4 years ago
I am currently finishing my masters online (thanks...
I am currently finishing my masters online (thanks to the COVID pandemic) and because I no longer have access to my University's library, studying spaces, and resources its become harder to work at home, more distracting with you have family members around, the dog wants attention, the TV and radio can be heard from the other room, etc. I started looking for co-working spaces around town online. I had it narrowed down to two but Lionshare stuck out to me for a few reasons. First was the pricing and the flexibility of plans. I really only needed the space for about a week to finish off my thesis and study for my final exam and when I looked at other places around town they either wanted contracts, monthly memberships, or only offered daily rates. Lionshare was the only one that offered anything like a weekly rate (called the "6 day package", the 6 days don't have to be used in a row though), and it was at a reasonable price point. I do wish it was a tad lower, as when I looked at one of their competitors they offered a month-to-month rate of $75 that included your own desk. The reason I didn't go with them is because I didn't wanna deal with a month-to-month hassle and making sure you cancel in time before you get charged again, and their competitor's hours stopped at 6pm. Lionshare is open until 8pm, which is much better. Another competitor I saw was only open until 4pm, which was surprising. So its good that Lionshare is open until later.
The woman at the front desk was pleasant and the process of purchasing the 6 day package was easy. She showed me around for a brief tour and I went right to hot-desking. Plenty of space (14 'hot desks' plus a couch and comfy chairs to pick from, not including the other side of the building which has assigned cubicles, and private office rooms). The kitchen was an excellent size, microwave for heating up things, and complimentary beer, wine coolers/seltzers, sodas, tea, and coffee. Would be cool if they had a few snacks to offer, like those small bags of Goldfish or Cheez-Itz for when you're feeling a bit peckish; just a suggestion. Bathrooms are exceptionally clean and has plenty of things in stock. One additional thing that swayed me to this place was the fact that they don't limit you on printing. Every other place does, unless you have a contract or maybe monthly high-end membership. I'm not planning to print 100 things per day, I may need to only print off 2-3 articles one day but if I need to print 20 double-sided pages and I have a limit of 15 (like other places) it would be rather inconvenient and frustrating.
Overall the place is quiet, clean, welcoming, and fairly affordable. My only critique really, and its a personal one I suppose, is that its not dog-friendly. Many of the big brand co-working spaces (like WeWork for example) are dog-friendly for well-behaved and quiet dogs. I have a small dog at home by herself half the day and I feel bad leaving her while I am here all day working. So its a bummer that she can't just sleep here at my feet.