Elite Nails

Went here with a friend about a week ago. She was getting fill ins, but I wanted a gel manicure. First off, they didn’t even let us sit next to each other.
I liked the result after the manicure, however I was surprised at how many coats of polish she put on because I’m only used to having two.
Not even a week later, the paint is cracking and has chipped. Gel is supposed to last for 2 weeks! Not to mention I almost paid double what I usually do at the nail place closer to me, and those gel manicures last OVER 2 weeks!
Not sure if their using the wrong techniques or what, but there’s no way I’ll be back. I treat myself to getting my nails done and this was an absolute waste of my money. Would not recommend a gel manicure here!!!

I was studying nearby at the USF Health Library but they closed at 6pm on Saturday so i took advantage of my new free time to do my nails asap (I sometimes fidget to focus when studying, but leave my nails alone when i have them ‘done’). I previously had acrylics but wanted to take them off and just have a gel mani. My Gel Mani (done by Huong Thilien over at nail station #6) with cuticle trimming included was $ 25. The acrylic on my nails had left the surface with horizontal ridges so she was persistent about achieving smooth results. She also gave my short nails a nice shape, and gave me great color recommendations. For my skin color, she recommended #403 (if i wanted a nude color) but recommended #404 (if i wanted a hint of apricot/​pink). I didn’t think i would like #404 (since i normally don’t do pink and just head to black, dark wine, or nude/​neutral colors) but i was feeling adventurous and i gotta say she ‘nailed’ it… it did look great with my skin tone. Once your gel mani has been cured she puts cream and gives a glorious mini massage (the icing on the cake). If i am ever in the area and need another gel mani, i would definitely come back !

Not impressed, tried to use a gift certificate and they didn’t honor it. 50 dollars worth. They also didn’t do a great job on my nails or toes. Save your money. I’m definitely not returning.

I am a visitor to the area and went here based on reviews. I was so pleased. I was a walk-​in, and was immediately tended to, my nail tech was very kind and gentle, and my nails look great.

I am not from here so I had no idea what I would get myself into. John took care of me and I got the deluxe and he was so great. Super massage including warm towels. Great music playing in the background. They have 15 or 16 pedicure chairs in a room so I can imagine it would be great to book for a group as well.

The worst experience in my life. Got an acrylic nails done. First of all, the older lady took forever. My hands were all covered in glue — she even got the glue under my nails, which has never happened to me before! It’s been three days and I still can’t take it all off. The shape of the nails is horrible, they are extremely thick, all nails are different in lengths and the color is uneven. Good customer service though. Also, the other lady that worked with me before did a good job in terms of shape, speed and quality of her job, but the quality of the materials is not so great — only lasted 10 days. Never coming back!

Pros: Salon is clean, lots of pedicure chairs available and I did not have to wait (walk in for regular mani pedi). The young women who did my pedicure did an excellent job. She took time to massage and paint the nails carefully. The color on my manicure was too light and she allowed me to get another color to coat over it.
Cons: The older women who did my manicure. She cut my cuticles without any cream and now the skin is torn and in pain. She left the dust from shaping my nails and painted right over it. The paint job was rushed and careless and looks clumpy. There was very poor color selection.

Probably the worst and most painful gel manicure I’ve ever had. Very grumpy older lady who spoke no English and did not care to do a very good job. Was very rough and only had me put my nails under the light once. Everywhere else I’ve ever been has you do it 2 or 3 times to make sure the manicure last longer. I will not return

Worst experience ever, when I went there I signed in and told them that I wanted fake nails with a nude color. The man at the desk told me I had to wait 30 minutes which I was fine with, because I didn’t make an appointment. One and half hours go by and I’m asking one of the ladies if they forgot about me, they said they didn’t. When I finally get in a chair to get my nails done, I ask the lady before she starts doing anything when do you apply the fake nails (this is my first time getting fake nails so I really didn’t know). The lady beside her, starts screaming at me because I didn’t tell them that I wanted fake nails. Which I did in the beginning when I signed in. The lady who started doing my nails didn’t specialize in fake nails. So I had to wait longer to get my nails done. The customers around me told me I should have said something to the lady that shouted at me, but I didn’t want to cause a scene. Anyways next time I’ll go somewhere else to get my nails done.

Elite Nails is the best nail salon in the area! I’ve been going to this salon for two years and they do not disappoint. All the nail technicians that work in the shop are carefully selected and trained to be professional, friendly, courteous, and detailed. Their shop is VERY clean and doesn’t smell like the typical nail salon. Every 2 – 3 weeks I get a shellac polish manicure for $ 20 – 25 and it always lasts until the next appointment.
Although everyone at Elite Nails does a great job, my favorite nail technician and owner of the shop, Lenny, is my favorite. 6 months before my wedding, I asked if Lenny would do my nails before the big day, and he promised that he would. Not only that, he made a special appointment for me and my bridesmaids to all get our nails done right before the wedding! They turned out great.
Thank you to Lenny and the rest of the nail technicians at Elite Nails for such great service!

Horrible customer service. Five shellac nails chipped/​cracked within a day and the nail tech was very rude when I went back for her to fix them. She told me they were like that because «I work too hard.» When I asked her to fix the five nails, she argued with me and said she would only fix the one that chipped (not the other ones that the polish were cracking). As I was showing another nail tech my concern, the original lady was on the phone and hushed me. At that point, I told them I was extremely upset and would rather go somewhere else if they could just give me a refund… So the original nail tech tossed $ 15 at me (even though my service was $ 25) and said fine. Unbelievable! I have never had this issue with shellac nails before and I’ve especially never been treated like that.
If you want shellac nails, there are plenty of other salons in the area that have way better customer service, more of a color selection, and better quality polish such as OPI.

They need a better color selection with their polishes. Other than that I’m definitely a fan. The place was clean and well ventilated so it didn’t reek of acrylic. The prices were pretty fair too. I paid about $ 25 for one of the upgraded pedicures. I think the basic one might have been $ 18 or $ 20. My nail tech was very nice. Not overly conversation and not weirdly quiet. I got a rewards card that offered $$ off of my visit after 5 or 10 services so since I’m always a fan of saving money I’ll be back. I might bring my own polish though.

This place is a little gem. However, don’t go at the end of the day and make sure you tell the technicians exactly what you want. If you dont, you will not be happy. Also, money talks here. There was a communication barrier, and I think they thought I wanted the cheapest services. I had asked for their deluxe spa pedicure, with salts scrubs. the whole works. This was discussed over the phone in addition to having a broken toenail fixed. I asked how much it the total would be, just so I was prepared. They said they could do all of this and asked me to come in, so I did. There was a little heated discussion about the nail size compared to the other foot, and some things had to be redone. After that, I was switched to another lady who did the spa pedicure. I wanted to make sure we were on the same page, so I asked for the menu. I showed her what I wanted, which was the most expensive pedicure ($ 50 for pedi, salt scrub, clay wrap, paraffin dip, massage). I realized it was getting to closing time, so I offered to come back another day. She said no, she could do it. About half of the pedicure I felt uncomfortable because they were all obviously upset, and speaking to each other in their native language. They asked me to pay early, which I did with no objections. When it came to the tip, I gave $ 25 on a $ 60 bill. I did this so each lady could have a nice tip, and hopefully understand that I didn’t come in to get a service for free, or be a total pain in the… The mood changed immediately. Suddenly everyone was nice to me, gave me extra massage, engaged in conversation, and even gave me wine. They did a great job. I’m happy I pushed through the stress instead of walking out, which is what I wanted to do. The place is very nice, the chairs are new, it’s very clean and professional. My toes look great, and the pedicure felt good. I plan on going back because it’s so close to home, but I will warn you again… call and make an appointment if you want anything deluxe. They want to make sure they have adequate time to work on you, or they get stressed out, which makes for an unpleasant experience.

The service is wonderful and the environment is relaxing. I was able to get right in for a Mani-​pedi. The place is nicely decorated and was very clean. I recommend the deluxe pedi. Yum! You can’t see it from the road but it is behind Burger King at the corner of Fowler and 56^th

Fabulous place and great staff! I go there specifically for the pedicures and eyebrow wax, but have been looking into other services!

Went there for a new set and Lenny informed me I only needed a fill. Really liked how he told me the truth instead of trying to get more money. He then did a great job on my nails and was very friendly!

I just moved to the area and needed to find my new go to nail salon. Elite Nails is close to my new place so I thought I’d give it a try first. My search is over, I picked the right place on the first try!
Lenny was very nice and did a wonderful job on my nails! I asked for a complete new set, which meant he had to remove what was already on my hands, and he took the time to soak my fingertips and carefully remove it all. I also specifically asked him to take care of my cuticles because mine are exceptionally horrible and he did it without charging me extra.
Because of all the extra steps I was there for awhile and I actually had to wait a bit in the middle of my session because someone came in with an appointment. I’m not deducting any stars for that because I could tell he didn’t want to do that, but my nails were taking so much extra time than usual because of my abnormal requests and this lady had made an appointment while I was just a walk-​in.
It’s important to verbalize what you want while the tech is working on your nails. I see so many reviews about women being unhappy with their end results, but if they had just spoken up while it was being done it may have been better for them. I always tell my nail tech if I want this or that or if I think one is crooked or they’re too long BEFORE they are finished. You’re paying for it so just tell them what you want them to do if they miss something. You’d be surprised how many Asian nail techs don’t mind. I am Asian myself so I prefer Asian nail techs for this specific reason.
I’ll be going back in to Elite Nails for a pedicure next so I’m hoping the results are just as great as my nails!

My first time at elite nails, I was not disappointed, lee did a wonderful job! In addition, she was very friendly, I will be back there for sure.