Paloma West Midtown, atlanta-ga

pros: 1. close to cheba hut cons: 1. trash room was always full of garbage literally full. and it would get so full that the door would get propped open and the smell would linger into the hallway so nasty 2. at one point the hallway trash wasnt taken out for about five weeks and we proceeded to have gnats live in our apartment and in the hallways for the following 2 months. so nasty 3. there is constant noise from the restaurants including karaoke so be prepared for that 4. theres only one elevator that stinks all the time and takes forever to even arrive 5. on multiple occasions there have been different people who are unhoused roaming the apartment/sleeping in staircases. very fun to see that especially when its dark outside 6. outside one of the entrances my roommates and i have run into people literally shooting drugs into their arms on the staircase that leads into paloma. like really? 7. put in multiple maintenance requests for things (broken toilet, broken shower drain, broken window, lightbulb replacement) and they just never came 😁 8. at one point a bathroom from the lounge next door flooded and leaked into my bedroom and they were prompt with fixing it but it was gross 9. my mail got lost LITERALLY 5 TIMES and i gave up and had to start ordering things under my roommates names because it was getting ridiculous 10. parking is super tight and limited and the door leading to the garage randomly gets locked resulting in us having to go around. just adding extra walking for no reason 11. building 1 has LITERALLY no amenties. theres a rooftop thats nice and dark so good luck using it. also the furniture is dingy. there is no printer, study rooms, gym, pool, or lounge in building 1 so if youre okay with having to go on a walk to get any of that, live here

I lived in Paloma for 2 years in a 4x4 TLDR: I would recommend Paloma, but don’t have high expectations for student apts in general. Make sure to unsubscribe from rentplus (subscription to report rent payments to credit firms, get a credit card if you want to build credit). Pros: Location, Price Cons: Amenities, Management Location: Good Georgia Tech is across the road and the CRC has a parking deck, gym, and GT bus stops. Paloma is also near a couple MARTA bus stops. Lidl and the west midtown area is a 15-20 minute walk away. The view is also pretty good since the immediate area isn’t built up. Price: Good I paid ~1300 /mo base in a 4x4 which is much better than midtown. If you sign at the right time this can be lower. Amenities: Bad Paloma has a gated parking lot under the building which costs ~$100 /mo. We had a couple breakings a while ago so I would recommend parking at the CRC if you are a student (it is also cheaper). The pool is small and shallow; the games room has a broken foosball table and a pool table too close to the walls to be usable. Paloma uses parcel pending or the front office for deliveries and mailboxes for letters, the system is good and I haven’t had any issues. The gym is decent and has quite a few machines. The rooftop area on top of building 1 is nice. Rooms: General Building: Decent Nest thermostats and the building/apartment entrance use a key fob. Bedroom uses a normal key. The technology is good compared to other places. Elevator breaks occasionally and takes a couple days to get working again. Hallways/elevator/stairwells sometimes smells like weed (maybe once every 2 weeks). Wifi had occasional issues, Paloma contracts with another company for setup and it is a bit useless at times. Bedrooms: Decent Small, but par for the course in student housing. Comes with mattress, bed frame, 2 drawers and a desk. Paloma is one of the few places I toured with ethernet in the rooms which is nice. Kitchen: Good Has a nice finish with granite counter tops. The dishwasher and oven broke during my 2 years there and were replaced with new ones (which are now very nice). Replacements took under 1 wk for the oven and months for the dishwasher… not particularly fast. Bathrooms: Good Water can take a while to heat up, but Paloma doesn’t meter water usage and thus doesn’t charge. Much like the kitchen, the bathroom counters are nice. Living room: Decent Comes with a TV, sofa and table, that is about it. Laundry: Good My unit had a washer and dryer in the unit which worked fine. The washing machine broke at some point at it took a few weeks for them to replace it. Maintenance: Decent I have always had positive interactions with the maintenance people, they all seem helpful and friendly. Maintenance can take a while though, which is likely a management issue. Management: Bad All student apartments I looked at had management complaints, Paloma is no different. It is a business and they want money. There are a number of added fees like in all student apartments. Top floor is +$5 /mo, south facing is +$15/mo, pool (west) facing is +$10/mo (or something like that, from what I understand nearly every room has some location fee). I have seen worse (I think it was either the hub or connector that charged extra on top of base rent for a window on some floor plans) but I don’t appreciate any additional fees (they are explicitly mentioned on lease documents but some seem unnecessary in my opinion). Paloma will usually run a ‘special discount’, they may say that “this is the best deal you are going to get” but that isn’t true. The best base prices historically have been $999-$1100 /mo in a 4x4. They also rely on FOMO to get someone to sign up immediately, thinking that there won’t get a better rate. That being said, there is no guarantee that there will be a better ‘special’ so be careful waiting as some floor plans will sell out. Move out: Decent Paloma put itemized fees in my account after the move out date and provided pictures of the damage upon request. edit: wording around fees, rentplus, and move out info

Paloma has really gone downhill. It no longer feels like a student apartment community. A large number of the residents don't appear to be students and seems like the property is more focused on filling vacancies than maintaining a student-oriented community. A few weeks ago, I saw a marshal posting an eviction notice on one of the units. The elevators frequently smell like weed and I've occasionally seen what appeared to be people using drugs near the parking garage. The overall atmosphere and quality of the community have noticeably declined and honestly no longer feels like a place where students should feel safe or comfortable. If you're a gt student, I would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. I'm so glad I moved out.

Would put zero stars if it were an option. This management company is built around squeezing as much money out of residents as possible, and it starts before you even sign a lease. They refuse to budge on rent and use pressure tactics like claiming there are only "3 rooms left" to rush you into signing, when in reality plenty of units are still open, then suddenly the deal gets cut in half once you've committed. It's a tactic clearly aimed at students who are anxious about not having housing lined up especially given the lack of housing around GT. The squeezing doesn't stop once you move in, it just shifts to move-out. I got charged a mailbox key I was never even given, and that only got removed after I pushed back in 7 different emails. On top of that, they billed me an absured amount for cleaning and a "full paint" job over things that were already there before I moved in, a loose tub panel and a few faint wall marks that could be wiped off with water. When I laid all of this out for them, I got ignored or handed a new form to fill out instead of an actual answer. Took 7 separate emails and 4 phone calls just to get any kind of response, and even then most of my questions were left untouched. Overall a frustrating, dishonest experience from start to finish. If you're a student looking at this place, know that they will find every possible way to get more money out of you, both when you sign and when you leave.

I have really enjoyed living in Paloma for a few years and it has been an amazing experience. The front staff are always so kind and helpful and maintenence is very attentive to requests made even though I have not had really any issues.