Boston Nails & Spa

Way too long for services. Horrible horrible customer service and very flat attitudes.

They are the best! Fantastic mani and pedi and I’ve never had a bad experience. The owner is soooo sweet and does a great pedi. I highly recommend this place.

Just came in for acrylic nails. Not a customer there, just two workers chatting… No refill they said. I said ok, i’ll go for a full set. Hmmmmm… No. We can take it off and do regular mani.
Sorry? It says you do acrylic outside…
Hmmmm… No no .
I left the place thinking… What?

When for my first time for a pedicure and manicure. Already the day after the nail polish started to come off. Nail roots are not very nicely done. Quite noisy and chaotic atmosphere. Not very friendly or welcoming assistant. Maybe I was just unlucky. Would not go there again.

I had a great experience last week with Kim. She did a very good job and great price! I will be going back again in a few weeks!

I swear I am not super high maintenance when it comes to manicures, especially cheap ones. Either is the friend I went with. But this was one of the worst I have ever had. We made appointments to get mani/​pedis together. The place was empty. The pedicure was so-​so, though i felt it was a little rushed given how empty the place was. What was really awful was the manicure. For reasons that were entirely unclear, they would not let my friend and I sit next to each other (again, empty salon, so why not). The cuticle work was perfunctory and the polish job was fast and sloppy. Only afterwards did it occur to me they never even used any moisturizer. Yes, it was only $ 25 for both mani and pedi, but I’d rather pay $ 10 more for my favorite spot in Cambridge. This manicure looks worse than the ones I give myself.

THIS PLACE IS AWFUL.
I was awestruck by the $ 25 mani/​pedi so I figured I would give it a try. My friend and I ventured here on a Saturday afternoon, there were to techs working when we arrived. One was finishing up another customer so the other tech (who ended up servicing me) had us both sit to soak our feet. My tech was verrrrrry unfriendly, she barely spoke to me but her phone KEPT ringing. The jets in my tub didn’t work and neither did my friends chair. She had to change chairs because the back massaging part was broken and pieces were sticking her (wth). The pedicure was alright but the manicure was awful. I’m convinced my tech didn’t know what she was doing, she barely shaped my nails and didn’t even bother massaging them after I rinsed the oil off! I noticed as she was applying the top coat it was streaky and thick, the tech was trying to apply an obviously old top coat to my nails! I brought it to her attention and she tried to brush it off. I asked her very politely to get another one bc my nails looked terrible. In the end, all the top coats in the shop suck, my nails have bubbles in them and look puffy. You really do get what you pay for here so stay clear!

I enjoyed my pedicure and manicure at this salon very much! Mani + pedi is only $ 25, a great value! They do hot stone massage and have very friendly staff. I would definitely recommend this place to my fellow students on a budget.

I came here once for a shellac manicure and a spa pedicure with a coupon I got in the mail. There was no other customers there the entire 2 hours I was there which was unusual but I didn’t mind because it was quiet and I didn’t have to wait.
They did an average job but I felt like I was there way longer then I should have for the quality job they did. But with the coupon is was $ 37 so how could I complain.
I decided to come back a 2^nd time about 2 weeks later to get my shellac redone at 10 am on a Tuesday (my day off), they open at 9 am. I put 2 hours worth of quarters in the meter and walked up to the door, only to find the salon locked and dark inside when they were supposed to be open! NO sign or reason why they were closed. They also never answer their phone.
I’m not sure if they’re closed or if they just pick and chose their hours but I won’t be trying to go back again, there’s better choices to chose from the area and I’ve wasted enough precious meter quarters on them.

I’m in pain! Seriously. The woman who did my manicure filed and cut my skin I have growing cuticles around my fingers since the day after! She then painted my nails and skin to only remove the nail polish with a paint brush dipped in acetone, very painful after being cut. I can paint my nails like that thank you very much. Man who did my pedicure was decent, no pain, on the contrary he gave me a soothing foot massage. 25 $ for both. You get what you pay for. Not going back. It would be wise for them to read these reviews and maybe learn a few things to perhaps improve :-/

I just moved to the area and this is the first nail salon I’ve tried. Loved the prices (I just moved from back bay…) but the atmosphere leaves a little something to be desired. Appreciated that they were one of the few places open past 7 on a Saturday. Got a decent gel manicure and the young girl was very sweet. I would go back and recommend it if you’re looking to save a few bucks.

Awful. I came here on a Saturday afternoon after deciding to get a spontaneous manicure with a friend. I live right down the street, so it was convenient. We walk in and there’s no patrons in there, which should have been a tip-​off on a sunny Saturday afternoon. The only person in there was a man playing on his iPad and watching poker. We told him what we wanted and he went to the back and got two women to do our manicures. They had obviously just woken up from a nap because my manicurist was yawning and groggy the entire time.
We picked our colors (I’ll give them this– they have a great selection of colors) and settled in. I have pretty long nails, but I have some broken ones so I was expecting a little cut down to make them all match so I didn’t look like a crazy person. Well, she didn’t cut any of my nails at all and baaaarely touched them with the file. In fact, I think she filed my skin around my nails more than the nails. She would also pause after every other nail to stare out the window at nothing for at least 10 seconds… no joke.
Then she started with the cuticles. On the first finger she cut me– making me Unilocal and bleed. I told her not to do the rest, but she responded with «no no no, I’m just going to do it» and continued on her way.
When she applied the polish she got it all over my skin. My friend’s manicurist got it all over her hand… Like, all the way to her knuckles…
When it was finally over, my manicurist got up and went over to a woman in a pedicure station and just left me– fingers wet– at my manicure station. I was cunfused, but just went over on my own to sit under the UV lamp, but it was broken. They then tried to use a couple portable UV lamps, but they were both broken as well. I ended up sitting with my hands up to a fan for about 5 minutes before I couldn’t take it anymore and just left with wet nails.
Bonus complaint– my nails started chipping the next day.

After getting out of work on the Friday before Halloween, I decided to come here to get my nails done. Traffic often keeps me from making my appointments in Porter Square, so I though I’d give this place a go. When I arrived the salon was empty (it was 6pm on a Friday night, I thought that was odd) the woman was on the phone for about 10 minutes into my appointment, not professional at all. After she got off the phone she apologized (still unprofessional) She took a while to take off my polish and add the acrylic (which I would not mind if she actually did a good job) while she was using the drill to smooth out the acrylic, she cut me so bad I was bleeding on my middle finger. When I winced and pulled my hand back, she said nothing. She did that to three other fingers, and on the second time I was a little upset and said sternly «Ouch. Please be careful that hurts.» She looked at me with a daze and replied «Oh, we need to cut your cuticles down». «It has nothing to do with my cuticles, you are cutting my cuticles with the drill» She said nothing. When I washed my hands I noticed that my middle finger was bleeding still, so I used a paper towel to stop the bleeding. It hurt to wash my hands with soap :(When I returned she said she was sorry (which I appreciated, but honestly If this Is your profession, you should be experiences enough not to cut your customers.) After wards she became very chatty (so she wouldn’t loose her tip, I’m guessing). She was nice enough, we talked about the election and how to say different things in Vietnamese. I noticed that all my nails were different sizes and shapes, so I pointed that out to her nicely, so she could fix it. She barely did anything to them. The paint job was awful and it looked like a 6 year old had done my nails. I asked her to clean them up and she sighed. While I was leaving she said, «Come back soon» I will not be returning.
P.S 2 days after I got my nails done here, three of them chipped on the corners. That never happens to me, and now my nails look even worse.

The girl that did my nails was very nice. She took her time and even redid an entire nail bc I accidentally hit it when drying. The downside is that it took forever to do a simple manicure (plus side is that they looked great at the end and it was only $ 10). I’d probably go back because the place is convenient and my nails ended up looking really nice. I’ll just need to plan to be there longer than average.

I have been here once, because it is close to where I live and I wanted to get my nails done the day before my birthday. The guy who owns the place (I assume he owns the place because he just sits at the front desk on his iPad) is pretty nice but a little creepy. I walked in and was not told there would be a wait, they sat me in a chair for my pedicure and started up the water, massage chair, etc. Then I sat for a good half hour while 2 other ladies (who, granted, WERE there first) before anyone acknowledged me again. I wasn’t in a rush so I stuck it out, but by the time they got to me I thought my feet were going to fall off.
The pedicure was pretty good. Very slow-​moving. They do scrub your feet but not as much as some places, which is the main reason I pay to get a pedicure. But it was a decent pedicure. Price was $ 20 which is pretty much the norm in the area.
I also got a fill (plus a replacement of one nail that had fallen off). This was another completely slow-​moving process. The nails look pretty good (I keep them SHORT because of computers, texting, all-​around-​clumsiness.) They look pretty natrual but they are so uneven. Every single nail. I’m not sure if maybe I was sitting at a weird angle, she was sitting as a weird angle, of her vision is off. They all slant in the same direction basically. Weird. Also, they were not the best at painting, which would seem to me as strange if that is your profession.
I spent a standard amount of money and really they were not horrible. However, in all, I was there for THREE HOURS. That’s my biggest complaint. It’s too much, I have things to do.

Waxing? Walk-​ins welcome? Cheap prices? Hell yes!
I am not very picky about my brow waxing. I’ll go pretty much anywhere that’s cheap. But when the specialist told me to close my eyes and I felt wax on my upper lip, I knew a line had been crossed. Still, I figured, my skin is sensitive to the wax itself — the damage has already been done. I’ll let her just finish and at least get the wax off. Then I felt hot wax on my chin. My chin! I’m in my 20s and do not under any circumstances need a chin wax!
When she told me to look in the mirror, I saw several obvious stray hairs on my brows, but I decided I’d rather pay and leave than see what else could happen.
I left with wax in my eyelashes, my eyebrow hair, all over my skin (took forever to scrape off). For the next week, my face was covered in angry red bumps and dry patches from the wax. I was embarrassed to be seen, and would’ve been less embarrassed if I hadn’t gotten any waxing at all. Luckily, she only waxed the right half of my chin (…did she get tired?) so the left half of my chin was spared and still normal looking.
You couldn’t pay me to go back. Paying a couple dollars more for a decent experience is completely necessary in this case. It took me awhile to muster up the courage to write this review, because I feel bad slamming a non-​chain establishment, but I also feel a responsibility to warn others, so that no one else has to have this experience!

I’m very lucky that Julie’s Nail down the street was closed (it was Labor Day). Boston Nail is lucky that they’ve gained a customer for life! I had just spent a grueling weekend moving Allston and getting mauled at Ikea. Came here for a much needed TLC session for my foot.
It was completely empty when I came in – only one woman was working, and a guy who I assume to be the manager.
My pedi:
— $ 20 dollars
— They asked me what temperature I liked my water to be. Which is new since I usually whimper and deal with the scalding hot water.
— Decent selection of OPI/​Essie colors (and some China Glaze).
— Good selection of magazines and a huge HD TV to watch (it was on Are You Smarter than a 5^th grader. Curiously entertaining).
— The lady went to TOWN on my gross calloused skin. I couldn’t help but touch my heels for the rest of the day.
— Even though they have a spa pedicure ($ 5 extra dollars), the lady gave me a great massage with hot lotion and hot rocks. The guy told me that I was the first person they were trying the hot rocks on. Approved.
— Good level of conversation. The guy welcomed me to the neighborhood and gave me coupons for me (and some friends!) for the next time :).
No cons. Obviously not as fancy as some other places but you get what you pay for!

I was searching last week for a nail salon in Coolidge Corner ($ 10 or under) for a manicure. Lena at Boston Nails & Spa was really nice — I went to 4 other salons trying to explain that I was in Boston for meetings/​interviews and I wanted to have my nails cleaned up, but that I did not want a bright color or something too flashy.
Lena took her time to neaten up my nails and to make sure that they looked how I wanted them to look. I was in the salon for about 30 minutes and it only cost me $ 10 to have my whole manicure done.
I will definitely go back there when I have to have my nails redone (which will probably be tomorrow). Being from NYC, I don’t expect to pay $ 16 – 20 for a basic manicure. $ 10 is a pretty decent price (compares to the $ 6 I pay in Brooklyn) for a manicure. I may try to get a pedicure from there as well.

It’s a MIRACLE! A nail salon that I actually enjoyed! Seriously, this place was awesome. Best mani/​pedi I’ve gotten EVER. My feet are not the prettiest, but my technician handled it like the pro she is. She was very meticulous (which is sooooooo uncommon) and really made sure my feet were gorgeous by the time she was done. I was going to get both a mani/​pedi that day, but she took so long with the pedicure that I didn’t have time for the manicure! But I promised to come back the next day.
I did come back after arguing with myself on whether I should get my nails done. I’m a heavy biter, and I really really REALLY need to stop so I went with it. I got electric blue to go with my Prom ensemble, and it turned out great!!! However, I probably won’t get that color again, because I forgot how easy dark colors chip off =(Oh well.
Also, I’m usually fairly quite at nail salons, and I never really feel comfortable enough with my technician, but I felt totally at ease here. So service definitely is 5 stars.
With all that you get at this place $ 30 for both the mani/​pedi is a total steal! This place is definitely going to be my new nail salon!

Okay first the pros:
1. The place is really clean and spotless. There is not a speck of dirt on the white footbaths, shelves, manicure tables, etc. AMAZING for a nail salon!
2. The mani/​pedi is about $ 5 cheaper than most places at $ 30.
3. The lady with the longer hair smiles.
4. They don’t feel the need to talk your ear off, ask if you have a bf, etc.
Now the cons:
1. At most places, they at LEAST ask you what color you want as the basis for a conversation. At this place, I barely got a hello, a wave, a smile, or anything. In fact, when I walked on at 4p on a Saturday, there were 2 employees and 2 people getting pedicures. So when the first employee asked how she could help (the one with longer hair that smiles), I asked for a mani/​pedi. The smiley one said, «Okay, sit down. 10 minutes.» Didn’t even ask me to choose a color while I was waiting. The other lady proceeded to say, «No 40 minutes you wait.» She didn’t smile and that caused the 2 lady to bicker back and forth about the wait. Had I not just put an hour’s worth of quarters in the space right in front of the salon, I would have bolted. Luckily, the first lady was right and I only waited for 10 minutes.
2. The lady who worked on me was efficient, but never smiled or even made eye contact. I know she speaks English because I heard her speak it to another customer. Instead she’ll point and make grunting sounds. I thought that was rude and I was offended she barely even smiled even when I smiled or tipped her. She also took the time between my mani/​pedi to clean the footbath. Why couldn’t she wait until I was done since I was the only customer there at that point? There was def. a lot of excessive waiting.
3. When you finish your services, they make you sit by the fan, but then they ignore you thereafter. I had to get their attention to tell them I was leaving and ask if I could pay.
4. The pedicure was okay, but nothing to write home about. The manicure was really sloppy and some of my nails are not even fully painted while on other fingers, the nail polish is still on my skin! Ugh. Maybe I should have used that extra $ 5 for a better manicure :(
5. I usually don’t find it particularly necessary when manicurists at other places strike up a conversation and ask me about my age, my relationship status, etc. but this place gets really creepy because they barely talk to you at all! I almost wish they at least asked my name or if the water is too hot etc.