Like Alan, I was totally alone. Ingrid, wow, you found it full! Being alone was kind of spooky, but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. The setting is gorgeous —if you walk up some nearby hills, you get a marvelous perspective.
As far as the albergue goes, it was the coldest dampest night of any night on any camino I have ever experienced (but then I never stayed in Samos, and my sense is that it would be a similar experience). Luckily there were lots of heavy blankets. I remember that getting to the bathroom and shower required a long walk through corridors, under eaves, past locked doors, with lots of hallways. I suppose that that feature will be eliminated with the million euro renovation, but it really did add to the experience.
The visit to the monastery reminded me a lot of Sobrado, though maybe there was less moss growing inside and fewer obvious leaks in the roof.
The monastery has a separate section for people who want to have a three or four day monastic experience (males only, I think), and I met a cyclist who really enjoyed that.
Like Ingrid, I have to wonder about this expenditure. I can’t imagine that 1,000,000 euros would be enough to totally restore the monastery, so it would be interesting to see the long term plans. The renovation of San Juan de Ortega cost
more than 4 million and I don’t believe that included the albergue (and it was 7 years ago).