POHA Stay Aachen

The whole place had an unpleasant smell, which I put down to poor waste management, and the accommodations were badly appointed, often missing items listed in the lease. They also misled you about the contract terms, then gave you the runaround when it was time to get your deposit back. I wouldn’t trust the positive reviews, since they try to incentivize residents to leave good ones.

The location is a plus, as are the view of Dom and the magnificent Theatre at night, and the size of the rooms. There’s lots of space, but it was dusty, unclean, and unhygienic. I’m allergic, so the amount of dust was the worst surprise. There were no cleaning supplies, so I had to buy some for a two-night stay. That’s unacceptable. I travel only to apartment hotels, and this was the least welcoming one for me. They provided exactly two towels per person, precisely counted. There were no kitchen towels or hand towel for the separate toilet, and not even a hook to hang one. Are we not supposed to wash our hands? The shower soap bottle was empty. The living room had no curtains at all, so there was absolutely no privacy. In the evening I had to cover the window with a blanket because someone on the balcony of the motel across the street was staring at us. I travel with a child, so privacy matters a lot. The TV is basically just a screen for streaming from your phone or computer. The remote battery was low, and it took a lot of patience to get it working. I called reception but couldn’t understand the person, so I gave up. The kitchen was smelly and had no window. Between a stinky chunk of zucchini in the dishwasher and all the dust above and grease under the extractor hood, I gave up cooking. I didn’t even dare open the oven. At least the fridge was clean. The garbage room on floor -1 was overflowing and smelled bad, with no way to sort the trash. No "gelber sack," and no bins for glass or paper. My kid called it "the dead hamster room".. :-/ For a place with no service, it’s too expensive. You also have to spend time and money cleaning, which makes it completely unsuitable for short trips.

I recently finished my stay at POHA House Theaterplatz. The idea of design-focused coliving with sustainability and community at its heart sounds promising, but the experience felt consistently underwhelming. The building and shared public areas look impressive in photos and in person, yet the focus on appearance often comes at the expense of function. Sound insulation is poor. You can hear everything from nearby rooms and hallways. Ventilation in private units and shared spaces is inadequate, making things uncomfortable in both warm and cold months. Room furniture is sparse and doesn’t seem made for long stays, more like temporary staging than a real home. Cleanliness and maintenance were recurring problems. Common areas could stay dirty for days despite promises of regular cleaning, and trash rooms were poorly managed and sometimes overflowing. Shared kitchen appliances were dirty, missing, or not working properly for extended periods. Reporting problems rarely brought a quick fix, and sometimes nothing happened. Getting help from the POHA team was frustrating. Questions about rent breakdowns, technical issues, and services often got slow replies or vague answers. There seemed to be a lot of staff turnover and no clear person accountable for resident support. Some individual staff tried to help, but the overall system felt disorganized and unprofessional. Community seems to be a major selling point, but little is done to build or sustain it. Events were few and often poorly advertised. Unless you take the initiative yourself, the community stays an idea rather than something you experience. With rent this high, I expected a smooth stay. Instead, I had to deal with infrastructure problems, slow support, and a lack of transparency. Services advertised as benefits, including high-speed internet, cleaning, and parcel management, didn’t reliably work as promised. POHA House Theaterplatz has potential, but right now it feels more like a marketing project than a mature living option. If reliability, service, and clear communication matter to you, you may find it frustrating. It’s not a bad place for a short stay, but it definitely doesn’t live up to its premium positioning.

I had a great stay at POHA House! The apartment is right in the city centre, with plenty of space. It’s modern, very clean, and comfortable.