I've traveled with OAT and Grand Circle so many times that I've forgotten you can actually have a less-than-optimal experience with them...that is, until I took their Backroads of Iberia trip a few years ago. The trip leader wasn't even in the league of their usual trip leaders and her judgment wasn't so hot, either (t-shirt with "I'm only in this for the money" spelled out in rhinestones...really?). Luckily, as with your experience, the joy of traveling in the country was enough to blunt any annoyance with the trip leader (who I'm sure did not survive at the company much longer).