It advertises as having low toxin nail polish. When I arrived and asked about it, I was dismissively told "check the back of the bottle". When I did and selected a nail polish that had less toxins in it, I sat down and waited 14 minutes, I had an appointment. Just about when I was ready to leave, someone came to do my manicure. After preparation, she whipped out a base coat without ever saying anything before I had a chance to ask if it was low toxin. Also, overall, the attitude of the receptionist and the person helping me was not at all one tiny bit friendly. read more

This was my first time trying Solemates nail salon and unfortunately it will probably be my last. I loved my nails when I first got them done but after 3 days my thumb started chipping. I went last Sunday and by Wednesday is when I noticed it so I went in on Thursday so get it fixed and the lady in the front wasn't very fond of me coming in because the chip was so small but she got another lady to fix it for me. 3 days later and now 2 nails are chipped. Im pretty disappointed because I spent $60 (including tip) on these. I definitely would've like to get 2 weeks out of gel polish. I liked the design though read more

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I really appreciate that they still offer outdoor mani pedis under their tent. Their staff is super sweet and service is quality. I'll be back for another pedicure soon! read more

This place was very nice. Relaxing environment and friendly employees. I really liked my pedicure, as my technician really took her time with the nails on my feet. Unfortunately, they didn't scrub my feet at all which is a bummer because that is one of the main things I like to get my feet done for! For $32 bucks, if they had done everything I expect of a normal pedicure, I would be happy with paying that amount and have given 5 stars. But because they didn't scrub my feet, I had to give 4. Not sure I will be back! read more

I am so glad I found this nail salon. I come every few weeks for a pedicure. Everything is clean. All of the nail technicians are very friendly and really take their time to do a good job. Mary especially is my go-to person if I've gone too long without a pedicure and need some extra attention to ensure I don't get ingrown nails. The ambience is pretty calming. I also want to note that I started coming here in 2021, and everyone inside is always masked and there is a sign that says the staff is fully vaccinated. That really puts me at ease. Overall, I'm very happy with this nail salon and will keep being a regular for a long time. read more

Went in to get my nails done and was immediately met with friendly faces and great customer service. The first thing I noticed was that I didn't have to wait, and this place doesn't smell like a nail salon. No chemical gross smell at all! I went in right when they opened so I was seated immediately. The woman who did my nails was fabulous and adorable. I'll definitely be coming back! read more

Solemates Nail Spa - Lovely set up that is far from the traditional salons! - Nail Salons Near Me - Berkeley, California

They lost me as a customer. I made an appt in person 3 days ago for a pedicure and leg wax today. I show up 5 minutes before my appt and not only is there no appt, but the receptionist - Jenny - also treated me like an interloper. She told me there's no appt and I must leave. Jenny was the one who made the appt and she now she is ushering me out without an apology. I asked for a manager's name. I'm told there is no manager and that the owner is never in and in fact is regularly out of town. Update: They called me 20 minutes later to say they found my appt. Still no apology. And I learned that Jenny is the owner's niece. read more

Solemates Nail Spa is really a blessing in North Berkeley. Everyone is very friendly, my pedi was done efficiently (great massage!) and it looks beautiful!!! I'll be back for a mani :-) read more

Not recommended!!! It's bad experience I had, i spent 50$ for my nails, but she didn't do nothing, it came out in one day, usually the gel take 4weeks to come out, but with her in same day. read more

Solemates Nail Spa - Nail Salons Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Nice decor, good service, clean tools, the smell is not as bad as most places, friendly people. I've been twice for manicures. BUT~ There are things that are BAD for your nails. They do ALL of these bad things. - Filing nails back and forth - Filing nails wet - Filing the corner edges downward - Cutting cuticles I've verified this with two different aestheticians. These things damage your nails and cutting the cuticles opens you up to paronychia and other infections. Odd thing is that apparently 100% of nail salons do these wrong things. I'm going to try to find one that does it right. There is also a language barrier, but they try. read more

My daughter and I wanted a relaxing and luxurious mani/pedi. We made the appt ahead of time but upon arrival the desk person seemed surprised. That's not such an issue, but I mention it because the person that attended me was in such a rush to finish that my experience was anything but relaxing. My daughter had a very kind and gentle clinician, while mine was quick and not thorough. When I got home I saw that the paint on my big toes was smudged and I still had dirt under my nails. 40 minutes and $165 later, I wished I had gone to the small, cheaper place I usually go to. This was such an impersonal and stressful experience. Very disappointing. read more

Love how this place doesn't use spa chairs and uses fresh tubs of water for each client. And they autoclave their instruments each time too!

This place is awesome! Right down the block from my house, score! Just had my first mani + pedi here. I appreciate the ambiance, the non chemical smell inside, and the friendly manicurist. The massages were ON POINT. I enjoy a nice good rub, firm for the win. :) The only downside was it all went too quick. lol I wanted it to last longer. 5 stars though, for sure. I don't even right reviews, had to for Solemates. read more

The women at solemates did an amazing job on this gel manicure!! The space is relaxing and clean and everyone is so nice. read more

Solemates Nail Spa - Nail Salons Near Me - Berkeley, California

There are no words to express the awesomeness of this place! Professional, friendly, fun, relaxing. Exceptional service. They go far and beyond any salon I have ever entered. It is well worth the drive from where ever you might live. I got a gel manicure with YEN yesterday. It looks fabulous! Perfect shape as I requested. They have high quality products and variety of colors CND and OPI are my best options. I never write reviews but they deserve it! Keep up the great work! read more

Solemates Nail Spa - Nail Salons Near Me - Berkeley, California

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i don't recommend their manicures. their pedicures are ok. i got a gel manicure and before i even got home, the nail polish started smudging and was totally ruined. they're way too overpriced for how poor the quality is. i also got the wrong design since they didn't even know how to do a french tip. not coming back. read more

What a peaceful and pleasant place to get a mani pedi. They even gave me a holiday present on check out. I'll be back :)

I jJust moved here and went in with my mom for a mani pedi. Very disappointed. My mom's nails were completely filed down and crooked - after asking them to keep them longish and even. Mom explained several times along the way how she wasn't liking the way they were shaping her nails (all crooked) and was told it's her fingers that are crooked. They are not! She finally had to take the file and fix all ten finger nails. Our feet also needed a good basic foot filing to smooth out the rushed job they did on them, leaving them snagged and rough. Both my mom and i don't expect a salon to do much heavy lifting on our feet. We take care of our heels/callouses and keep them pretty smooth with daily maintenance, so they were not awful. But they were worse than when we came in due to the cursory and unfinished work done on them here. I did hesitate to write this as these businesses are working hard to recover after COVID, but we paid a lot and were not happy with the work done at all. read more

I have been going to Solemates for about six years now. The place is very clean; the staff friendly and extremely competent. I have really liked going there for a mani/pedi. Awhile back the price for a mani/pedi went up significantly to $50, no credit cards. Now the price is $65 cash only. Am I just out of the loop or is this very expensive for a straightforward mani-pedi? I will look elsewhere and/or have fewer appointments here. read more

First glance I thought this place would be great. Then I get there and they have very limited color selection for gel manicures. So I had to settle on a color I didn't really want just so my toes would match my hands. I finally pick my color and we begin. The lady doing my pedicure seems to be doing a decent job. But after my feet are not soft and smooth like normally after getting a pedicure. The sides of my big toe are equally rough. I could have done a better job at home. The paint job is mediocre as I can still see parts of my nail on several of my toes. Such a disappointment. The with my manicure... I went with gel. I can see the white of my nail on several nails which is absurd. Some nails are thick with polish and it looks bubbly. Then two nails did not match in color at all so I asked for the lady to please make them match as I didn't like how they looked like two different colors. She tried to convince me it was because my nails were different lengths. Firstly, I asked for my nails to be cut short so they should all be the same length. Secondly, it's not the same color, and the color is extremely thick on the one nail. She finally agreed to redo the one nail. By the time that nail was set I had to have her remove nail polish that was built from underneath my nail. Yet, she kept thinking I wanted more nail polish. No. Finally I'm ready to leave. On there website it says $42 for a mani/pedi. I can't imagine the gel costing $10/15 more. Yet, I was charged $73. This is outrageous. I did not get anything added on, I didn't get anything special. This is over priced, and not worth it. I feel this place isn't worth the extra money at all. I'm so dissatisfied. The only reason I came here was because they autoclave their supplies for each customer. However, it did not look like the bags had been autoclaved, and there were not any integrator cards in the bag. read more

There is no such thing as a 3-star pedicure. An A-OK pedi is a pointless pedi in my book. My experience at Solemates was lack-luster through and through. I've found that I'm just not a fan of the metal foot tubs - the water gets lukewarm and there's no relaxing massage feature. I know, I know, the mechanical tubs that cheap salons use are supposed to wreck fungal havoc on your feet, but the old-fashioned tingly tub just feels more luxurious to me. Ask for extra hot water, I suppose. I expected more of a posh experience from Solemates, with their prime location and pretty facilities. Maybe I've been spoiled by other salons, but offering water or tea would be a nice touch (or take a tip from Coccoon in SF and offer mimosas!) Even a friendly, professional reception would have been appreciated, but the staff seemed to be tired and bored. It made me feel the same way. As for the pedi itself, the technicians were sweet, didn't chat with us too much which is fine because I prefer to doze off during these treatments. I thought the filing and clipping was on the painful side - certainly not relaxing. The mini leg massage was nice, but only lasted a quick 5 mins. The whole experience just felt very clinical. Most disappointing though, was the paint job. They could have been much more thorough removing my old polish, because when I got home to inspect there were streaks of my old red under my new pink, which wasn't even painted to the edges. C'mon...a decent paint job is the least I expect from a pedicure. Chips ensued shortly after. Can't say I was happy to dole out $27 plus tip. Still on the hunt for an honest to goodness pedi, where a thorough massage and perfect paint job comes standard. read more

I was attracted to this salon because they bill themselves as "natural." I've walked by it many times, and the interior always looked relaxing and inviting. So, because of the fancy look of this salon, and the price of a mani/pedi, I expected waaaay better than I experienced. I'd called a few times to attempt to make an appointment, and was always told they were booked solid. So I was excited when I was finally able to make a same-day appointment here, just in time before leaving town to attend a wedding. The receptionist was on her cell phone when I walked in, and hurriedly pointed me to the wall of polish, to make my decision. When I asked for her help on trying to pick a color that was similar to the shellac color on my nails (showing her what my nails looked like), she was of zero help and picked out colors that in no way matched. It also would have been nice of her to explain to me which were the supposedly "natural" polishes - I ended up making my decision between Essie and Opi colors - going with what I know, as they're used at all nail salons and are by no definition natural. My pedicure started first, and all went fine. I was offered a glass of water, which was nice, though I could have used a refill later. The massage was a bit lackluster, but otherwise the pedicure experience was fine, she did an okay job. The manicurist came out a bit later, and when I showed him that I needed my shellac manicure removed, he acted shocked and walked away to ask the receptionist if it was okay to do it. Um...what? He came back in a bit of a humph about it, but did a good job of removing it in the end. He did a decent job of cutting and shaping my nails, but then rushed through the process of painting (with regular polish), telling me that it takes a long time to remove shellac so I should have told them. I sat under the driers for what seemed like an eternity, and at no point did anyone come to check if my nails were dry or if I needed more water. No one offered help when I went to put my shoes on (not that I need it, but it is a nice gesture), and no one said thank you or goodbye as I walked out of the salon to the front area. Paying at the receptionist (which is difficult when your nails have just been painted) - she informs me that there will be a $5 charge for removing the shellac. Um...okay...at this point I have to pay it, because it's done, but a head's up would have been nice. Like, at the start of this appointment when I showed you my nails and talked about wanting to find a similar color? Two days after this experience, my mani/pedi had chipped and smudged. If it had cost me half this amount (like the nail salons in SF) I wouldn't mind, but for $55 I was expecting a damn good spa-like salon experience, and that was certainly not the case here. Sorry, Solemates, but I will not be back. read more

I came into this place for a pedicure with reasonable expectations. I've been going to Joi on Solano for awhile and have generally been very pleased with my pedicures there. This place...is another story. I arrived for my morning appt. and it seemed like everyone was still in that fuzzy, sleepy state of mind. The water to soak my feet in wasn't hot enough and the room itself was on the chilly side. Everyone was nice enough, but the place seemed a bit disorganized. Here's the main kicker...when using the callus-busted pad (or whatever it's called) on my soles, the technician literally buffed a chunk of my skin away!! Her response was something akin to "Ooops, I've never done that before! Most women wear high heels and have tough skin on that part of the foot." Well, not me...you'd think she'd pay a bit more attention. Additionally, the callus buster pad they use is a crappy synthetic hard sponge-like thing, opposed to the lovely and gentle terra cotta scrubbers used at Joi. The foot/leg massage was too hard and overall uncomfortable, of course that was influenced by the pain of being scrubbed raw. So, for $30 I left with pretty, toes, yes, but also a band-aid covering my missing (and hurting) chunk of skin. Not relaxing and not worth it. I guess I'll have to find my "solemate" elsewhere! (And I recommend you do the same!) read more

Thanks Living Social for the $20 mani/pedi deal. This was my first time getting a manicure and i must say, Solemates didn't let me down. My nail tech did a great job on my fingers and toes. A week later, they're still intact and looking decent (hardly any chips). I was hanging out in a pool for rmost of Sunday afternoon too. Normally, I would feel a bit overindulgent if i got mani/pedis on a regular basis, but for special occasions, it's a must! My only gripe is that my nail tech left me under the finger nail dryer for 20+ minutes. She did say sit there for 15 minutes, but she never came back to check on me. So i just sat and waited and waited and waited... :( read more

Solemates has a beautiful environment with soothing colors and a great staff! The staff makes you feel very welcome. Everything about the space Thuy has created is soothing and quiet with great music.... Everyone is very friendly and paying attention to make your visit safe and healthy! I had my services (Mani Pedi & waxing ) inside the first day they were open inside. I am switching to using Solemates as there are not enough stars to rate the cleanliness and superior quality of the service and the quiet environment! I was thrilled they were able to modify their interior for Covid 19 protections. They are very responsive and respectful of your wishes. I also used their waxing service. Thuy was very gentle and soothing with a mini massage along with the service! I am very impressed with this businesses attention to detail and they are very efficient at providing all the extra work in cleaning each area every time it is in use! Their standard manicure is $29 and gel is $45. The services are all fantastic as they go above and beyond to make you feel comfortable and relaxed. Designs by owner, Thuy make their space unique. I had services from Yen, and Mary and Thuy and all were experts at making your fingers and feet and eyebrows look fabulous! I also messed up my nails and came back and Thuy was very accommodating not complaining about redoing the nails I messed up and didn't want to charge anything for the redo. Thanks for such great service I am switching from my old salon as they were rough and sometimes I ended up bleeding or had too much cuticle removed or they cut my skin by accident. Everyone here was very gentle. Not enough stars to rate them accurately. JT read more

Bought the deal on living social and was excited because there were previously some good reviews on here. I got some glitter polish done on my nails and toes and both came off within 2 days. Yup. 2 days. I got them done for Vegas and my nails and toenails were bare by the time I landed at LAS. Not cool. The surprising thing is that I've gotten my nails done with similar polish elsewhere and it lasted longer... so something must be off with their product or clear coat they use... or something... I don't know how they make it so easy to take off glitter polish (even on my TOENAILS). +1 for the lady who waxes eyebrows. She was super sweet and knew how to shape my eyebrows just how I like them - shapely but still full. Sharpie eyebrows are soooooo 90s. read more

My livingsocial coupon to this place paid off!!!!\ I think I found a new spot!!! Yes...it's a pretty penny but you get what you pay for. I'm tired of going to these bootleg places that mess me up. Solemates was great!!!!! It took me weeks to get an appointment but once I got in I was super happy. They have an array of excellent colors and I even found the perfect color for my french pedicure. Never had I had my nails filed to perfection!!! My cuticles on my feet and hands were GREAT!!!! And finally a place that isn't scared to scrub your heels!!!! I'm sorry...I know it's expensive but at least you get quality!!! FYI - the massages were GREATTTTT!!!! Ohhhh and one more thing to note, there's metered parking :) read more

I'm a bit new to nail salons, but this place totally takes the cake over anywhere else I've been. The space is open and airy and plays comfortable, modern music. It has a wonderful vibe, and although there were quite a few people getting pedis when I arrived, everyone was very peaceful and relaxed. Most important, the ladies who work here are genuinely lovely -- I had such a nice experience with Kim. read more

I'll preface this review by saying I'm not really a mani-pedi type of girl. I rarely (if ever) paint my fingernails, because I work with my hands and it just seems kind of pointless. I can do my toes on my own. I don't really enjoy having my nails filed, and I have a hard time rationalizing spending my hard-earned ducats on something I can do just as well myself! However, if it's a special occasion (i.e. somebody wants my digits to look good for their Important Event and are thus footing {ha! FOOTing} the bill), I guess I'm game. Suffice it to say, while I'm nobody's mani-pedi addict, I'm not exactly a rookie either. This isn't my mom's usual go-to place. She's more likely to patronize a simple, no-frills establishment over on University (can't remember the name), but because she wanted to get my sister and I all mani-pedi'd up for my sister's wedding, she opted to book us into someplace a little more chi-chi and posh and... well, you know. Solemates is really pretty. It's simply-decorated and classy-looking and sits in a nice part of town. It's also pretty darn expensive compared to the no-frills place over on University. So, we figured we'd be getting the full-boat classy-girl treatment, right? Ehhhh... At a place like this, you kind of expect to be offered a complimentary glass of wine or champagne. You won't be. You won't even be offered water. Weird, 'cause there are cup holders in the chairs! TWO cup holders, actually. I know there are pros and cons regarding the sanitary-ness of the swirly jacuzzi footbath things, but hey... I kind of like them. I can put my feet in a tepid bowl of water at home, you know? I also like massaging chairs. Solemates offers neither. Again, this is just a personal preference thing for me, so I'll try not to ding them too hard on it. What really bothered me was that I felt like the nail techs (or whatever you call them) were really rushing through my sister's and my treatments. Like, one girl kept looking over to see how fast the other girl was going, and then tried to play catch-up. I don't know where that coconut oil soak (pictured in the Yelp photos) was supposed to come in, but neither of us got it. And, most unforgivable of all, the massage part of the mani-pedi was all but nonexistent. That's the ONE THING I can't do on my own, at home! The ONE THING I'm happy to pay for! Really? You're going to just gloss over it? For shame. Oh, the other thing that really bothered me was that the woman doing my nails only used the clippers on my right hand. The left, she shaped with the file alone. Is that weird? I like symmetry. And in retrospect (a week later, with the polish removed and back to their natural state)... each nail, left-to-right, isn't really straight across either. So... to sum it up, the overall experience is just not really worth the money. Sorry. read more

Really wanted to like this salon. It's really pretty inside and peaceful. However, my manicure was bad. There were lumps in my nail polish and on several nails, my cuticles weren't taken care of and could be seen under the polish. It started chipping two days later. Worse yet, I got a gift certificate for my friends birthday and in his first ever manicure, the pedicurist bumped his big toe with her sleeve and did a crap job of repainting- forgetting to put on top coat. The receptionist was nice, though. read more

Had a great gel manicure with Jenny! She was very nice, friendly, and helpful to someone who is new to the manicure world. She checked in to see if I liked my color after putting it on a few nails and took a lot of time and care into my manicure, even as a walk-in. And I love that they use one-time-use tools. Would highly recommend Solemates! read more

Came here with a friend of mine to get a pedi and a little catch-up. Like others have mentioned the receptionist is just plain not that interested. She's always doing something, and doesn't seem very friendly. If you take the initiative to do things, she's fine with it, but she won't ask to help you, and it seems as if having her do anything, including ringing you up, is a burden. When it was time for us to pay, she was doing her nails, very unprofessional. Once inside the place is small but cozy. The design is cute, the atmosphere is a bit on the quieter side, the manicurists and pedicurists were pretty quiet although they did talk with each other sometimes they kept it relatively low. All in all, the experience once you get past the front desk, is a pleasant one, but the front desk really just doesn't make it worth it. There are plenty of places that can give manis and pedis in a pleasant atmosphere, service is one of those things that you can't afford to skimp on. read more

Great place. The waxing is efficient and well done, service friendly, mani/pedis are high quality. Just find the payment methods (cash/venmo) a little limiting, though imagine many small businesses struggle with credit card fees these days. read more

Awesome new nail salon that opened in the North Berkeley less than a month ago. This is the sister location to Joi Nail Spa in Albany and has the same mellow environment and non-chemical smell (yay!). The technicians work in both locations, so you can expect the same great level of service and prices are comparable -- though the basic mani/pedi that runs $40 at Joi is two more bucks at Solemates (not 100% sure why, but they probably pay more for the space, so I'm cutting them a break). This place is going to be super popular, so I wouldn't count on a walk in after the first couple of months -- I usually had little trouble getting a same day when calling Joi. read more

5 stars for Solemates - who squeezed me in for a gel manicure when my usual Naveana was closed. Mary took such great care of me and gave me one of the most amazing manicures - worked serious magic on my neglected hands. She gave me really good advice and steered me away from the boring colors I was trying to decide between and I'm so happy with the red I ended up with. Wish I had a before and after! I'll be back!! read more

Solemates Nail Spa - Nail Salons Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place is amazing ! I was getting discouraged that I wouldn't find a nail place that I enjoyed. Usually my manicures start to come off the day-of. I am so impressed by my manicure and the detail they took in executing it. I love that it's all-natural, love the vibe and decor, and they are genuinely kind and hospitable. Yay! read more

I just realized that all of my reviews of places thus far are negative so I wanted to leave a positive one. And when thinking about where to leave a positive review, Solemates was the first to come to mind! Firstly, I never even heard of this place until I got a discount through livingsocial.com for a mani/pedi for $30. And it had pretty great reviews thus far so I decided to go for it. I bought my deal on a Tuesday and called right after to make an appointment for my friend and I. They easily made one for both of us at our requested time on the next day. When we came in, the atmosphere was great. It was quiet, clean, and had relaxing, yet modern music. Great nail polish selection too. The pedicure was awesome. You know their equipment was clean because they don't have the typical massage pedicure chairs. Instead they use a little bucket for your feet and never double dip into any of their soap/liquid containers. Anyway, the massage was excellent and the women doing it were also incredibly friendly. They also offered us water and books while receiving the pedicure. When it came to my manicure, they did a great job as well. I have really crappy cuticles that tend to overgrow and often bleed when i go to have them done. But here, she did such a nice job that not only did they not bleed but by the time she finished they looked like I've never had problems with them. I also really appreciated that the women working there didn't complain when my friend and I decided to use the same polish color on our fingernails. They worked it out really well by rotating the polish between them to do it. Generally, I have a lot to complain about when I get my nails done...I feel like I'm not only really picky but also have just had a lot of bad experiences at nail salons (infections, cuts, rudeness, etc.). This is the first place I've ever been to where I can truthfully say it was amazing in terms of the quality of the service, the atmosphere of the place, and the helpfulness/politeness of those working there. I will definitely be going back! read more

I've had manicures at budget nail salons, fancy schmancy spas, and everything in between. No place has pleased me as much as Solemates. When you walk in, you're struck by the clean, welcoming feel. Even the artwork (real paintings, not generic prints) is lovely. Second, the nail polish options are the largest and most current I've ever seen. And the brands are OPI, Essie, Sparitual, etc. The employees are very friendly and GOOD at their work. The foot/leg massage I received was fantastic. And, of course, the most important part is the nails- they came out beautifully shaped and lacquered. Four days later, my nails are still in excellent shape. A few more bonuses: Their foot "tubs" are large bowls with some aromatic things thrown in. These bowls are obviously cleaned after every use. Also, the nail technician does not sit below you when you get a pedicure. You know how you sit on a thrown-like chair at most places? That makes me uncomfortable, so it's nice to have someone literally at my level. If you have the time and a budget to splurge a little, go for it. read more

If you are looking to get your eyebrows done and done right DO NOT GO HERE!!!! I read the reviews on here & decided to give this place a try and boy was that a mistake! All I wanted was to get them cleaned not shaped, however the lady that did them HAD NO IDEA WHAT SHE WAS DOING!!! she has my left eye looking thinner then a single thread while my right thick! I asked her to fix it and all she did was make the left thinner then it was! When I walked to the front desk and told them what the lady had done all they could say is "Oooo yea they are not the same shape SORRY" not sure what bank or what magic nail salon I'm suppose to cash that & get my eyebrows fixed! My advise to you is DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY! Side note: the only reason I'm giving them 1 star is not because they are deserving but because yelp is generous! read more

great place for a mani pedi and feel a bit pampered ( do not offer gel extensions or acrylic manicures - does have regular gel mani)