Avalon Nail and Spa

Unfortunately, I want to really like this place, but I just can’t. I have found other places with better services and technicians.

Please do NOT go here for a pedicure. I stopped in last Friday afternoon for a walk in pedicure. I was immediately taken back and asked what pedicure I wanted. The lady began working on my toes and then announced she was «going to do surgery» on my toe. I asked her what she meant and she said that my nail was not straight. I asked her to just file the nails and leave them be. She proceeded to cut my skin and my nails to the point that two of my toes were BLEEDING. She tried to conceal it by putting a green antiseptic on it but it burned so bad I knew exactly what she had done. She then proceeded to rub my leg/​feet with oil for less than 2 minutes total. The oil was not rubbed into my leg and she did not wipe it off. She proceeded to paint my nails and then put more antiseptic on my toes because they were STILL bleeding.
When I got up she had the nerve to tell me that «[she] did a good job and my toes were pretty».
It is now 4 days later and one of my toes is clearly infected and swollen. I will more than likely have to go to the doctor tomorrow for an antibiotic. Do NOT get a pedicure here. Clearly, their employees are untrained and do not know what they are doing. I will not return.

Where do I start?
I was a bridesmaid in my soror’s wedding last week. The bridal party decided to get our mani-pedi’s done here to get all beautified for the big day. We chose this location, because it was the only one in the area that opened at 9 am, since we had a million things to do.
Firstly, let me just say, the staff were really nice at first. They were so happy to see us and even more overjoyed to know that there was a wedding coming. So, it was a relief. At first.
Well, I’m not sure what happened after that, because the lady doing the bride’s nails made a complete 180 in her personality. Bi-​polar much? She seemed upset or pissed off. The poor bride didn’t even get a decent pedi. And even worse, she continuously nicked the bride’s skin on fingers while applying her full set. We had to apply Neosporin to her wounds when we got back to the house, so she wound’t be so sore on her wedding day. Yes, wounds. Her skin was wide open!
As for me, the lady who did my mani-​pedi was very nice. However… she did a gawd-​awful job all around! *sigh* She smudged my nails a few times during the painting process… which she blamed me for (nicely) then plopped more polish on top of the smudges. My mani lasted all of 6 hrs before it looked a week old. My pedi looked like I did it myself… the polish didn’t go to the edges and she only clear coated the middle of each toe nail. Oh… and I got my eyebrows done… I think she just put wax on my face and ripped it off… she didn’t even catch the hair! I looked almost the same as I did when I arrived, just now with pink nail polish. Smh.
The other bridesmaids were unhappy too. Seems that none of our mani’s lasted very long. We just didn’t want to complain at the time, because we didn’t want to upset the bride (she’s a teeny bit emotional.) So, I will say this… I will not be returning. Maybe they were having an off day? Who knows… I’m not coming back to find out.

If I could give this place zero stars I would. I have been a regular here for quite some time. I always kept going back because I never had an utterly bad experience. And when I have had an issue, the job was taken care of. Last night I went in for a basic $ 15 manicure, and was unhappy with the job. My cuticles were barely removed and the paint job was horrendous. It looked like I had done my own nails at home… 2 weeks ago. I did not say anything because it was close to their closing time and I did not want them to rush through fixing it, so I returned this morning and spoke with the owner, she had the same lady who did my manicure fix my nails. I explained to them that I did not like the manicure and that I wanted the cuticles removed, and they said the issue was the color nail polish I choose. So I asked to pick a different color and she said no I have to charge you. So I went on explaining to them that my cuticles were not properly removed and that I wanted the whole manicure to be redone properly. They finally got me seated and the lady started to paint over my nails, to cover up the spaces she had missed yesterday. At this point I was so upset I got up to leave but the owner insisted they would fix it. So I stayed and they removed the nail polish. The lady doing my nails only removed one little piece of cuticle from ONE nail! And then repainted all my nails. I was so upset that when she was done I got up to leave, I was not going to waste more of my time there. I didn’t care about letting my nails dry; it was such a poorly done job. As I was leaving, the owner asked to see my nails so I showed her and explained I was still not happy with it because they didn’t remove the cuticles, so she stopped working on her client, and used the same tool she was using to cut my cuticles. It was so unsanitary, rude and very inappropriate. I have no way of knowing she cut her client while removing her cuticles and then used the same tool on me. As a medical professional I consider this a major health code violation as careless acts like this can spread blood born pathogens. While she cut my cuticles she then proceeded to tell me that not everyone removes cuticles. Isn’t that the point of a manicure? It was the worst experience ever. I am never coming back here. I suggest you all save your money and time.
One other thing that bothers me about this place is that employees answer their phones while they are with clients. It is distracting and makes them look very unprofessional.

I am here visiting from out of town and need to get my nails done asap on a Saturday. Got me in and out with a fill in and eyebrow wax for only $ 28. Super friendly, loved every thing about this place!

Please avoid this place. The staff is rude and unfriendly. They keep talking among themselves in their own language. Worst manicure n pedicure experience. The lady was in such a rush. Please avoid n save your money.

The staff at this salon do a very nice job – especially Tiffany, the owner/​manager. It does help to call ahead if at all possible so you get her. It is quite busy in the afternoons but if you are a bit patient, you will get a good ped/​mani. One thing – if if you aren’t getting what you expect, say something to Tiffany. They do want to give good service. I’ve seen some rude behavior on the part of patrons but if one is polite and complains/​clarifies what you want, they’ll do the right thing.

I have tried to like this place because it is so close to my home but I just can’t. The staff is not friendly and the rush through the service. There are so many other places to go I would recommend avoiding this one. I asked her to paint a flower on my big toe and she did some ugly starfish in two seconds and wanted 5 $

Great spa pedicures here with hot stone massages-​I would highly recommend them. If you are looking for tips, ask for Tiger. He is absolutely great.

WHY OH WHY DID I NOT LISTEN TO OTHER REVIEWS! Had the worst pedicure ever in my life, cold water, short massage, and I even requested no polish. Save your 25.00 and do not go here! Eden right down the way is MUCH BETTER!

Bummer, calf and foot massage was maybe 90 seconds. I’ll go back to Eden for the same service but longer foot massage.

What a wonderful experience! After getting a horrible full set at Eden nails 2 weeks before I came here to get a fill. After looking at my nails and explaining to Tiffany (the manager) about the horrible experience I had, she confirmed the crumby job and offered to do an entire new full set for the cost of a fill. She did an amazing job! She asked me several times if they were shaped like I liked them and if the length was correct. They are beautifully done and the salon helped me realize there are good people in the world! I would highly recommend this salon to anyone in the area!

I went to Avalon 3 weeks ago after reading reviews and because my manicurist at my long time salon left. This one is close to where I live so that’s a plus. I made an appt with Tiffany and I really liked her work although since she is (owner?) she was constantly on the phone booking appointments. I would say she’s not as good as my last person (who was PERFECT) but good enough. And the cost for a regular mani/​pedi is 38– so pretty inexpensive. Today i called at the beginning of the morning (a Sat) because I realize I won’t have another opportunity before next weekend. I called and asked for an appointment with Tiffany, and she said come now. 15 minutes later I was there, but she was with an appointment and claims she didn’t hear me ask for her. So either I worked w someone else or came back later. I chose to work with a young man and he was adequate, but from now on I will make sure to have an appointment with Tiffany in advance and hopefully during the week (busy salon and saturdays are worse as one can imagine). It’s a nice enough salon with the pedicure room in the back.

I am new to Virginia and have tried many nail salons. I get a pedicure once a month nomally. Since I have been to VA, I have been getting 2 pedis a month due to how poorly the nail salons are here. Not to mention why are they so expensive when they don’t last? Anyways, I have found this nail salon to be the best so far. I am still looking for better, but at this point I do not believe it will happen. The staff are great and friendly. It seems pretty clean and the cost is not bad for VA.

My mom gave me a mani pedi gift certificate for Christmas and I finally got around to using it last Saturday. My pedi was great but I am less than thrilled with the gel manicure I upgraded to. The machine kept turning off while my nails were drying and the bottoms of my nails are all uneven. It’s like there isn’t enough gel down there so some areas are dull.
The atmosphere and staff are great. They only use your credit card if it’s more than $ 25 and you have to tip in cash, which I never have. I will not be returning to this salon.

I just visited here with my friend and we both received mani and pedis. I checked in on their cleaning procedures for their tools before having the service done and they do a good cleaning in solution then use the sterilizer machine. All tools are only used once then are cleaned.
I love the pedicure chairs; they have a really good massaging selection and it is really hard — not wussy like some chairs. For our pedis we did the «gel nails» — super cool and really durable. It is a week later and I don’t have any chips except a small corner on one nail and my nails still look great (except for my grow out). We were told by the technician that if our nails chip with the gel nail service within 2 weeks we can go back and have the repair done for free.
My total bill was $ 55. I am really excited about going back to this salon for my next mani/​pedi!
P. S. You have to tip in cash. They won’t let you charge it on your credit card (kind of annoying since I never carry cash!)
*update 6÷13÷12 — My friend and I both discussed it and we felt that the light pink gel nail color maybe did not have enough layers applied; we could see through the layers and see under our finger nails. Next time I will ask for another layer to be applied if using that color.*

Three strikes and you’re out. I have left this salon twice for having to wait more than 20 minutes. Today I made an appointment to ensure this wouldn’t happen again. Twenty minutes after my appointment time, I hadn’t even been seated in a pedicure station yet. I left… again. If I have to wait even with an appointment time, why go?
Another downfall is their nail polish selection is small. It’s May and I couldn’t find any bright summery colors.
I will definitely not be returning. Ever.

This was one of the nicest pedi experiences I have had in a long time! My tech was Sophia and she is the BOMB!!!
Get the SPA Pedi. It is worth the additional $. It includes a HOT STONE MASSAGE that lasted for 15 minutes!!!

A couple of years ago I was a regular at Avalon but I’d fallen out of the mani/​pedi habit. I stopped back in yesterday and was so glad I did — I had forgotten how relaxing the maincures and pedicures are at Avalon.
I didn’t have an appointment but assumed that if I got there when they opened it wouldn’t be so busy. I was wrong, they were packed. But Tiffany and Tiger were as gracious as ever and assured me they could fit me in. I got a pedicure and a manicure and felt completely refreshed afterwards. The massages they give with manis and pedis are the best!
I’ll definitely be going back soon. Next time I’ll call ahead to make an appointment though.

I have my usual go-​to place in Centreville for my ‘cures — but I decided to pop in here to get a manicure as I did not feel like driving back out to Centreville yesterday.
This Nail Salon is located in the «Madison Crescent» retail complex at the intersection of U.S. 15 and U.S. 29. There is a Harris-​Teeter here, Chevy Chase Bank, Sleepy’s Mattress, Desiderio Italian-​American Grill, and other businesses also located here.
There were four other customers being attended to when I arrived, so I took a seat. A guy whose name I think is «Tiger» and happens to be the owner showed me where the restroom was upon my query and also offered me a small bottle of water while I waited. Nice touch.
I struck up a conversation with him, learned that business is slow, I’ve never understood how small businesses like this can make it in a commercial retail complex — seems like the monthly rent alone would result in a negative flow of cash. He confirmed my suspicions — they keep trying to raise his rent — even in economic down times such as this.
Finally it was my turn, they did something I’ve not experienced before. They stuck my hands in what appeared to be sandwich bags, squirted some of the cuticle softening agent onto my fingernails, then inserted my baggy covered hands into these heated sleeves.
When my nail technician was free from her previous customer — she came over and attended to me.
Overall, nice job on the nails. When she was done, she gave me a hand massage while applying a moisturizer. For a moment, I was confused — suddenly I could smell something that tantalized my senses — smelled like the delicious odor combination of mocha and espresso. Turns out it was the moisturizer lotion. Drove me crazy! I wanted some caffeine and now I was tempted to lick my arms!
Good place for everyone to check out!