Downtown Nail Salon

So impressed with this place! A friend of mine and I went yesterday from a recommendation of my sister. We went and were asked to come back because they were short staffed. We came back, my friend hot a manicure and I got the nexgen dip. The girl told me she couldn’t do one of my nails because I had a cut on it. (a dog bit me, and it hasn’t fully healed.) She also commented they wouldn’t do nails if they were infected, which I was happy to hear. I was really impressed with the cleanliness. She asked me to come in a few days and she would do that nail. I would definitely recommend this place, and will be back again for sure.

Mixed emotions. The first time I went in I got a gel manicure and loved it. It came out pretty and it was done well. One of my nails ended up lifting a few days later and the polish completely came off, but sometimes that just happens. I paid 35 for the gel manicure and gave a 20% tip. On my way out I grabbed a pamphlet with the listed services and prices. I realized when I got home they charged me and extra $ 5 for my manicure, and didn’t give me the 10% off advertised for new clients after I told him it was my first time there. kind of annoying. I called and spoke with a man who I think is the owner and explained to him what happened. He happily offered to reimburse me my money by leaving a gift card for the next time I came in. So today I decided to go in and use that gift card for my pedicure. The woman who did it was alright. She didn’t really take her time and when I asked her to make the water my feet were in warmer (it was already ice cold after 5 minutes) she shrugged her shoulders and kept working. The chair I was sitting in had holes in it and the leather was splitting. It wasn’t a very relaxing pedicure. Every other salon I’ve been to gives you a brief leg massage with a scrub or hot stones, this one didn’t. But you can add both of those to your service for $ 7 each? Kind of a rip off when every other salon both of those are included. I was planning on adding a gel mani but I decided against it as I was already kind of irritated. I went to pay and told the girl at the counter about the gift card I should have waiting for me and she gave me attitude about it. The man I had spoke with wasn’t there or else I’m sure it wouldn’t have been a problem. She told me she would take the $ 5 off my pedicure but not the extra 10% because they «don’t do it anymore».then why is it being advertised? I left wishing I had just went somewhere else. I don’t see myself going back.

At first the allure of a super fast manicure was nice and then I realized a 45 shellac manicure means a lot of sacrifices: half completed cuticle care, bubbles in the polish, crooked filing and a lot of muttering and huffing when you ask for something to be adjusted. I had come in mentioning an issue from before– normally a shellac manicure lasts me 2 – 3 weeks at least but last time I got my nails done here within two days my shellac was coming up. I mentioned what had happened and instead of addressing the issue she told me to pick a different color. I ignored it because I didn’t have time to argue and I wasn’t expecting a discount or anything (maybe and apology and an explain action though?!). Then, When my nail tech finished she threw her tools on the counter and huffed «you’re finished» didn’t even look at me and walked away. I still have her a 20% tip which she didn’t thank me for and honestly she didn’t deserve half of that.
I’m so disappointed. On top of that there’s one man that works there and he makes me so uncomfortable. He makes strange joking comments to the women and acts a little «over friendly». I don’t think I will go back.

Don’t go here. I saw my technician use the old not sanitize instrument on the next customer

I just visited this nail salon as a walk in. I was instantly greeted and sat down to wait my turn and offered a glass of wine. which was great. They offer a type of nail I had never heard of NexGen… which I decided to get. I had asked to have my old nails (acrylic) removed so they got my gel polish off then got me soaking and sipping while I waited. What I ended up with were some beautiful strong flexible gel nails. They had great customer service… I thought it was my first time there but then after being in there and recognizing some faces I realized I had been one other time with my girlfriend many years ago… I will be back now I loved it

I visited this salon solely based on location and Unilocal reviews. It was a great decision! This place is a hidden gem that dubs as a barber shop in front and nail salon in back. The girls are very nice, no appointment needed. The place is clean and comfortable. It was a pleasant experience and it was reasonable priced. I would recommend to others.

The girls do great work here. You can tell they are overworked and need some time off based on how busy they always are. The atmosphere, however, is horrible. I come to a salon to relax, not have loud, blaring, deep bass, trashy music in my face. The owner also never stops talking and yelling nonsense. This stresses people out. This place would be a winner if it had neutral, calm, colored walls and softer music. Otherwise, you will find young teenagers just hanging out here and it won’t be very relaxing.

I first experienced the NexGen nails in another state. Downtown Nails has good and bad days. I had to go in twice to have the top coat redone and one tech worked too fast and rough streaks showed up after I left. You have to watch how they use the electric file to trim your nails. They start to look crooked and they tell you your nails are crooked on your finger; not. They do jump around from one station to the other which leaves you hanging. When I mentioned the tech who did not take time to do a good job, I was told that was the way she did it. No effort is made to do a better job. I can find a better place even if I have to drive.

Love it there they always get it done right!!! I go every three weeks for shellac and pedicure now and since December it’s always been on point. I was getting fake nails and they helped my real nails grow and I have had shellac now since March!

This was my first time here since I moved to Manchester and all I can say is wow! I didn’t even have an appointment and they still took me in right away. The place is beautiful and clean and the customer service is amazing, the staff is very professional and welcoming. They are a little pricy but the service is worth the money! They’ve definitely found a new customer :)

The pedicure tools came out of a sterile peel pack, which I really liked. Prices were very reasonable. The place looked clean. There was lots of street parking on Saturday morning. Antonia did a great job with my pedicure!

Called right when they opened and was able to go right away for a shellac. If you are allergic to dogs, not a good choice. If you aren’t allergic or afraid of dogs, this place definitely gets the job done & done quickly and well. The tools appeared to be sanitized as they were individually wrapped and opened in front of me. $ 25 for a shellac. Idk the best price, but seemed fine for the great job they did without an appointment or knowing me. Oh, there is a barber at front of shop.
Updates (changed stars from 4 to 1):
Also, she asked if I wanted my cuticles cut/​trimmed so I said «I don’t want any cuts.» Basically, both of my ring fingers are cut on one side of nail. Hurts now.
Gel nail chipped off exactly 1 week later on 4 nails so far.

Best nail salon I’ve ever been to! This place is very clean good atmosphere everyone here is so friendly. I see Nu she is in my opinion the best nail tech, she so nice and professional I always leave there happy. I like to take my younger sisters cuz I know they always get well taken care of. If you’re not going to downtown nails you’re going to the wrong place!

I went here after reading about the reviews here. I was pleasantly surprised. I don’t remember the guy’s name but he did a great job! He was a little rough but he did good. He used this new stuff called Nexgen. It’s a lighter, more natural look. It also has vitamins and is waterproof and chip proof. And the best part is that it takes half the time! The only downfall is that it’s kinda pricey. But watching it get done is like magic! He dips your nail in the powder then shakes and blows off the extra and it’s perfect! I don’t know how he does it! The salon is nice and welcoming and the staff is nice. Parking sucks! You have to park on elm which is awful enough said. Other than that it was good. Only thing I didn’t like is that my nail tech just up and left as I was drying my nails. I didn’t know what to do and if I was set or what. I had to ask the other tech if I was all set. But I would deff go back just maybe to someone else.

This place does a great pedicure! I was in town for business, and looked on Unilocal for somewhere local for a pedi. It was one of the most thorough pedicures I’ve had in ages! Definitely recommend it.

After moving to Manchester, I was having a hard time finding a good nail salon. After going to my trusty Unilocal reviews, and some Facebook recon, I decided to give Downtown Nails a try and I am not sorry I did. They are so friendly, fun and they do a great job. I got acryllics and they lasted for quite a while. None of them broke, which is typical for me around 1 or 2 weeks, until almost 4 weeks. They used a new type of acryllic that also didn’t damage my nails. They have an Instagram account that you can follow also, if you love to see what they can really do with their artwork. They also offer tanning if you are in the mood.
The only thing that bothered me was that I made an appointment for girls night with three of my friends, and we were expected to come in at 5 pm. We arrived and waited an hour before any of us actually got our nails done. I would advise avoiding the whole appointment thing and just pop in when you’re free.

I entered Downtown Nail with a 2 hour window to get a full set of nails. Being a discount salon I figured it would take no more than an hour and 15 min…
The music in the salon was very loud and didn’t smell like acrylic, it smelled like cigar smoke from the cigar store next door. Gross. The waiting area was a very torn black leather couch… There is a dog there too. I am a dog lover but I don’t want a giant dog snoovering me and diving in my purse which is what it did the entire time.
Someone started my nails after about 15 minutes (which was a very reasonable time to wait since I was a walk in). Tips were applied but not trimmed down and then the tech jumped off my station to work on someone else for 20 minutes. He then came back to me, worked on me for 5, went to answer the phone, and sent me over to a woman to work on me… she did a decent job and was reasonably polite. While I was waiting I overheard another tech say he didn’t use the drill because he burned someone with it. Way to build client confidence. My nails came out decently but I was late returning to work. $ 50 price tag for a $ 5 experience, I will not return.

I chose Downtown Nail Salon based on the Unilocal!reviews and because it was close to where my Sister in Law and I were having lunch. The shop is bigger than I expected. Because it is located next to Castro’s the entire place smelled like cigar/​cigarette smoke which was kind of off putting. We had to wait 30 minutes as only 3 people were working and they have a group of 4 pedicures in front of us.
I was impressed with my shellac manicure though, the nail tech was super nice and friendly. The polish came out smooth, no bubbles, streaks etc. I do wish they had a better selection of colors but I will most likely be back!

5 stars for service, but 1 for quality.
I went into downtown nails to get my first manicure ever on the first day of a 1-​week vacation from work, thinking that I’d have a better chance of them lasting if I wasn’t working. The salon was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, with a modern décor scheme, no nasty chemical smells, and very clean. They also have a cute puppy running around named Shadow who kept me company while I waited.
I was helped by a young woman named Nu (sp?) who convinced me that shellac would be my best choice. She was very friendly, easy to talk to, and did a great job on my nails. She told me they would last about 2 weeks.
That was a Friday. Sunday I was cleaning out my car, and my right index finger separated and chipped off at the tip. Monday (Labor Day) I called and left a message asking about having it fixed, and the tip of my right thumb started separating and came off a few hours after the call. They called me back today (Tuesday) and told me to come down any time and they’d touch it up. Not a half hour later, while digging through my laundry basket looking for a shirt, my left index finger started separating.
So, I’m officially over this manicure. I’m just going to remove the rest of the polish on my own and call it a day — why take the time to go down and have it fixed when it’ll probably start going on other nails right after?
I’m willing to give them another shot in the future, but perhaps with a different nail treatment, or extra topcoat on my tips, or something. A bit disappointed on how this turned out, though.

Super nice and friendly!
My friend and I went there for the first time not familiar with it at all. Unfortunately we showed up a half hour before they closed but the two employees were more than happy to still take us as well as the two other girls that entered the salon an hour later. They were pleasant and patient, which I found refreshing. Not to mention their prices are awesome!!!