hi anniesantiago,
i don't know what kind of stories have you been hearing about the albergue in cea, i can assured it is not true. it is a very nice hostel.
to be honest with you the best municipal albergues in the camino de la plata are those owned by the xunta de galicia. they are modern and very new with all facilities. a few of them have motion sensored activated switch for the lights during the night. the dormitory for the cea albergue is upstair. bathrooms are segregated. there is a kitchen with full facilities, a dining room, a lounge with sofa. if you want quiet, go to the other end of the dormitory as the bathrooms are directly beneath the stair. every second bunk has a radiator heater with full heat during the winter when i was there. the hospitalero, orlando, is not the friendliest guy when i was there. he favors peregrinas over peregrinos (nothing wrong). be sure to turn off the lights when you leave any of the room. there are thin blankets in each bed. but we were not cold during this past winter as the heating is on all night. there were 3 of us in there - an english girl, a spaniard and i. do not put your wet clothes or anything wet on top of the radiators, he will go bonkers as some of the radiators have been stained.
please note two of the albergues are a long way from town. the one in lalin (laxe) is at least 5 kilometers out of town going towards santiago. the hospitalera,victoria lives closeby and is a very nice lady. and the albergue in outeiro is at least 2-3 kilometers from town. pilar is the hospitalera,another very nice lady. but they are both very new and nice places to stay.
oh, make sure to go to the bakery in town and buy a loaf of bread. cea is famous for its bread which is baked in traditional wood ovens. there are 2 supermarkets in town, and at least one cafe-bar. do try the orujo (aguadiente, moonshine). when you order a black coffee (cafe solo or so called cafe americana as in the us), they will usually placed a bottled of orujo with a spigot in front of you. you can put in as much as you want in the coffee. it is free. just don't drink too much. wouldn't want to start your day drunk. this is a tradition in galicia. if they don't placed a bottle in front of you, assuming you are a foreigner and not accustomed to it, ask for it.
buen camino. see you in santiago maybe.