Drapoel Salon & Boutique

I was looking for a local place that could work with my hectic schedule. The owner ALWAYS fits me in without ever making me feel rushed. The staff is fun and friendly and I never feel out of place. I was gun shy after trying another salon in Merrimack that butchered my hair, saying they knew what I wanted more than I did. I was put right at ease at Drapoel and felt like they really listened to me. I love this place!

Had my first haircut there today and will definitely be back. Nicely kept with cool décor and an upbeat staff. Made an appointment a couple days in advance and they were ready for me right on time. Wife approved of the style and all is well!

The massage therapist Deb is amazing! I suffer from chronic back/​neck pain and for many years i have lived with loss of feeling in my arm and leg.
I have tried PT and chiropractors over the last 10 years and I have never felt a huge relief. I stumbled across this spa when picking up breakfast and thought it might be worth a try. I am so thankful for that i made that call to schedule my appointment.
After just one 90 min session I no longer have tingling in my right leg and feel relief in my back. For once I actually feel that I am getting closer to being pain free.
I can not thank Deb enough for taking the time to listen to my long list of issues with my back, neck, arm and leg. She was great at explaining the best way to treat and checked in with me throughout the massage to make sure the pressure was just right. I have had several massages throughout the years at different places and I have never had such personalized treatment and such great results. I would highly recommend treating yourself to one of Deb’s amazing massages… It is so worth the money!

Unfortunately I can’t review their services, but I can say that when I went in recently to get an eyebrow wax, I was very unimpressed. I walked in and there was no one at the reception counter so I rang the bell and stood there for at least 5 minutes before anyone came to the front. I was told I’d have to wait 15 – 20 minutes before anyone could do a wax, which is not a long time to wait, except for when your waiting that long for a 5 minute procedure. I purposely went in in the middle of the day to avoid hitting at a busy time, but that didn’t work out. I only saw the 1 woman and there appeared to only be 1 other person working in the large salon… perhaps understaffed? Either way, I won’t be going back.

I really wish there was a way to give half stars, because this would probably be about a 2.5. My review is based on a pedicure I had recently at this salon. I have never been to this salon previously, and I cannot speak to any hair services offered. However, I was looking to find a salon closer to home. Although I have a nail and pedicure place that I continue to hold other salons up to as a point of comparison, I really don’t want to have to drive half an hour there and back each time that I want a service.
My first impression of drapoel was fair. The front lobby had some very comfortable furniture, but I could not get past the ghastly paint color. Maybe because it was night and there wasn’t any sunlight to brighten up the salon, but the walls appeared to be a mustard color and it was hideous. It also made everything appear that much smaller. Given the sponging technique used for the paint, it also made things look a bit dated and stale.
Samantha came out to greet me and she was very friendly and personable. The pedicure and nail services are upstairs, and as I walked through the salon I was astounded by just how rich every paint color was that was selected. If the wall color was red, it was a very bold red. If a wall was a coffee color, you knew it was the deepest shade on the color swatch from Home Depot. The salon seems relatively small, and the room for nails was very narrow. Accented by dark colors it made everything seem that much smaller. As we walked upstairs to the pedicure room, I was hit with the overwhelming scent of poor acrylic nail products most often found in the nail salons in malls. Perhaps there are some people who do not mind this scent. I am not one of these people. Even 45 minutes into my pedicure I could still smell this and it was giving me a headache.
Perhaps the thing that was most surprising to me was that there was not a pedicure chair with massaging jets in the foot basin. Instead Samantha used a large bucket for clients to soak in. And I realize that they perhaps have not had an opportunity to build up this part of their business, but as a client I have no interest in going back if this is not something that is offered.
Samantha did an OK job? I have never had someone give me a pedicure and cut down the sides of my toenails so that the nails round down at the corners. Had I realized this was how she shaped I would have said something prior to her starting my services that I did not like this, but I didn’t realize she was doing this until she cut down the side of one of my toe nails and she pulled the nail she had just cut from my foot in such a way that it felt like someone was pulling out a hangnail. It did not feel good at all and left me worried that I would get ingrown nails as a result of this shaping.
I really wish that I could rate this service higher because Samantha was a really nice person and I enjoyed our conversation during my appointment. Outside of the nail shaping it wasn’t a bad appointment. But there is something about the salon in combination with this that left a lot to be desired. Additionally I don’t know that this would be a convenient salon for nail services for many clients as there are no Friday or Saturday hours. Although I’ve been entertaining the idea of putting a full set of acrylics back on, I would be reluctant to do that at this salon as she is the only nail technician, and additionally her hours are very limited.