The Nail Spa

They are closed at this location. Dunno about the one on College Ave.

I used to live right on top of this nail salon when i went to CAL. The main reason I like this place so much is because it is SO CLEAN! This is probably one of the cleanest nail salons I have ever stepped foot in. The people here are really nice — especially the owner who is always friendly and upbeat. Also, they offer you beverages when you are there such as water, tea, or diet coke!
They do a really good job, make you feel so relaxed, and its pretty good deals for the money. When I used to go here, they also offered discounts for students and had special deals such as a free manicure for your birthday. Not sure if they still do that, but it was a big plus.

THEY ARE CLEAN!!! Halleleujah!!!
My sister and I come to the Nail Spa primarily because they use autoclave to sterilize their tools. Cleanliness is one of the utmost important things to us when getting a manicure, next would be polish quality. On multiple occasions I have been cut by the manicurist at a sketchy nail salon, and the experience is mortifying. Never again, I don’t care how cheap you are.
And even with the cleanliness, Nail Spa is surprisingly affordable! With the student discount, a mani pedi is definitely within budget, even for a poor college student. They give you complimentary water and the women working there are nice enough (my sister and I are Viet though, so we can communicate in Vietnamese).
They have a good selection of OPI nail polishes, so plus points there. I have to be honest and say that the paint job is not outstanding, but it’s not bad either. They just take a really long time and I could probably achieve the same paint job myself if I just set aside the time (I’m good at painting nails though… I am Vietnamese after all, haha half joking…). Nonetheless, I prefer to get mani pedis at the salon because I am often too lazy to do it myself and wait around for the layers of paint to dry. Also, I enjoy the spa-​aspect of the pedicures, which I can never achieve at home without purchasing a bunch of new products. I get a wider variety of polish choices at the Nail Spa, along with a nice massage.
I don’t think it’s possible to get a higher quality manicure at a clean nail salon without paying at least 75−100% more than the Nail Spa. That is why I continue coming here. They are clean, affordable, offer good nail polishes, and do a good paint job. They remain true to their slogan, «An Affordable Indulgence.» I definitely recommend the Nail Spa for your standard mani pedi.
As a side note, my friend got her acrylics done here with me and she said they didn’t last very long. This is not your place for pro nails, so I do not recommend the Nail Spa for acrylics & designs. However, I also do not recommend acrylics in general, because those are tacky.

Just had a mani/​pedi here last week with my mom. We were both happy with the jobs done on our nails (I had Cathy, my mom had Tonya), the chairs were comfortable, and the whole place was clean. They have a fairly large selection of OPI polishes, and a few vegan nail polishes.
The one gripe is the older woman who was working as the receptionist. She was very loud (not at all soothing) and acted like we couldn’t possibly have had a manicure before because we’d never been to this place. She also hovered uncomfortably close as we chose our colors. The younger girl who replaced her part-​way through our time there seemed fine.
Otherwise, fingers and toes still look great 6 days later, and $ 33 is fairly reasonable for a mani/​pedi. I’d go back the next time I’m in town.

I was really disappointed when I visited today, as I’ve had much better visits in the past.
I only came in for a pedicure, and frankly I felt that the staff was rude and favored other customers over me.
The pedicure was standard but didn’t last nearly as long as these two other ladies in the store with me. They were there for at least 45 minutes, while I was rushed out of my chair in under 25. I understand that they need to clean the chairs prior to closing, but there were 2 others open… why kick me off right when I was starting to relax in my post pedi-​drying session? Of course the other ladies remained seated and comfortable.
I feel like I’ve had better service for less money. That’s all.

So I thought I would give The Nail Spa one more go, after having a less than desirable experience on my wedding day. This place does a decent mani-​pedi, but when the word SPA is in your business name I expect spa treatment! It started off by getting a phone call when I was two minutes late (looking for parking) then when I come in five minutes later. The receptionist starts shaking her head like they can’t take me. Sorry in my world seven minutes isn’t a missed appt. If you were that overbooked you shouldn’t have taken me in the first place. So needless to say there was nothing relaxing or spa like in this visit. I would only go back if it was a nail emergency! Oh and the wedding day gripe, the lady cut off my fingernails that I had been growing out for wedding pics! Thats what I get for taking my eyes off what she was doing for a second!

My usual spots (Joi and Solemate) were closed today so I had to venture out and go to a new place. The Nail Spa was the only place who had time to do a mani and pedi. Overall, I am very happy with my nails. But I think I’m a mani/​pedi snob because I really like the place to be beautiful and comforting (and well ventilated). And the Nail Spa, while they did a fine job, is more like your traditional nail salon (probably a step up, because there is some effort at décor, but not like at my usual spots).
So… minus one star because the ventilation is not as nice as Joi and Solemates, nor is it as cute and beautiful as these other salons. But, it was clean (which is the most important thing), the massage chairs were great, and I thought they did a very thorough job. Also Mminus one star because the manicurist nicked me when she was cutting my cuticle. It was tiny but it hurt. Owee! She immediately apologized and put on some alcohol or something, which was fine, but I wish she would have been a little more careful. Finally, I give it 4 stars for the value. A mani/​pedi is only $ 33, which is about $ 10 cheaper than my usual haunts. So, I may be coming back… we’ll see how long this mani/​pedi lasts. It’s such a nice indulgence to have my nails done, especially in the winter!

I went here for my first bikini wax. Needless to say, I was feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the idea of exposing myself to a complete stranger (and paying someone to rip hair out), but I was determined to follow through. I entered and they were very friendly to me, offering water and a pretty good selection of trashy magazines (a salon must).
They were very polite and got me into my appointment on time. The waxing room is pretty tiny (kind of like a closet, actually), but it is somehow very soothing. It’s not a stressful place to be, which is nice when you’re doing something that could potentially be very uncomfortable.
The lady who did my wax was very nice and quick. It hurt a lot less than I expected it to, and I was out in about 15 minutes. Sure, I didn’t really understand most of what she was saying to me, but she was very concerned that I was comfortable and got the proper amount taken off. I had no idea what the post-​wax care instructions were, but that’s what phone calls to friends are for, right?
Add to that a student discount (10% I think?) and the ability to make appointments on pretty short notice (less than 24 hours), and I’d have to say that this place is a pretty good one for an affordable and good wax.

I get my nails done about twice a month and I’ve visited different nail salons all over the Bay, but this one is still by far a favorite of mine. It’s not too pricey and they do a great job. Every customer gets their own sterilized package of tools.
The place is nicely decorated and there is also a Nail Spa on College Avenue.

This place is great. I’ve tried other places, and their service is never as nice as the service here.
It’s pretty basic — no super frilly extras being pushed on you at all times. Appointments are pretty easy to come by, and if you have to just walk in it’s usually only a few minutes wait.
The prices are super reasonable, and the pedicures are always good.

I’ve been going here for two years off and on because
1. most important: they’re VERY clean, sterile utensils, thorough cleaning of the chairs… and they use clorox disinfecting wipes! (I work at clorox so i’m a fan)
2. love the clean /​zen décor of the place
3. The technicians that I’ve spoken to, all speak English quite well. i don’t have to ask them to repeat themselves.
I was a little irked this last time because i was a walk in (manicure)and i wasn’t offered anything but the person that came in behind me, was quickly offered a refreshment…
overall, i like it being clean… and Kathy rocks!

HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE. HORRIBLE.
I don’t know if all of the workers are like this, but one in PARTICULAR was just abominable. I told her that I wanted my nails square, but she made it rounded. She did NOT take my gentle request well, and she grabbed my hands and started to file away SO hard! It actually hurt! Once she was finished filing (which not only did she do with so much force and anger, but also inaccurately) she started to paint my nails, but she did them all WRONG! There were bumps all over my nails because she didn’t care how she used the brush. When I pointed out that the polish was not how I wanted it to be, she got the bottle of nail polish remover and poured it all over my fingers and murmured something under her breath.
I am not exaggerating about this.
I was pretty angry. I took back my hands, got up, went to the manager and told her about the lady. (Meanwhile, the nail lady was glaring at me, continuing to murmur things in her language.) This review gets ONE star, because the British manager is a very sweet lady who offered me a free diet coke while I was waiting– and also gave me a full refund for my unpleasant experience here. Otherwise, I would give this place 0 stars. It looks like other people who wrote comments about this place agrees with me. It’s a SHAME that a place with such nice décor and potential would hire such cross, mean, unpleasant workers.
The Nail Shop in Emeryville is WAY better, and has a MUCH more friendly and EXPERIENCED staff. But the staff at this one is very inexperienced and is NOT worth your money or time.
I mean, I am not very hard to please when it comes to nails, but this one was just too horrible to be silent about. Please do not go here.

I don’t get many manicures/​pedicures because I am very wary of dirty nail tools. yuck.
This place is very concerned and careful about cleanliness. They autoclave their metal tools, wash the foot spas with hot soap and water between clients, and use fresh white towels as a work surface for your manicure. I’m sure this sounds like standard practice, but unfortunately this is not the case at other nail salons. Also, the place didn’t smell horrible.
I’m very happy with my manicure and my friend really enjoyed her pedicure so I plan to return in the future.
My only complaint is that the receptionist was rude and not welcoming. She didn’t offer water/​refreshments which I know that they are supposed to offer there (for free) and she also didn’t offer any magazines to us. Other than her, the staff are quite friendly.

This place is pretty crappy.
Only one person there seemed like she knew what she was doing. The lady that did my pedicure was not bad, but definitely did not provide exceptional ‘spa’ service. It felt like any cheap nail salon. The lady who did my manicure couldn’t file my nails straight because she couldn’t see what she was doing and refused to wear glasses because in her words, they ‘make her look old.’ And on top of all that, the two women who switched between working on me and my friend were talking crap about us and all the other customers there the entire time we were there.
Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed the trash-​talking if I didn’t understand Vietnamese, but the service was really bad. They couldn’t file my nails straight and smeared polish on places other than my friend’s nails. I ended up paying over $ 60 for a manicure & pedicure that was definitely not worth the price. Moreover, as we were leaving, one of the manicurists had the audacity to say we were cheap and difficult after I gave them a hefty tip because we ended up not getting any extra designs because they couldn’t even polish without smearing all over our hands. I will never go back there.

Lately, my skin has been really dry, so my nails were bad. So bad that even my hangnails had hangnails.
I decided that I needed more attention than the Nail Shop, but I didn’t want to pay for Cure.
This was pretty good. They do the mani and pedi at the same time which I detest. It’s just NOT relaxing. I like to read magazines during my pedi. The massage was wonderful though. And wonder of all wonders, my polish is still on my finger nails after doing dishes and cleaning adn everything this weekend. It also would have been more relaxing had the pedicurist and the woman at the front desk stopped planning the holiday party as the pedicurist was working, She’d stop and talk, and start and stop and talk and turn and… just focus on my feet, ok? That’s not to say that I didn’t pass out and fall asleep while I was waiting to dry, but I could have napped better and longer had I been able to enjoy the smooth jazz and just relax instead of the talking.
I’ll probably be back because they did a very good job and aren’t much more than nail shop.

I first went to the Nail Spa after a week of packing, carting my stuff into a new apartment, unpacking, and putting together various IKEA items. My nails were a disgusting mess, and I decided I needed professional help. The experience was so lovely that I went back four times before remembering that pedicures are a luxury expense and that I couldn’t justify a «need» for them post-​traumatic moving experience (or, honestly, to begin with, but let’s not go there).
My mom does HIV research for a living, so after a childhood infused with stories of infectious disease, I am hyper-​vigilant about avoiding such afflictions. My first move after deciding to indulge was to call salons with decent Unilocal reviews until I found one that uses an autoclave to sterilize its tools. The Nail Spa met this criterion, and upon actually showing up, I was pleased to observe them using a new set of clippers/​buffers/​etc for each client. You watch them take each item out of a sealed packet with color-​coded indicators that show the sterilization took place, and they even offer you the nail file after using it to illustrate that they won’t be recycling it.
Aside from the non-​Hepatitis transmitting aspect of the Nail Spa experience, they always did a good job with my nails. My cuticles are generally a disaster no matter what I do, but they managed to keep things under control for about a week before I looked all raggedy again. The color always stuck around for a satisfactory amount of time, too.
Nail Spa = good. If you’re looking to indulge, check it out!

It’s a little more than you would pay at your standard nail shop but for several reasons I think Nail Spa is beyond worth it. For one, it definitely has the best atmosphere of any nail shop I’ve been in. Calming blue tones on the wall, bottled water to drink, comfy chairs, lack of toxic waste smell. And good gosh do their pedicures last. I’ve been coming here since June, but I’ve only been three times because each time it was 4 weeks before I decided I needed another pedicure (and apparently my nails don’t grow). Here I am looking at my deep ruby tinted toes, and despite the fact that the end of those 4 weeks is fast approaching, there is nary a chip. And as a big walker, I appreciate the attention they pay to callouses and tenderly caring for my feetsies. This means that you’ll be here a while, but again, I think its worth it.
I’ve only had a manicure here once, and it didn’t hold up nearly as well but it was pretty while it lasted. I’ve never been offered a menu, they always just give me the basic, so either I look like I can’t afford it, or you need to speak up if you want one of the fancier treatments.
UPDATE: I asked for the second level «indulgence» and it was heavenly. You choose a scent theme, I picked mint, and I was treated to a warm mint neck pillow, mint scrub, and of course mint lotion. For a once and a while treat it was just lovely.
UPDATE #2 Nov: I’ve decided to upgrade to 5 stars, I’ve kept coming and I’m consistently happy with my pedicure. I got compliments on my toes the other day, «ooh did you just get a pedicure?,» and I kid you not, I hadn’t had a pedicure in 5 weeks! Granted the compliment did come from a guy, but my toes did still look pretty good. I need to get better with names, but except for once, my pedicures have been done by the same woman. She looks somewhat older, or at least more reserved, than the other women who work there, wears glasses, doesn’t really talk much, but damn, she is SERIOUS about pedicures. She wouldn’t let me leave once until she fixed an imperfection that I couldn’t even see!
I’ve told several people about Nail Spa and gotten them all hooked. Yeah 20 bucks seems like a lot, but for both a enjoyable and effective pedicure, I won’t be going anywhere else.

I’m on vacation this week so since I was bored out of my mind, I decided it was as good a time as any to get a pedicure. Needing a bit of R&R, I decided to try one of the swankier new nail salons in town. Having driven past the Nail Spa and been inside to check the menu, the place looked promising and I had high hopes.
I made an appointment for 2pmtoday and headed on over. Things started out well enough when I found a parking space right out front which meant I didn’t have to drive around the block for 2 hours looking for parking. Went inside and was greeated by the most annoying old woman ever. I feel bad even saying that b/​c I know she meant well, but she didn’t really seem to know what she was doing and she was a loud talker and she kept trying to get people to sign up for the mailing sheet and all I wanted to scream was, «can you please STFU; I’m trying to relax here!»
She alternately filled the spa chair tub with water that was too hot, then too cold, and then talked about moving me to another chair when two other women came in. At one point she talked about adding some blue disinfectant to the tub but one of the other ladies stopped her, explaining that it was a CLEANING product, and not a pedicure soak. I pretended to ignore her from that point on.
So, pedicure lady comes over and I truly and utterly could not understand a word she said. I’ve been going to nail salons for years that have a high percentage of Vietnamese employees, but the language barrier has never been an issue. Not this time. I have no clue what she asked me, so I just gave the standard answers — french pedicure, no manicure.
So, my pedicure is moving right along when good god, holy fuck she cuts my cuticle. I scream «ouch» and pull my foot away, but not before looking up and seeing her dabbing at the spot trying to wipe off the blood. I say to her, «you cut me.» She says — get this — «I no cut.» The bitch tried to tell me that she DIDN’T cut me, when it was clear she had!
I give her the stink eye, but let her go about her business. Then she stabs me under the big toe of my right foot with an instrument that is meant to dig the grime out from under your nail; not dig a damn hole to China. I scream ouch again and pull my foot away and she pretends like she has no idea what I’m talking about. I tell her she’s stabbing me with that tool and give her the stink eye again.
By this time, the water is COLD and I kid you not, my toes are turning purple. At one point while she was giving me my pedicure, I thought she might have put down a purplish pink base coat because my nail bed was turning a hue of eggplant that isn’t normal for pretty, delicate french pedicures. When I noticed my whole toe was that color I realize (1) my feet were freezing, and (2) the pedicure looked awful.
I tried explaining to her that the big toe on my left foot was all messed up, but she couldn’t understand what I was saying. She took a q-​tip and started putting acetone around my toe to get out a fleck of black that had somehow also made its way into my pedicure … but never on the actual nail which is where the original problem was. I tried pointing out the area she was missing but she couldn’t understand me and was pretending she couldn’t see a nail that looked like a four year old had painted. I could seriously see the lines from her fingers in the 18 layers of bubbling, mottled paint. After conversing with some other people, they determined the best course of action was to clear away the paint below the white line, but not the white paint itself. Do you want to know what happens when you do that? You end up with a thick line and goopy toes and it looks like shit, that’s what.
I tried to explain to yet ANOTHER person that this was unacceptable and it looked awful and I could do a better job at home and for this price, I would never be coming back and just how awful, awful, awful it was. They all started talking to me, and again, I couldn’t understand a word. At this point, they all started talking again and tried their best to convince me that it looked fine. JUST FUCKING FIX IT FOR CHRISSAKES! They finally did.
Two hours later I walked out of there $ 46 poorer, with frozen feet, a cut cuticle, and any semblance or hope of relaxation shot to hell.
Fuck.
I think I’m going to go back to Cure or Cuticles. Yeah, they’re expensive, but at least they’re relaxing and I don’t have to worry about a perfectly good experience ruined by hack jobs who aren’t qualified to give pedicures to dead pigs, let alone human beings.

If negative stars were an option, I’d give this place a –10.
I’ve heard good things about this place, so I decided to make an appointment and give it a try. I made an appointment for a manicure and pedicure with a friend. When I got there with my friend, we ended up standing there for about 10 – 15 minutes with no one helping us. There was one woman working on a customer’s pedicure (who didn’t even turn around to look at us), and there was no one else around in the room. Finally, someone came out and seated us in the pedicure chairs 20 minutes later.
The woman doing my pedicure seemed very unexperienced and I think I could have done a better job myself at home. My nails were cut unevenly (even thought I had told her that i DID NOT need my nails cut), and as she was cutting my cuticles she cut the side of my big toe while I was talking to my friend. I did not notice at first because it didn’t hurt in the beginning, but when I looked down at my feet, I saw that the woman trying to cover up my wound. She didn’t even notify me that she had cut my skin. My toe continued to bleed for the next 15 minutes and I tried to dab at it with a paper towel, but she told me not to touch it. She put some kind of disinfectant liquid on it for nicks and cuts, but the bottle that this liquid was in was crusty and looked like it might have had dirt on it.
The pedicure itself was by far the worst that I’ve ever gotten in my life. It was very unprofessional and looks like I did it myself. She didn’t buff my nails. It was basically cut nail (and skin), file down 3 out of 10 toenails, 2 minute massage (with something that I wasn’t even sure if it was lotion… I don’t think the woman knew what she was using because she kept on looking around the room with a lost expression on her face), then 1 coating of paint and 1 coating of clear paint and then that was it.
While she was cutting my cuticles and nails, she dropped the tools on the ground twice and didn’t even bother to get new, clean ones to use on my feet. I don’t know if my toe will get infected, but by their supposed «hygienic» routines, I wouldn’t be surprised if my toe did get infected in a few days.
At the end of all this, she still charged me full price.

I just had my first mani-​pedi in Northern California. Previously, I have always had my toes and tips done in New York or L.A., and I have been unimpressed with many of the salons I have passed by or walked into. However, the Nail Spa is the exception. This business is spotlessly clean (I actually witnessed them cleaning the soaking tubs, scrubbing them with bleach and brush between patrons), the massage chairs are comfortable, and they have a great selection of magazines. I was offered a bottle of water, which I much appreciated, and simultaneously two women went to work: one on my dogs and the other on my mitts. Now I can properly call them hands and feet, because now they sparkle and look pretty!!! Watch out sandals, here I come!
The mani-​pedi combo is $ 30 dollars. I paid and extra $ 5 for french manicure on my toes (It would have been $ 8 to have both my toes and tips done) and I had my fingernails buffed to a shine (I hate how polish chips after a week) so there was no extra charge for that.
They also corrected the polish on my big toe when I accidentally hit my toenail on my thong when I was putting them on, free of charge. This is expected, but they didn’t give me any glares or dirty looks or eye rolls, which is nice, as it was clearly my mistake. I can’t wait for my next pedicure!!!
Parking is on the street, either at the meters or around the corner by the junior high for free (2 hours only). Mudraker’s café is next door, so you can grab a coffee/​tea and pastry/​light snack before or after.