Avalon Lifestyle Nail Salon The Shop At Lacantera

The worst manicure I have EVER had by far! That was a complete waste of $ 20. I do a better job myself. I had to ask the nail tech repeatedly to go back and look at what she missed. I promise you I can do a better manicure myself and I will have to when I get home. My nails are so uneven and rough it’s ridiculous.
If I could give this place zero stars I would.
Don’t waste your time or money on this complete rip off.

Lena is awesome!!! Never disappoints! Truly a relaxing experience! Toes or Fingers — she is a goddess!!!

Recently went here with my friend for some relaxation time and it was such an annoying experience. The employees were rude and didn’t put much effort into their work. We only got solar nails, nothing crazy and they were going to leave my nails looking like they needed a major fill already! The guy doing my nails was frustrated when I told him to fix it, and my friends nails were shaped weird. Left feeling more stressed then when I entered. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Ask for Keith,. The pedicure lasted for a long time

Came here on a whim since I was already shopping in the area. I decided to get a Pedicure. The place was busy but luckily I got in. Nice selection of colors to choose from. They give you complimentary water bottles as well. My girl was trying to sell me the paraffin pedicure for $ 45 but I just wanted the basic $ 30. Coming from a salon industry myself, I knew what to expect. First, I don’t think their equipment is fully or properly sanitized. I didn’t see autoclave or any uv light to sterilize the tools. Each tech had their own basket of tools. My basic pedicure took 30 mins but my massage was more like a quick 5 minutes. And it wasn’t even a massage! She just rubbed my legs with lotion and water. It was not relaxing at all. She didn’t bother to make conversation which is ok but atleast ask how I am or something lol the pumice was reused I could tell, I notice the little things. Overall my pedi was not that great but my toes were in bad shape anyway. The end result looked better than when I walked in but I expected more for a fancy salon in la cantera area.

Went here the other day to get a shellac mani. I was seated very quickly. My nail tech worked fast and was friendly. He did a great job on my nails. The only thing I didn’t like was that it seemed a little unsanitary (used tools) and they sat another client right next to me when there was plenty of other open nail stations. I love my nails and I’ll be back. Hopefully it will be another good experience.

Ugh! This place is terrible. I asked the guy NOT to cut my cuticles while having a pedicure done and he proceeds to cut at my toes! I asked for a simple service and he went into upsell… I explained my calluses already feel raw and I don’t want them scrubbed on and he pushed and pushed. I don’t get this place zero customer service, the employees in here look miserable, it isn’t sanitary and the vibe sucks! DO NOT come here! The place is also filthy which you DO NOT want when having your feet cut at. I felt vulnerable and should have walked out.
My go to place: The White Orchid is a few miles down the street and I should have gone with my instinct to go a few more miles.

If i can give a 0 rating i would have.
i went in for a pedicure and manicure.
My pedicure was less than 15 minutes. The nail technician did not clean under my nail beds. There was no massage, more like rubbing and on the brochure it states that the pedicure is at least 30 minutes.
On my manicure, she did not push my cuticles back and trim them and again, did not clean under my nail bed.
For giving her a $ 10 tip, i expected better hospitality and instead she didn’t help me at the dry bar nor said goodbye and thank you.
I technically paid for a polish change on my toes and nails.
I WILL NEVER go back to this place, i rather let my 10 year old niece do my nails.

Usually get great service but today the receptionist at the front was on her personal cell phone. I was very frustrated with her lack of attention to people trying to sign in and be helped. She didn’t greet anyone. After I’ve been standing for a while I had to finally ask how long it might be. I’ll give this place another try but today was not good.

zero. this place is a total fail. I went here because I was at the mall and figured I’d get a mani while my kid is in school. The only pleasant experience was the from reception. She was polite and had good service skills. The nail tech I had spent a total of eight minutes on me. I don’t know what the hell her rush was but she asks me round or square, I say round twice very clearly and she starts chopping my nails off… then looks at me and asks again if I wanted round or square!!! At this point she’s cut two nails right to the flesh! Didn’t even apologize. Next thing you know she pulls out an over used and completely worn out nail file (disgusting) and swipes each nail once… no shaping or anything. The worse part and most frustrating was that after barely pushing back the cuticles she grabs those plier cutters and goes nuts on my fingers and literally cut my skin off to the point the pain had me jolt… no apology for the bleeding just said to me to sit still and don’t be stiff. WTF. I’m so annoyed that an establishment like this one exists. I had passed by this place a number of times (only nail salon at la cantera) and it looked nice from the outside. Have learned my lesson and will not be so naïve and expect high end service just because it looks better then other places. No hand massage, no proper clean up of nails, and she used the pliers to scrape off dry skin then snip off my actual skin. One last note, I thought at one point this lady «n — y» had some emergency because why on earth would she be rushing so bad and screwing my nails up at the same time… however right after she was done with me she grabbed her cell phone and chilled out on the front couches chatting. Turn off! First time I’ve never tipped for a mani in my life! Save yourself the annoyance and pay less $$ a couple miles further in any of the salons along de zavala!

Worst pedicure of my life. I dropped in because it was convenient and the location worked for my busy day.
I was seen right away and taken to the back where they have pedicure chairs. Once I was seated, the person doing my pedicure showed me the menu and immediately tired to upsale me to the highest pedicures. Once I told her I’m a runner and just need to do some upkeep on my feet, she moved onto brows, nails, and every other service. I didn’t take the bait for any of it, and she was obviously not pleased. She rushed through my pedicure and it only took a total of 23 minutes start to finish.
I will not come back again or give them any more money!

My mom wanted to treat me to a mani while we were window-​shopping around La Cantera. My nails rejoiced at the opportunity! We came to Avalon as this is (surprisingly) the only nail salon in the mall.
Even though we came in together, they made us sit at separate tables even though there was space to sit next to each other. They fit about 3 people to each table to have their nails done which was a little too squishy — 2 per table would be better.
I play the guitar so I need the nails on my left hand to be really short in order to play. The nail technician would not cut them any shorter that she did even after I politely asked twice. She simply sighed at my request and carried on.
Both my mom and I were totally bummed about spending $ 40 for a mani we’d have to touch up when we got home ourselves. I’m no Nanycy Negative, but I left in a pretty sad mood.

Will never come back here! I have never not tipped before until today. They tried to upsale everything and after declining I was still charged extra at checkout. My full set was $ 43 and my nieces shellac was $ 45. It was painful too. She demanded to use the drill to get my shellac off instead of soaking them off so there is pink underneath my French manicure. I wish I could give it 0 stars! Totally disappointed and irritated!

They thin out their nail polish with nail polish remover. It never dried, even under the UV lights for 10 minutes. Years ago when they first opened, this place was great. Now it feels dirty, the tub stools were filthy, there was nail polish chippings all behind the chairs. The service was okay but not for the price.

Well I’m giving this place 4 stars but the inconsistency may bring it down to a 3. My sister and I made appointments here to get pedicures but as we walked in they still put us on the list to wait so I’m not sure about the point of the appointment. The wait wasn’t long though, just about 5 minutes (this was a Saturday afternoon btw). I chose the $ 40 pedicure that included a paraffin wax treatment on my feet, which felt great, my sister chose the other $ 40 option which came with a cooling treatment for moisturizing — we both loved the treatments. However, the ladies working on us clearly varied in the level they cared. I paid an extra $ 8 to get French nails — and it was worth every penny! My nails turned out amazing, the best I’ve ever seen them, and the lady was super careful about doing them, even asking me as she was doing them if they looked good enough! My sister on the other hand, was rushed, and ended up with a huge orange smear on her toe — not because she messed them up, but because the woman left it there! Unfortunately I didnt see it until we had left, and my sister is not the type to complain so we didnt say anything. But I’m pretty disappointed in how completely different their attitudes toward us were. I will definitely go again… But may be more careful to note the ladies’ names so that I can figure out who is good and who is not!

Based on Unilocal reviews, I decided to give this salon a try. I made an appointment with Kim for a full set of pearl tips. I arrived early and was pleased that Kim was available and willing to take me. She was very sweet and chatty which was nice because I love to talk! She worked rather quickly but her work is solid. I am very pleased and will definitely be back for a fill in a few weeks!

On the plus side– walk ins are welcomed.
The bad: So they were having some function– which hey, whatever– I just needed a quick pedi. Well I got a little nauseated when they started passing out salads then slices of pizza to the participants there. I can’t tell you what it was of or for, but yuck-​O.
I mean the smell of nail polish & nail remover with Parmesan cheese– just left a sour taste in my mouth. I mean at least say you are having a private function, but I didn’t realize it until it was too late.

Avalon has a special place in my heart… sort of. But only for sentimental reasons and not really because its the best nail salon ever. My mom tricked/​brought me here right before I got engaged, so my nails would look nice when showing off my ring. Then my bridesmaids brought me here before my wedding. The first visit was fine– no incidents and an okay paint job and massage. The second time the nail tech basically tricked me into getting add ons that I didn’t ask for. I asked her what she was doing and she said ‘its your wedding you should get the best!’ Then my bridesmaids had to pay extra… I felt bad. Minus one star for tricking me.
The atmosphere is okay and the store is pretty clean. The price wasn’t that great, but not super expensive. I probably wouldn’t be a regular here if I lived in San Antonio.

I will not go anywhere else in the city to get my nails done, not even to their N Star location.
Had a pearl tip set put on by Kim and she was so funny and entertaining. The process is fast (about 20 mins.) and nicely done. I have gotten so many compliments on how natural they look and asking where I get my nails done.

So disappointed in my $ 30 pedi. I have a regular salon I visit every 2 weeks but I was invited to a much needed girl time spa outing. We called a week in advance a made an appt for 3 pedicures. First disappointment was that we were all there 10 minutes early but they didn’t hold our spots so we had to wait. Second disappointment was that after waiting they weren’t even able to get us sitting together. Hard to have girl time if strangers have to listen to your conversation. Since we were off to a bad start I didn’t feel like getting the Signature Spa Pedicure for $ 40 so I went with the $ 30 foot soak, polish change. Since I have a regular salon I visit I can say that I paid $ 20 more for just to have a WEAK gentle exfoliation and massage. Totally not worth it! I am stuck for 2 weeks having to look at my toes with a horrible polish job. Maybe they charged me more for the polish she got around my nail!!!
My total overall experience was 1 star and I left feeling nervous about the quality. I might just be spoiled with my regular 5 star salon but the tools they used at Avalon weren’t sanitized. Techs moved from one person to another… GROSS!