Escape Day Spa

This place is alright. I used to go much more often but one of the ladies (I think she may be the owner) is so darn loud and talks/​screams at the other employees the whole time– so much for anything relaxing about getting your nails done. She really is obnoxious and over the top. The rest of the staff is friendly and courteous. Great selection of new nail polish!

Fanny is wonderful!!! I’ve been to her for waxing and nails. She takes her time and is very sweet.

This is the worst place to get your nails done. PLEASE DO NOT GO HERE. The service is horrible and the staff does a terrible job with your nails. I highly suggest going somewhere else to get your nails done, even if this place is convenient for you.

Before you go to Escape Day Spa you should get into your head that you’re going to more of a nail and waxing place as opposed to a luxurious spa. The name is a little deceiving, but I like Escape and have been going here regularly for five years. It’s location is convenient, the staff is friendly, the prices are reasonable, and you don’t need to schedule an appointment ahead of time. I have also found that it’s clean and has a lot of space so you don’t feel cramped like some nail places.
I’ve had good luck with all the manicure and pedicures that I’ve had here and I never request a particular person. There have been 1 – 2 technicians who have been very slow, but otherwise I’ve always been satisfied. As some of the other reviewers have mentioned, the staff does sometimes talk, have conversations, and scream at one another in another language while with a client which is kind of rude. Also, I wouldn’t suggest going here for waxing — cheap wax, inconsistent quality by the technician. For the same money you will have better luck elsewhere. Overall, I definitely recommend Escape for manicures and pedicures.

I was a regular at Escape Day Spa when I lived in Arlington. I found it because I lived in the apartments above it when I first moved to the area. They always did a great job and were able to accommodate me with day-​of appointments. A few times, however, I felt uncomfortable as some staff yelled (literally, screamed) at other workers in another language. It was clear it was an uncomfortable situation for the customers and other staff members and was hardly professional.

I feel a little hypocritical writing this review criticizing Escape Day Spa since I used to go there all the time… but the stories I have are so ridiculous, I had to share. The manicures and pedicures aren’t too bad, but they aren’t that great either. What was most annoying was the manager who would scream at her employees. She was consistently obnoxious and once actually pulled me into an argument she was having with another technician, asking me who I though was right. It was uncomfortable to say the least.
They also posted signs around the salon at one point, promising that technicians would not speak to eachother in any other language but English. If they did so, your service would be free. This promise was not successful, as every time I went in, technicians would be yapping to eachother in their native language. I never said anything, but the signs were taken down after about 3 weeks. I should have had about 5 free manicures though…
Not worth your time. Always a long wait. Always a so-​so manicure. Don’t even think about shellac — I once got one there and it took over an hour and lasted only a week.

I’ve been to Escape quite a few times, getting different services, so I think I can give them a pretty honest review at this point. Overall, the service is very inconsistent and the technicians are not uniformly good at what they do. I’ve had a few good manicures, but my recent experience put the nail in the coffin. I came in wanting to get a Shellac manicure done, also needing my old Shellac taken off. The woman was not at all friendly and seemed inconvenienced by me. She hurried through the job, not really paying that much attention. It showed in the manicure. The color was not even and looked even worse once my nails grew some. I had a huge chip the first week (Shellac is supposed to last, come on!) and then more chips to come. I went to another local salon to get the manicure taken off, and my nails were a wreck. She said the product they use is rougher on your nails than some of the other gel manicure options. I’ve had other Shellac manicures, and my nails haven’t been this bad and thin after. I had to clip my nails down and am now letting them grow out before I try gels again.
Their pedicures have been ok. Not a lot of attention or extra exfoliation or massaging, but not bad either. The regular manicures have been hit or miss… some good some bad. If you have a favorite technician that might help.
Only pros are the location and the number of technicians. I’ve always been able to walk right in and get service done. However, I’m done with Escape, at least for the time being and taking my business elsewhere.

I was surprised to see that Escape Day Spa doesn’t have a higher review, so as a semi-​regular (I don’t go as frequently in the winter), I wanted to add mine.
I think this is a great, local place to go for reasonably priced manis/​pedis. I’ll agree with the comment that this place certainly isn’t a luxury spa, it’s simply a convenient neighborhood place to get a good mani/​pedi. A friend of mine recommended Tiffany, and I’ve stuck with her ever since my first visit. She’s super friendly, she takes her time, never making me feel like she’s rushing through the job, and I’m always happy with the results. I’ve had friends use a few other of the more seasoned ladies (Hannah comes to mind) without complaints, but I strongly recommend Tiffany, particularly if you want a Shilac manicure.
Regarding the comments about the staff speaking loudly and not in English… for whatever reason on my first visit there, the owner spent some time talking to me while Tiffany was doing my nails, and volunteered to me that she allows her staff to speak in their native language, but asks that they not whisper, and speak in their regular tones, as she feels that whispering gives the impression that staff is gossiping. I think it’s an interesting point to bring up based on the other reviews. While there are certainly times when they are crazy busy and voices go up a little bit when it seems like no one can get to the phone fast enough, I don’t find that offensive.
Overall, I definitely recommend this as a great place to get a good mani/​pedi at a reasonable price. I always suggest making an appointment to be safe (and to get Tiffany!).

I went here for a mani/​pedi. They acted at first like they wouldn’t have the time to do that (it was over an hour before their posted closing time and nowhere did they have a sign posted saying they couldn’t accept customers after X-​time). The woman who did my nails was kind of rough (didn’t catch her name b/​c she didn’t introduce herself). The manicure wasn’t done very well. She didn’t remove all of the previous polish (I had the gel/​shellac before) before putting the new polish on. The nails were uneven and rough (i.e. not filed properly). The polish didn’t cover the entire nail either (I got a «natural» color so it’s not obvious, but still…).
It just seemed like she was too busy for my business, so they won’t get my business again. It wasn’t the relaxing experience I was hoping for. Also, the price I was charged is not the price listed on their website. I also had the experience of the women talking in another language who appeared to be talking about me and the other customers (and the body language indicated that it was not a nice conversation — i.e. pointing and disgusted looks = unprofessional).

I am a regular at Escape Day Spa, and have been going there for quite a while. My most recent experience was the worst to date.
The woman who did my nails (Hannah) kept getting up and yelling at other technicians during the appointment. She spoke very rudely to me about another customer who wanted a nail repaired. She pointed at me and started taking in another language to the girl next to her, and proceeded to laugh. I tihnk she spent more time wandering around the spa screaming in other languages than she did on my nails (a simple mani/​pedi took over two hours because of this).
On the plus side, they do really good nails and are decently priced for an Arlington spa. If you can get past the screeching in foreign languages, Escape isn’t all that bad. If you don’t have an appointment and go on a weekend, be prepared to wait, though.

They give good workmanlike pedicures and frankly, I’d rather pay less and not have as much luxury – $ 70 for Red Door is a little ridic for twice-​monthly services. Mine last a long time and I have no complaints.
I’m not sure why people are taking so much issue with the «If your technician is speaking in other than English…» policy. Before becoming critical of it, why don’t you ask the owner the rationale behind it? I personally don’t like any of my service professionals speaking another language while they have my body parts in their hands – I want to know what someone is saying if they are working on me. If they are gossiping in English and it isn’t professional I’d complain about it too.

I want to like it. The waxing was good enough. The pedicure was ok. But I didn’t get what I asked for — and I asked a couple of times. I don’t think my wishes were heard or understood. Seriously, I have been served millions of times in an establishment where english was not the first language — never a problem until today. I left just barely satisfied. Oh – and it is NOT a day spa. It’s a nail salon with a couple of additional revenue streams. So sorry to give it a negative review.

Cleanliness, atmosphere, and price — those are my priorities in order when it comes to a pedicure, and Escape is the perfect trifecta! For me, there can be no compromise on hygiene in a nail salon, and I was pleased to see how much attention Escape gives to cleanliness. My feet are super-​sensitive, and my nails are round, yet I’ve had other technicians who were clueless to both. Not at Escape, where the pedicurist did a terrific job without making me jump out of my seat and who shaped everything perfectly. The chairs and atmosphere are truly relaxing, lots of sunlight, excellent ventilation, lovely amenities, and a super price. I’m definitely going to be a loyal customer from hereon!

I like this nail salon. It is clean, conveniently located, and the technicians are good. I’ve had Sally the past two times I’ve been and she does a great job for both manis and pedis. It is reasonably priced and there are a lot of mani/​pedi stations so you really don’t have to wait that long. I used to go to Color Nails in Courthouse, but that place pales in comparison to this one. I’ll be going here for a while.

Invisible brows. I have been a regular here for about two years now and all of the suddenly have this new girl who waxes my brows and now they are almost all gone! INVISIBLE!
Now I don’t ask for a regular but maybe I should start asking for specific person. This girl doesn’t even introduce herself. When we go into the little room, i request that my arches hav e a higher arch. She doesn’t understand and just nods her head (which i guess means she understands). I said, «keep it thicker near the inner corners of my eye and just clean up the arch.» She starts speaking in garbled english which I just don’t respond to and away we go. To be clearer, I say — keep it like yours. Hers were relatively neat with a small arch. So she starts — and after she does one brow she says, «you like?» WHAT IS THERE TO LIKE? She removed at least half of my brow and all i have left is a super pencil thin line! WTF?! I’m so mad just writing this right now.
What am I supposed to do. so i just sigh with a frown and say.“well.it’s TOO thin but go ahead and do the other one.“
SO MAD.
Can anyone recommend me a good brow waxist in the arlington/​alexandria area? Don’t go to this lady! wish i even knew her name. she can’t even speak broken english!!! pissed. I started off with two stars but just thinking about it I changed it to one.

Ok so I’ve been here twice and I can say that they do a decent job on manicures and pedicures. Both times, I got someone different and I was happy with the results.
But do NOT go here for a facial! I treated myself and my mother in law to a facial and it was not pleasant.
First of all — the facialist has the most annoying voice in the world and she would not shut up during the 30 minutes that the facial lasted. I had a huge headache after the session.
Second, she blasted hot air on my face during 15 minutes and I found it extremely hard to breathe.
Third, she squeezed pimples at the end of the session and slapped on this heavy oily cream on my already very oily skin… Result — my skin was worse off than before the facial. Both my mother in law and I started breaking out for about a week after the facial.
I don’t know if the facialist lady is the owner or not but she is very loud and obnoxious. They definitely start yelling to each other across the salon during mani/​pedis in their native language… that’s an experience. Not the best place if you want to relax though. The other thing is that you can’t pay tips with a credit card so make sure to have enough cash for a tip!

I think I can safely say I am an Escape regular — I go roughly twice a month, but I don’t request the same technician, mostly because I like to experience all of them before settling on one. One night, they stayed open late to do a mani/​pedi for me, with two working on me at once, and I admit that I think much more highly of them now because of that evening.
I live in the Reserve at Clarendon, so this place is beyond convenient. And for the convenience, the price and quality are worth it. But if I didn’t live within a 5 minute walk, I would not recommend coming here.
The technicians are spotty — Fannie is the best, and then the owner (but she rarely does manis, only when it is very crowded). The polish selection is great, though they tend to keep asking if you are ready when you have barely had time to look at the polish choices! I think the manis are decent and generally last about 6 days, but they don’t have the spray for afterward, so I would sit under the purple lamps for a while before leaving.
Do not be fooled by the website — it makes it look much more upscale than it is. The shop is clean and the tools are sanitized, but to me, that should be a basic, not an indicator of luxury.

I was very excited to find out this spa is only a 5 minute walk from my house! I ‘ve been driving past it for over a year, and just discovered it a month ago at the recommendation of a friend.
The prices are reasonable, the salon is clean, and everything runs very smoothly. I’ve been twice now, and had 2 different technicians for my pedicures. I agree that the service varies depending on which technician you have, but overall, I’ve left happy both times.
My only complaint is they don’t accept tips on credit cards, so make sure you are aware of this before you visit. Likewise, you cannot use a gift certificate balance towards a tip either.

Convenient, clean and cheap place for a pedicure.
I have come here three times for a pedicure and always leave with pretty feet, which is impressive considering I run about 40 miles a week and wear 3 inch heels everyday.
Pros:
Reasonably priced ($ 28/​pedi)
OPI polish
Newer magazine selections
No appt. necessary
Cons:
Not a lot of time spent exfoliating or massaging.
Don’t accept tips on credit card.

I go here a lot because the prices are good and the location is convenient.
I’ve had some very good mani/​pedis here and a few really poor ones (goopy gloppy too thick polish that won’t dry). Fanny is one of my favorites.
Note they do not accept cards for tips.
Edited to add that I agree with the person below who said they tend to giggle amongst themselves a la that Seinfeld episode, and it’s disconcerting. However, I can’t believe you can’t tell Koreans apart from Vietnamese…