White Orchid Day Spa & Salon

I got a pedicure and my first gel manicure. The woman who did my toes took her time to do a good job. While not the best job I’ve ever had — their tools and cosmetics are super basic — it looks great and my feet are free of dead skin. The gel manicure looks alright. There are imperfections but she was t rushing or anything. This place is much better than the last place I went to in San Mateo. I’d like to try a few more before declaring that this place is the best in its category.

Came here after work one day for a pedicure and it was great! No wait, very relaxing chairs, clean space and the massage was great. I know there’s many other salons near by but you will love this one.

I definitely recommend this place!!! Amy did a wonderful job with my hair. I never had my hair short in my entire life and I was so scared to cut it until my friend told me about Amy! She definitely gave me the confidence and I made the decision to cut it really short. Going from long hair to very short was a tough decision but I’m glad I made it with Amy! I definitely recommend her she is amazing at her job :)
I really loved how she takes her time and gives you advice, it’s up to you if you want to take it she will still do what you want and make you leave happy! I give Amy 5stars and really recommend her!

I would highly recommend White Orchid to my family and friends! Lynn and John do a wonderful job, and the finished looked is always above and beyond any other salon in the area. I feel welcome and comfortable every time I walk into the salon. it is is clean and relaxing, much unlike a lot of others in downtown San Mateo. If you want a quality experience and a real treat, check this place out!

I’ve been going to White Orchid for a while now. John, Lynn and the entire staff provide lots of attention and care to their customers. It’s always relaxing to have a mani-​pedi, hair and the occasional massage and facial at this full service salon. I highly recommend them!

This is my first time do gel nail here. The store is good, and people are nice. However, they don’t have color sample for gel nail. Also, the person who help me do my nail was a little bit impatient. When I was ready to put my hand into the UV light, I saw something under the gel polish and I told her. She saw me with the face like «seriously?» then she started to spoke her native language. After I m done, I saw some gel polish on my skin. She cut one for me, but when I was home, I saw more gel polish on my hand… I think they need to buy more light to do manicure in order to see defect on the nail.
But they still have some good things I can say, they disinfect the tools, and the area is nice.

I’m telling you, this place has a five-​star lavender spa pedicure: Dead Sea salt scrub & a conscientious lavender shea butter cream massage, followed by a lavender paraffin masque. it’s unbeatable!
Everything was superb quality, From the massage to the products, can’t believe the other review… must be competitors.

I’ve only been here once for a manicure and everyone was very nice, but the salon just seemed dirty and the tools weren’t in a sterilized, sealed wrapper, so that made me a little nervous as well.

Genuine customer service and hospitality are the language of my heart and this place speaks just that. The spa was packed with people when we walked in late Saturday afternoon. We scheduled a couple last minute mani/pedi’s and grabbed coffee while we waited for our appointment. When we can back a few minutes later and gladly waited in their comfortable and chairs amidst the hustle and bustle.
During our wait (which was shorter than they promised) An older customer had just finished getting her hair done. The stylist had done a great job. The customer was older and asked for her phone number and when the stylist replied with the area code, this customer was, rude, loud, even irate that she had began with «650» instead of the number. Her comments were slightly mean and demeaning. I was more than impressed when the situation was handled with professional courtesy and kindred. The stylist never batted an eyelash and was still courteous. The same customer took Dow her number and began praising her work. As a business owner, I find this kind of service is commendable and well handled!
As far as our service, both my friend and myself found our experience not only satisfactory but well worth the wait and we love the results. John and Lynn were attentive to both us, the last two customers lingering and their staff. They never made me feel rushed or tried to hurry me during my epic color choice debate and gladly accommodated our last minute changes as far as which services we chose. I found them informative, helpful and the job itself was amazing. I’ve never had anyone deliver such quality service and attention to detail for a last minute manicure. My nails look better than I expected and my cuticles are once again healthy while the massage was more then I expected for a basic quickie. Nothing was quick or basic about the job they did.
My girlfriend had a mani and pedi that were epic. She did angel color that looks amazing on her and it’s the first time she was able to relax while someone expertly handled her cuticles and hang nails. In the past she’s been nipped and bloody so this was great!
I just spent a week in ICU and my hands showed it. I’m so glad I stopped in the right randomly picked place to get them done. I even read the previous reviews on Unilocal before and was greatly impressed by the treatment and service I got. I would recommend them to anyone!

I’ll admit it’s taken me a while to write this review. Being in the beauty industry I know a thing or two about how a pedicure should be done.
Let me just start with adding a description of what I asked for…
Lavender Spa Pedicure — $ 50
A Dead Sea salt scrub with lavender oil, lavender shea butter cream massage, and a lavender parafin masque.
The way the way my toes were cleaned up was just ok. I wasn’t asked how I like my nails to be filed or asked if I wanted them cut down. It was all just decided for me. Several nails were cut and or filed so short that the nail was below my skin and I still have cuticle all around my toes.
I always ask the technician to avoid scrubbing my foot with the pumis and to keep the focus on my heel which is the only area of my foot that gets rough. She did as I requested which was great but when we got to the massage she avoided my feet compleatly. And I mean COMPLEATLY! my foot when so untouched that I felt like the skin on my calf was going to be rubbed off. The lavander shea butter was normal lotion. And it seemed to be watered down because when she opened the top it practically poured out if the bottle. And it was the tail end of what was in there, because she had to beat the bottle before each squeeze. I know for sure it wasn’t shea butter because it was runny and watery. Maybe it was old, or watered down to get the nitty gritty out of the bottle I don’t know what they do with their products. The parafin mask was ok as well. Kind of felt as if it was a clay rather than a parafin. All in all it was just upsetting. I won’t even get into the manicure that left half my nails square half rounded and all different lengths.
I paid without complaint and it really hurt to not give a tip I know being in a similar field it’s bad karma but the service was just so bad I couldn’t leave a decent tip after paying $ 65.00 and getting the service I received.

I needed my hair cut, and I walked into White Orchid on a whim. I asked if they could fit me in, and they set me up with a time right away. My husband insisted I get a mani-​pedi too, so I splurged, and I’m glad I did. They were very patient and relaxed, took great care to shape my nails and paint them well. John did a great job on my hair after my vague «Just make it shorter». Everyone was very friendly and I felt welcome and well cared-​for. I look forward to returning to White Orchid in the future.

At first I though this place was going to be awesome but I was so wrong. During my pedi the lady who was kinda sweet was suuuuper aggressive cleaning my toes. Like i know the aches & pains of a good pedi but it was like she was being rushed… But the place was empty… Then she nipped my toe which is already enough for me to want to rate this place with –3 but I decided against it. The paint job/​filing was mediocre, I could’ve done better for free. Then i had to walk across to the table to do my mani but no one helped me carry any of my things when one of my hands was covered in old nail polish they buffed down (see next paragraph) and I had no shoes on sooo I just paid however much to waste it on two steps on the dirty wood to the nail table.
I asked for a mani, I understand that what I requested wasn’t easy without the proper equipment but I would’ve also understood if they just told me they couldn’t help me. I had previously had the acrylic powder over my real nail with and gel mani on top. They told me they wouldn’t be able to soak it off because it could damage my nail so they would just buff it down which was fine with me. I didn’t realize the labor it would take without the mechanical buffer so this poor lady had to use about 6 nail filers on me to buff my nails down. At one point however she didn’t even realize or maybe just failed to make note that she cut my skin on my pinky and that I was bleeding. Then came the coloring. I swear to you I am about ready to pick up one of these cotton swabs on the table and take all of this polish off because it looks like a child did it. Pretty much only the middle part of my nail is painted because consistently ALL the sides of my nails have been neglected. Didn’t even bother to cover up the old nail polish that was failed to be taken off. I made two comments on two different nails and she «fixed» it but I kept my mouth shut after seeing there was no difference. It also didn’t help that there was one more person waiting for a pedi, a regular I’m assuming, because she hardly even looked while putting the top coat on an already terrible job.
Would I come back here?
Slim to no chance.
Now to the pictures.

Came here for a last minute manicure today. Everyone was friendly.
Great ambiance.
Clean.
The only negative (which is major) is that the chairs at the manicure bar are incredibly UNCOMFORTABLE. Why would they choose those types of stools? That was the most uncomfortable 25 minutes of my life.
Too bad.

No massage chairs!
I was so disappointed. I love the massage chairs and when I made my appointment over the phone I didn’t even think to ask. Pedicure was fine, massage was great, they offered water and a biscuit. But I was sad about the chairs.

Fantastic manicure and waxing.

I have nothing but love to give to White Orchid! I have been going for years and have never been let down. With great clean atmosphere, professional services and the friendliest owners and nail technicians, its hard not to love.
Lynn and John put a lot of love into their spa and it shows. Although they offer a wide array of services from mani/​pedi, hair, massage, makeup and skin care, I have been utilizing their nail services. My manicure and pedicure cost the same at other salons but White Orchid out shines them all. They listen an understand the requests of the clients yet treat them like friends. I have short dry nails and I always leave feeling like they are beautiful. Comfy spa chairs too!
They stand behind their services as well, offering my family members to come back when they smudged their polish to fix it up.
I refuse to go anywhere other than White Orchid and when I do, they have a lot to live up to.
Fantastic time every time, street parking available, clean tools, friendly professional work

There are two things I look for when getting a mani/​pedi:
1. Cleanliness of salon and tools
2. Equally important is the quality of the mani/​pedi
Lynn and John are the BEST! I’ve been coming here since they opened YEARS ago. Lynn does the best gel manicures. They are thorough, get your nails shaped well, cuticles clear, and they know how to apply polish. The salon is super clean. The pedi chairs are normal cushioned chairs (no cheap leather or unnecessary electronic massage chairs), basins are normal sinks (no yucky germy jet basins). Getting service here is worth every penny.

Both my daughters have come to White Orchid for mani-​pedis and highly recommended I give it a whirl.
I made my appointment last minute and they were able to accommodate me. i always bring my own nail polish and after reading the other review I’m glad I did. That said, the manicure and pedicure were done at the same time, which I personally like. The end result was a good job done by Lynn and John.
Detail: both my finger nails and toe nails need to be buffed after filing and shaping. Neither John nor Lynn buffed the edges or the tops of my nails prior to polishing. And I wanted to do it myself… but took a deep breath and let it go. Let me try to be clear here… in the big scheme of things lightly buffing the nails is not a huge issue. Buffing removes some of the oil etc from the tops of the nails which allows the polish (maybe it’s just MY nails but doubt that) to adhere better. Also, buffing smoothes off the roughness from the nail edge. For some people this might sound like a minor ‘no big deal’ moment but minor things like these are the very things that make for a long lasting manicure and pedicure.
Detail: massage is one of the main reasons most folks go for mani-pedis…it is the final relaxation. John gave me an excellent massage with my pedicure. Bravo, John! Lynn did an excellent hand massage, too, but I felt it was too short. That’s said often but in this case, I felt she was very distracted and possible short staffed… and so the massage was just not long enough.
Pedicure chairs were comfortable, the salon is on the small side but very welcoming. All in all, I’m so glad my daughters recommend White Orchid.

I came in for a facial yesterday on my only day off from work and being a single mom. I was way overdue for a facial.
I was not happy with the appearance of my skin before the appointment. I asked Lynn if she could do a lot of extractions to help clear up all of the little bumps that had accumulated as a result of me not taking care of my skin properly.
She did an amazing job! My skin looked and felt sooooo much better afterward. My skin is noticeably brighter and smoother the next day and my pores are now invisible.
Most estheticians I’ve gone to don’t do a thorough job when it comes to extractions and it can leave you feeling disappointed after paying $ 80 for a facial, but that was not the case with Lynn. Definitely worth the $ 80.
I felt so relaxed and rejuvenated that I asked for a massage afterwards and she was able to accomodate me last minute without an appointment.
I will definitely be going back as soon as I can. Great experience!
Thanks, Lynn!

Deciding to pamper ourselves, my sister and I decided to try out White Orchid Day Spa since we were in the vicinity. Quiet, clean little place and with friendly staff. We both got the deluxe pedicure and a regular manicure.
I really enjoyed the pedicure as they really took their time in massaging my legs and feet with just the right amount of pressure. However, both of our manicure was no bueno. The nail polish selection that they have is really slim and apparently old. So my sister’s manicure came out with little bubbles and mine came out thick and chunky. There was no area to dry our toes and nails, we just had to wait and air dry them. Within less than a week, my manicure started to lift and peel off. I have never had that happen before at any other salon.
I had high hopes for this place since it was close to my house but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my expectations. No more pampering for me here!