Royal Nail

I would love this place so much more if I wasn’t a clean freak. My shellac manicure lasted ages even by long standards, by pedicure was fantastic and Simon is excellent at giving them. If they had sealed client tools and were just a little cleaner and tidier, I would up the stars.

So, I called after looking at allllllllll these extremely high priced nail salons near my job…($ 60 for a full set!!! Hope they’re gold plated tips!) and the gentleman said he had time and it’s $ 35…great! So I go, and it’s just him, which was totally fine! He took his time and my nails look great! He was friendly and knowledgeable and NOT rushed. I may have found my regular shop! I did ask if he could do any design on one of my nails and he said he doesn’t do much design, but I don’t care about that either way, just FYI. Also he said he has a second technician too!

Royal Nails is the best nail salon in Old Town. The proprietor, Simon, and his wife, Ai, have a loyal clientele because of the excellent services they offer. Their prices are competitive with nearby salons, but their expertise matches any of the top salons in Washington. It’s best to call ahead for an appointment.

Service was less than average
Had to wait till technician finished feeding her daughter
The nail colours on offer are dated and dry

The owner Simon is very rude, unprofessional and, discriminates., I’ve never dealt with a business like this. He intentionally ignored my calls to make an appt for my nails. On Friday May 15, 2015 I was trying to call him around 5:00 pm no answer so left a voice mail message but he never called me back. My nails were in bad shape. I called a few times on Saturday again he didn’t pick up. I thought maybe he’s on vacation or, something is wrong with his phone but since I live in OT I thought I’ll walk over to his salon. To my surprise he was open. I walked in. He did NOT have a courtesy to get up and talk to me. His back towards me. I had to yell to ask him to make an appt. We set a time for the next day. I went in. Then last Friday tried to call and he didn’t answer my call. Same thing yesterday (Thur 6÷11÷2015) called left a vm message. He did not return my call. I became very frustrated because I really needed to get my nails done this wknd. So I talked to my friend who is a lawyer and he told me that I can report him to better business bureau & City of Alex. So I called again last night (6÷11÷2015) obviously he didn’t pick up but I left a message that I’m just a customer trying to make an appt with him but him ignoring me is discrimination therefore illegal and will report him. As soon as I eft this message he called me back and obviously I was disgusted dealing with such an unprofessional behavior and did not respond. I’ve always gave him a good tip. Simon is rude, unprofessional and discriminates. I will never use his services, but I will report him so that he won’t repeat this type of very rude behavior.

After looking at the reviews and comparing prices, I went to Royal Nails for a pedicure. They did a great job and were friendly and quick. I’d definitely come back!

Simon is the best! He does great pedicure as well as foot massage.
Very reasonable price and great personality!

Small, unkempt shop, and owner (Simon) is cranky. He gives a decent gel mani but the real gem is his wife. Unfortunately, she only works PT now. She also got tired of his crankiness. Stopped going because he badgers customers. While his wife was doing my nails, he was giving his client (an older English woman) a hard time about the economy and his rough life. It was awful to hear. When I said something, he said he was just joking, but his joking goes too far. The next time while I was getting my nails done with his wife, Simon was so negative towards his wife, saying how horrible she is doing nails, can’t do anything rights, not even cook. He has to do everything. It was very awkward. Too much negativity.

Dropped by for a gel manicure and decided to also get a pedicure based on the other Unilocal reviews. Simon gives the best pedicure foot massage ever! It’s a small local place — not a fancy spa — but very reasonable prices and excellent service! I will be back.

Finally! A family owned and operated nail salon! As if that wasn’t enough to get me excited, the service is amazing! There is excellent attention to detail, clean, affordable and the best hand and foot massage. If only this little nail shop was near my house!

Great pedicure. Very affordable and amazing massage! Simon is very kind and professional. I highly recommend this salon!

I decided to give this place a try due to all of the good reviews on Unilocal and I wasn’t disappointed. I got a manicure and pedicure with Simon for $ 40. I went at lunch time and he was the only one there.
The place is small and could use some tidying. I would say my only negative with the salon is that it doesn’t open up a sealed pack of new tools for each client. They use disinfectant type solution but the cups look a bit dingy and as if the solution isn’t emptied and changed very often.
Aside from that it was great for the price and location. Simon did in fact give a great foot/​leg and arm/​hand massage! I almost fell asleep, haha. Also, the pedicure chairs do have a massage function, but it isn’t terribly powerful.
I would definitely go back again because it was friendly and quality service at a really affordable price.

Great manicure and pedicure massage at a great deal! The place is small, but I prefer it to a bigger nail salon where it feels so rushed to get the next person in the chair.

Really enjoyed my time there and appreciated that he took me as a walk in. The manicure was 15 bucks. Simon was fun to talk to and he was quick and efficient. He didn’t seem to mind that I interrupted his dinner. The salon is small and gives its customers a lot of attention. There are lots of colors to choose from. I will go back.

Received the WORST gel manicure here of my life. I went here to get my nails done on a Wednesday for my Saturday wedding since it was out of town and we were leaving Thursday. I had heard great reviews and thought I would come here since I had a good pedicure here before. I got a gel French manicure and 10 minutes after leaving it chipped!!! It continued to chip and looked horrible for my wedding. Now, two days after my wedding (Monday) the gel had completely come off of two nails! Worst experience and I definitely will NOT be coming back here!

As the other reviewers note, the massage is the best part of this pedicure. What I’m not super comfortable with is the level of hygiene; I like to see an autoclaved package of tools opened in front of me. The polish selection is good, and Simon is a great conversationalist.

Im very pleased. I got an extra long hand/​arm massage (the best part of a manicure) and my nails looked great. The mani lasted about 2 weeks. The staff were very nice, and we had fun talking and joking during my time there. They even offer free candy :)

My experience here was good. Simon works quickly and will have you in and out in your appointment time. I was late, but he still accommodated me. My finger nail polish did chip pretty badly but my feet look great!

AMAZING! I love Simon! His hand and foot massage are out of this world-​he knows exactly which pressure points to hit and is incredibly personable. This is a small, family owned shop: Simon works there FT and his wife and his sister work there PT. There are only 3 of them that work there so calling ahead to make a reservation is highly recommended. Support your local businesses!

Nice local nail salon! They turned me around quickly as a walk-​in for a mani-​pedi. Those who mentioned Simon’s foot massage as a plus are right on. My nails look nice, but there is still some visible dead skin on my heels, so I need a little more work before I’m sandal-​ready.
Friendly and quiet, very likeable people. The massage chairs maybe could use some updating; mine was more of a nudge than a knead. Will gladly go back.