The Hive Taipei: Chic Coworking Space in Zhongzheng
The Hive is a chain of coworking spaces that operate in Asia and Australia. Their Taipei branch is in Zhonzheng District, conveniently located a mere five-minute walk away from Ximen and NTU Hospital, and a ten-minute walk from Taipei Main Station. After seeing lots of press on Facebook, we decided to check out their Try Out Tuesdays event, which encourages non-members to try their space for free. You can stop by any time between 8am and 8pm and take advantage of their free WiFi, plug sockets, and complimentary coffee or tea. You can attend the event up to three times, after which you’ll have to bite the bullet and pay for a membership or buy a one-day pass for $420.
The building they’re based in is certainly beautiful, with lots of natural light filtering through. There are three floors, but those attending Try Out Tuesdays are limited to the first floor, which has plenty of group and individual tables with power sockets. It also has a cafe area, where a member of staff prepares coffees and teas, and you can help yourself to water.
The volume level on the first floor fluctuates but tends to be on the quieter side. When we first arrived, it was as silent as a library, but after a while, we noticed groups of people in meetings or on conference calls. Traffic also roared from the streets outside, which was quite distracting. It wasn’t exactly deafening, but we were glad we brought our headphones to drown it all out.
Try Out Tuesday attendees are limited to one free beverage per session. We ordered a latte, which was freshly made for us at their cafe and was surprisingly good. The atmosphere wasn’t too different from working at a cafe, although there was definitely the bonus of guaranteed plug sockets and WiFi, as well as no time limit. The AC was on blast, and there were points where we wished we’d brought a sweater.
The Hive offers some interesting facilities for members, which include community events like lunchtime yoga and minor film festivals. There was also a tangible buzz of productivity in the air, and it seemed like plenty of our fellow attendees were busy networking with each other. It seemed like a fun place to work and get to know people in the area who were also working remotely.
The Hive offers three different membership plans: hot desk, dedicated desk, and private office. Each comes with different user privileges and are priced accordingly.
Overall, we enjoyed our time at The Hive Taipei, and were glad we got to try it out for free with their Try Out Tuesday event. We probably wouldn’t buy a membership due to the volume issue (we need total silence to work), but if you’re not bothered by a little noise then it would be a fantastic place to get some work or studying done. The coffee and internet were both great. The staff spoke perfect English.
What’s the vibe?
Polished coworking space in the Ximen/Taipei Main Station area. On the day we visited, the crowd was mostly young-middle aged locals and expats busy at work.
Worth it?
That depends on you. Their Try Out Tuesday event is definitely worth checking out since it’s free of charge, and it’ll give you a clearer idea of whether The Hive (or any coworking space, for that matter) works for you. As far as membership goes, we really couldn’t say, since we haven’t tried it for ourselves.
Would you go back?
We’d definitely consider visiting in the future, but it wouldn’t be our go-to working space.
Last visited: May 2019
| The Hive Taipei |
| Hours: Mon-Fri 8am – 8pm Closed weekends |
| Phone: 02 2382 0283 |
| English Address: No. 119, Section 1, Chongqing South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei |
| Chinese Address: 119重慶南路一段中正區台北市100 |
