had wonderful service including a very tasty breakfast and comfortable seats. We often travel second class in Europe but this was well worth it for the price we paid. We booked with Renfe as soon as the date became available. It took a few tries but this I was really helped with www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187514-i126-k3451522-Buying_Renfe_Tickets_Online_Revised_March_5_2010-Madrid.html Good luck.

I am not going to comment on the ease of use issue, apart from pointing out it is extraordinarily rare for anyone from Europe, for many years, to have difficulties with the purchasing process. Do you have one of the guides like - http://www.seat61.com/Spain-trains.htm#How_to_use_www.renfe.com or the hugely comprehensive guide, further improved from the above link by Karen - http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Travel-g187514-c80518/Madrid:Spain:Buying.Renfe.Tickets.Online..html And yes, RailEurope may offer those discounts (plus there agency fee) - but I still find occurrences where they do not provide complete schedules for all journeys available on RENFE. Turista Mesa, a table for four may be available on your journey wish (whether RailEurope offer is another matter). Otherwise Turista (what you and RailEurope might call 2nd class) and choose your seating following the guide(s) - point 28 in the huge guide. What site you choose, I suggest, will depend on how you go with the RENFE site and your aversion or not to the extra agency fees with RailEurope. Does this cover it?

We traveled between Madrid and Malaga by train this year. I used the RENFE website to purchase our tickets, and for me it worked fine. I chose the Turista Mesa seats which were at a 50% discount; 4 seats together (2 and 2 facing each other) with a small table in between. I did have to choose a later-in-the-day train for our return to Madrid to get the Mesa seats, but that actually turned out to be a good thing.

Thanks All! I did go to the Seat 61 website prior to posting, also went to tripadvisor and read RS Spain book- train section :). My confusion actually came from reading all those pieces with conflicting info.
I think I am clear now- thanks to all of you!