Bella Lago Salon & Spa

I was visiting Mooresville with my elderly mother and wanted to treat her to a nice manicure. I didn’t know the area and just saw Bella Lago as we drove by and saw that they did manicures. I wish I had done more research and had just gone to one of the nearby manicure salons. But I wanted to treat my mother, who has never had a «spa experience.» I certainly didn’t get that at Bella Lago.
Pros; *They fit us in same day (which may be part of the problem, actually).
* The salon is relatively clean.
* Everyone was nice enough.
Cons: * My mom (who has a very hard time walking) had to climb two flights of stairs to get to the manicure room. This was very difficult for her. They didn’t have an elevator or a way to get disabled people to the second floor. Of course, I didn’t ask until afterwards, but the woman I asked didn’t have a solution. I don’t know how in the world this is ADA compliant (Americans with Disabilities Act). Maybe North Carolina doesn’t have to abide by that law?
So, if you are disabled and want a manicure or pedicure, DO NOT go here.
* Both the woman who did my mother’s nails and the woman who did mine were nice enough, but had the personalities of wet dish rags. The woman who did mine was 10 minutes late and didn’t even bother with my cuticles, she just dabbed something on them and rubbed it off. I guess that was supposed to be enough.
* The music track that was playing skipped over and over again. I asked if they could do something about it because it was extremely annoying (I don’t know how anyone getting a massage could stand that), but the manicurist said that she just «drowned it out.» Um… okay. Thanks?
I can’t speak to other aspects of this salon, but I highly recommend that you DO NOT GO THERE for a manicure or pedicure. Maybe I’m used to higher quality in San Diego, or maybe this is just a terrible place with tired and unprofessional (but nice enough) staff. I felt like a nuisance and like they were doing all they could to simply tolerate us. Maybe that’s because I made a same-​day appointment? Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed.

Tonight was my first experience in the spa and I was very impressed. The ladies at the front desk were very warm and friendly. I did not need to wait long to be escorted upstairs.
I was shown the dressing room and then was seated to wait for my masseuse. Sarah greeted me and we proceeded to the massage room.
Sarah was very friendly and made me feel relaxed and comfortable right away. I had an 80 minute massage and I didn’t want it to end. I can’t wait to go back in 4 weeks!

The strength of Bella Lago is that their most expensive stylists truly do give a great haircut. I am always pleased with Brienne/Brianna’s talent. I used to see one of the less expensive stylists here, but after a few disappointing/​cheap-​looking cuts, I had to upgrade and request a stylist with much more experience.
Bella Lago has a very aggressive sales pitch at the register. For example, after a $ 50 haircut the receptionist really pushed me to buy $ 200+ worth of products! When I didn’t purchase them she acted like it was a big disappointment.
Once my family gave me a gift card here for an entire day at the spa. Upon checkout the receptionist upcharged my services and made me pay out of pocket! I had no idea this would happen! I asked for an explanation and she said that it was because I have long hair (my hair barely touches my shoulders).
My most recent experience has resulted in me leaving this salon permanently. My husband scheduled a massage for me to celebrate a major life event. Upon arrival, the receptionists all began whispering to each other and then told me that I had cancelled my appointment. I insisted that I had not cancelled my appointment, so they shrugged and asked if I could just come next week instead. When I became visibly upset, they offered me half-​off and said I shouldn’t have cancelled the appointment. I didn’t cancel the appointment, but they continued to accuse me of it. To get a manager to call me was like an act of congress. I had to leave multiple messages, my phone calls went unreturned, and one time a receptionist told me that there was no manager at all. At no point did they take responsibility for their mistake. Unreal!

I got a gift card for this place and used it for express mani/​pedi, Brazilian wax, and eyebrow, lip and chin wax. Thank goodness I didn’t spend my hard earned money –except I did for the tips.
Mani/​Pedi tech — pleasant, young and has probably never experienced what an expert mani/​pedi is so she has no clue that she does a very amateurish job.
Waxing — again, young and pleasant and no clue as to what the job should be like. Both of these girls seemed like they were right out of beauty school. Extremely slow — as slow as the students in beauty schools.
I don’t know or care how the hair stylists are since I won’t return. The techs I had should go across the street and have the very talented and hardworking Asian girls work on them, pay strict attention, ask how they do it, then return to your dopey, overpriced frou frou salon and put their expert skills to use!

So this was my second attempt to find a decent salon in North Carolina. I found this salon through a friend who came once when she was visiting.
Experience: the staff is very nice, the salon is nice and the music was pretty good.
Hair: the stylist I worked with seemed experienced and confident in her ability to maintain my light blonde hair, but the cost of the services limited me to getting the basic less than a partial HL.
The bad: The stylist did not know the pricing. They charge by time (which is never good for the customer). They are quite expensive, they also charge for the blow dry $ 15. I said wow, ok I guess I won’t get a blow dry, so the stylist said that I will be charged $ 15 anyway, she couldn’t really tell me why so I gathered that you get charged $ 15 for just walking in the door? I ended up drying my own hair and was still charged $ 15. That was a big disappointment.
End result: My hair was highlighted, and looked nice, the stylist did a good job. I paid $ 120 for a partial HL!!! WOW… I also had to tip so I paid $ 140 for my hair that day. :/​This place is very expensive! I moved from California and was floored by the pricing here.
I’m giving 3 stars because the stylist did a good job, but the $ 15 charge is ridiculous, the toner/​color wash is waaaay overpriced, they finished my hair with the color wash free of charge for the first time, but that only means I will need it every time and I can’t swing the extra $ 70 for this step, so that would only mean I would have to tone my hair at home.
That said, I will not be going back to this salon because I refuse to pay money to be continuously unsatisfied with my hair, I now do my own highlights and couldn’t be happier, not only is my hair the color I want it, but it saves me a TON of money. I bought everything I needed at Sally’s Beauty Supply (total $ 80) and I have been doing my hair the past 3 months and all of my supplies will probably last me another 3 –6 months, that to me is a much better deal. :)
Lastly, for all of you light blonde ladies out there who need a color wash/​toner to get yellow out of your highlights, and to lift your roots, Wella offers a very awesome toner that costs about $ 7.99; it’s Wella T18 (White Lady). You just add 20 volume crème developer to the toner and put it on your roots for 15 — 20 minutes depending on how light you want to go, if it doesn’t get as light as you would like with 20
Volume developer, then try 30 volume next time around, either way, your roots will be lifted nicely.

The girls at the front are always friendly. If you pay with a credit card, you can NOT put your tip on there. You have to bring cash. They have little envelopes that you write your name & the persons name that the tip is for. That goes in a box.
I get a monthly Brazilian wax here. Have always had it done by Katie & always have a great experience. She makes you comfortable & does a great job!
I’ve had my haircut once by Katie & she did a great job with that also. She took the time to find out what I needed & wanted. Have an appointment for my next cut!

Bella Lago is THE place to go for: excellent hair service with natural Aveda products, fantastic body treatments (spa treatment including massage and special skin treatment), good facials & sunless tanning, and an AMAZING new boutique called «Hardt boutique.» The boutique has adorable clothes, shoes, jewelry, swimsuits and more… Most of the prices are quite reasonable. I love Jess who is often in the Boutique. For hair (color, cut, styling, men’s and women’s hair care), I recommend Mindy! Mindy has my difficult hair down to a science. She always does a great job! I wasn’t a big fan of their mani, pedi, or waxing services. I still loved everything else!

I got a mani-​pedi with my sister in law here, and it was excellent. I rarely get myself pampered and it was nice to go all out. The service was wonderful and included some mimosas. Sure it was a bit pricey, but for a rare occasion it was definitely worth it.

Clearly, I’m a sucker for punishment. Or too lazy to drive to Charlotte for salon services, take your pick.
I had stopped going to Bella Lago years ago (we’ve lived in Mooresville 8+ years):
* After a lackluster, overpriced cut or two, I found a new salon (in Charlotte, BTW).
* When a regularly scheduled bikini wax ended in a horrific customer service debacle which left me sitting in the waiting area for 45 minutes (ending only when I got up and walked out), I found another place (in Charlotte).
So when a friend suggested that I take my 7-​year-​old daughter to Bella Lago for a cut with a junior stylist, I was doubtful, but then thought how bad can it be for $ 20? We pay $ 17 at the kiddie-​cut place down the road and don’t get what we want.
Much to our delight Miss Ashli has been amazing with my daughter, and we get her adorable stacked bob cut every four-​five weeks.
Unfortunately, I let my crazy work schedule get the best of me, and the chance to multi-​task during my daughter’s cut was too tempting: I scheduled a brow wax for myself. The first time, it wasn’t too bad, but I also didn’t have her actually wax more than under my brow.
This most recent time, HALF of my brow came off. And NO ONE said anything, including the aesthetician or the receptionist (who happily collected my $ without pointing out that I had 1.5 brows). Only when I stomped back in and expressed my displeasure did they suggest they could refund my money.
I guess I should be happy I’ve made it this relatively far in my life without having a waxing-​drama experience, but that doesn’t really make it any better. Lesson? Trust your instincts (and your own personal experience as well as the stories your friends may tell you about color snafus, recuts and poor customer service): I should have known better.
Once this wonky brow grows out, I’ll be headed back to Charlotte, all while reminding myself you get what you pay for and thanking the heavens for the magic of brow pencil.

I’ve only been to this salon once, it was for a Full Brazilian Wax, saw Katie, she did a good job, only complaint was that she missed a spot, but no big deal. Nice place

Denise was my wife’s hair stylist — she is a Director & she has been cutting hair for 12 years, it’s her true passion. She consistently continues her education as well as trains others under her. Denise personally has great style and projects respectable confidence in what she does, you can easily tell she evokes passion into all of what she offers to her clients.
Our overall experience with Denise was awesome, we will be back again to see her for sure!
The location and facility is impressive, it’s large and open, the look and feel is very fresh and clean, the range of services they offer is wide ranging as well.
Please request Director Denise, she will exceed your expectations with no questions to consider!

Great experience here today for the first time. Shane cut my hair and did a great job. Not only was he friendly and prompt, he did a great cut! He was waiting for me when I arrived… that rarely happens at these upscale type salons. I enjoyed my afternoon there with complimentary makeup touch up, product information, and ended up spending way too much :-)
I’m so glad I tried this place.
You do have to tip separately but you can do it by check or cash that the front puts in a separate envelope for the stylist. Fairly customary for salons to do this these days. Not sure if it is for CC fees or just to make sure the customers know the stylists get the full tip. If you frequent salons anywhere, it is not out of the ordinary to see this. I always make sure I have cash on me when I go to a new salon… ya never know.

Sooo, I returned for my third hair cut there and the stylist I like was on vacation so I let them set me up w/​another stylist. She wasn’t a master stylist but she wasn’t a new hire either. She was very nice but she didn’t do a good job on my bangs and front layers AT ALL. I noticed this when I got home and called back to request a corrective session. The girls were very understanding and accomodating. I went to a different stylist who is a master and she noted the cut was uneven and blunt (blunt in a 5 year old got the scissors kinda way, not an avante guarde way) and she did her best to repair it, however, it just wasn’t able to be made into a great cut. I can’t wait till this grows out.: /