Aqua Nails & Spa

I just had the worst experience at aqua nails. My nail technician was a man named nick and he was horrible! Very rude and made me feel uncomfortable. He did a horrible job on my nails and I do not plan on coming back. If the salon wants people to come back, they should get rid of him.
I’m so disappointed in Aqua nails!

I have gotten a little over a handful of gel manicures here and 2 pedicures. Overall, the rest of the reviews are pretty accurate. Service is rushed. In fact, the gel is not allowed to dry between applications of coats and when you ask to leave your hand in until the light goes off, the tech gets really annoyed. The polish lasts a little less than 2 weeks and comes off in chunks on its own. I think this directly relates to them not allowing it to dry properly between applications. I don’t think they are the friendliest staff but don’t bother me. Definitely on the phones while providing service and if you show up close to 7:30 when they close at 8, they will close the door on you and not assist you. So go early!

I come here every two weeks to get my nails done. The staff is always polite and they take pretty good care of me, even when I come in close to closing time. They never make me feel rushed. And when my gel manicure chips before the two week period, they will fix it. They have a good selection of OPI colors and offer a free paraffin hand was with your manicure. The only thing is tip is cash only which is a pain if you don’t usually carry cash on you.

I’ve been here a few times now for a mani/​pedi (regular polish) and I have been very pleased each time. This is my new go to place! I am surprised by the reviews who say the employees were rude; I have always found them to be very pleasant, nice, and accommodating.

Nick was great he really knows what he is doing especially with acrylic!!! I have finally found someone who can shape nails and not make my acrylic thick. So Happy ‼

DO NOT GET A MASSAGE THERE! ITS A SCAM!
I just went there for a 60 min deep tissue massage and they are not qualified to do this. I just did a long run and figure that a nice leg massage would help. They advertised deep tissue. When I arrived the masseuse did not speak english, I spoke slowly trying to explain that I wanted work done on my legs, she kept saying YES YES to everything I said. Of course she started with my back, this went on for 25 minutes, I interrupted and told her to work on my legs, again YES YES, then she starts to put stones on my back, that’s not deep tissue massage I told her! More YES YES, finally I pointed at my legs until she massage them, but at this point I only hade 15 minutes left. She just gently rubbed my inner thigh, never touched the rest of my legs. AGAIN, DO NOT GO THERE FOR A MASSAGE, ITS A SCAM! $ 80 dollars I will never see again. I try to reason when it came to pay and all I got was YES YES, no english but they still made me pay the full amount. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

The ladies who work here are really wonderful. This is a service salon. The people who wait on you should be people you feel good around. They are all really nice and classy. They are quiet and professional. I see a lot of repeat customers from our neighborhood here. The facilities are clean, and spacious. There are multiple TVs yet it doesn’t sound too loud. The vibe is restful. Waxing services are reliable and good. I’m always coming back here and wondering why it’s only a three star. In my book they are just great. The whole space here is maintained well and this is definitely a discount price place. Why not!!!

quality of the mani/​pedis is good. they last a while. prices are comparable to other salons. service isn’t great because it’s always packed and they don’t need my business. they always shrug indifferently when i walk out after finding there’s a 30 min wait. haven’t been going recently though bec it’s always so crowded, which makes the place smell toxic.

I’d been to Aqua before for mani/​pedis and had been happy with the results and service, but when I went in for a gel manicure tonight, I was really disappointed by the service, and embarrassed because I had suggested the place to a friend who joined me. The man doing my nails was rude and rushed. As he was finishing up, a woman came in just after their official closing time and he barked «We’re closed!» at her. She was so taken aback that she actually said «oh…sorry» and walked out. I’m not going back to a business where it’s acceptable to speak to anyone, much less a customer, like that. My friend was so put off by the lack of attentiveness from the woman doing her manicure that she didn’t even tip her. Aside from a bloody cuticle, the manicure looks fine, but at $ 35 a pop, I’d prefer to have it be a relaxing experience, and there are plenty of other nail salons in the area better able to make that happen.

I would not go back to Aqua Nails and Spa… even if I was paid to do it.
I have never been treated so rudely at a business or store in my whole life. The technician that did my nails did not even say hi to me. She just grabbed my hands and started pushing back the cuticles. As she did this, she was sighing and seemed really upset that she had to do my nails. After she was done doing this and filed my nails without asking what shape I would like, she snapped at me to go wash my hands. When I didn’t know where the sink was, she seemed even more upset. She continued to be rude as she painted my nails. When she was finished, she just got up and walked away — she didn’t say one word to me… not even «bye». I can hardly believe this happened! I won’t be going back.

I have been seeing Kelly for a couple of months now for a gel mani and spa pedi. She consistently does a perfect job! I am always more than pleased when I leave her. I highly recommend her!

They do an okay job. But as many reviewers wrote, some of their technicians are very rude. I wanted a fill in. Instead of telling me no one was available, a young tech looked at my nails. After taking off my polish, the tech said I didn’t need a fill in and she was going to do a polish change and I could come back Friday (I was there on a Monday) for a fill in. I felt forced to pay for a polish change so that my nails would look halfway decent and I still have to go somewhere to get a fill.

Love this place
Friendly staff
They stay late for me
They do a great job with shellac gel and it really lasts a long time
Only reason I gave them 4 stars is cause they don’t have painted samples of gel colors so hard to tell what color I want. But that’s a minor detail they can improve

I do not like to write negative reviews. However, I am compelled to write this one for everyone’s safety.
The nail tech who did my shellac manicure used tools pulled directly from her drawer, and pulled out a used file. There was red polish all over the file. She saw my horrified face and after filing one hand got a new file, most likely because she discovered that I work in the beauty industry and know the regulations. She them proceeded to pull several used buffers out of the drawer to use on me. I shook my head and she begrudgingly got a new one. Lastly, after the service was done, she pulled out a very used fine grain file to finish my nails. Unacceptable.
Thus particular tech was new to this salon, so I am hoping it was her and not the entire place. I did spot an autoclave machine, I just hope they use it.
The polish job was fine, not sure if I will give it another shot and I would definitely make sure they use sanitized tools and fresh files. The risk for infection is too high not to use it, plus it’s the law.

What isn’t wrong about this place. As a customer I’ve never felt more rushed, disrespected and over charged. First, Aqua nails and Acqua nails are owned and operated by the same people, and I’ve had equally bad experiences at both places before realizing the management was one in the same.
The first time I came here to Aqua nails I got a gel manicure. I had asked to do a french tip with sparkles instead of a solid white line. The entire time I was getting my nails done, the male manicurist was texting on his phone. He’d give me time to «turn the page on my magazine» for a solid minute while he texted before he got back to doing my nails. When I asked him if someone else could do the job he said his mother was sick and that’s why he was texting. When I offered him the chance to call her while I waited, he said it was fine and continued to text the entire time I was getting my nails done. Well of course he messed up. He didn’t put a solid color on my nail, just base and top coat so less than a week later my entire nails were chipping. I came back into the store to ask for them to be redone only to get the rudest 3^rd degree from management, who thought I was lying although it was clear that the nails were done incorrectly.
The second time I went to the Acqua nails and got gels also. The application experience was fine, until I returned to get the gels taken off. Be WARNED they charge you $ 10 for what is typically a complimentary service. And if I had known this upfront, I would have walked out the door. I was sat rushed on a chair by a girl who literally did not acknowledge me the entire time although I kept trying to smile in her direction to be friendly. She proceeded to use her finger nails, instead of a metal scrapper, to pick off the remaining gel nails on my hands. It was disgusting and unprofessional. The whole thing was rushed and she obviously just wanted to get home because it was 7:30 and the places closes at 8. I will never come back here and I strongly suggest you spend your money at better places.

I want to like this place, I really do. The interior looks new and clean, and the built in infrared boxes or whatever it is for the gel manicure is a cool touch. That’s where the positives end for me though. I’ve had some ok experiences but my latest manicure here will be my last. The young lady doing my nails was not totally outright rude… but close to it. Not a smile or anything at all pleasant about her. She kept looking at her phone as she was getting text messages throughout my entire manicure and at one point, picked up the phone and had a conversation as she was filing my nails. Really? Ugh.
I got the gel and it looked ok as I left the salon but started to chip and peel about 4 days later. 4 days. Not cool.
My quest for a decent nail salon in the area continues…

Open till 8pm, 8 really comfy pedicure chairs with fully functioning massage buttons, 2 walls of nail colors from multiple brands, and lots of staff on hand.
Decently clean, though they do not sanitize utensils after every use like Ivy Nails. Manicures are $ 15 and that includes a free pariffian wax dip, but that’s not explicitly clear b/​c they ask you «You want pariffian?» which I assumed the first few times meant an upcharge.
After they lotion your hands/​arms, they make you wash your hands which is really weird and defeats the purpose of putting lotion on.
I come here when I’m in a hurry, want to get my nails done in a big group together, or need a late pm manicure. Otherwise I trek it out to Ivy Nails which is cleaner and does a nicer job, but smaller and busier.

I had some time to kill while in the D.C. area the other day, and stopped in for a mani. I live in NYC, where the manis are usually more like $ 10 – 12 so I was surprised to find that they were more expensive in D.C.
The salon is huge, and at 5pm on a Thursday, I was able to walk right in without a wait. The manicure was decent, but they had me dry with little fans on the manicure table, not with a light. Randomly enough, the friend I was staying with wanted a pedicure the next day, so we went back for pedicures, and I enjoyed my experience. The pedicure was $ 30, which, again, is slightly more than I pay in NYC.

Came here for a shellac manicure the day before my wedding. They did a great job, and were very meticulous. They have 8 or so pedi chairs, so fit the entire bridal party at once. The mani was $ 35. There was no massage involved. As a few mentioned, they ask you to get up and wash your hands mid-​manicure. Not sure what was up with that.
The manicure chipped after a week, though that may be a reflection of my lifestyle?

Nice salon I stopped by in Arlington to get a pedicure.
I was asked if I wanted a spa pedi. Since I had no idea what that meant, I said no. I still got a decent pedicure.
I usually get pedicures in DC, and get them all over the country. This is the first time I had to sign in to get a pedi. This could be some inane Virginia law, as they have lots of stupid ones. I hope it is, because this procedure was strange.
I’d go back.