Yet another dud on my quest for THE quintessential mani-pedi-'tenminshouldermassage' in Atlanta to replicate one of the secrets of my life force in Manhattan. In Manhattan, this service is - if you kn... Read More
Yet another dud on my quest for THE quintessential mani-pedi-'tenminshouldermassage' in Atlanta to replicate one of the secrets of my life force in Manhattan. In Manhattan, this service is - if you know where you're going, that is - clean, fast, very good quality, tolerant-to-friendly service, and mostly sanitary. Like I mentioned, I'm on a quest to find one of these salons in Atlanta. So far, I've struck out twice -- Yelpers, you've led me astray! I came into Salon Five on a weeknight (very close by where I'm staying in ATL, I guess that's convenient...if I wanted to come here again..) over an hour *before* their closing time of 7:00 pm. I could not have been later than 6:45, and I was a walk-in. The salon was entirely empty. I was greeted by their ~lovely~ receptionist, who immediately treated me as if my mere existence at 6:45 pm was causing her severe pain. I asked her if everything was okay and if I could possibly get a regular mani-pedi, and she rolled her eyes, eventually granting me my wish, after first demanding that I check out before the service "so she could go home now". This transaction was made especially fun by one of the aestheticians RUNNING up to the desk and demanding at the top of her lungs that the receptionist charge me five dollars more for the French manicure that I had definitely not asked for, while I was in the midst of working out my pre-service tip. I don't usually Grinch this hard, but I am so pissed that I tipped so well. Receptionist is finally free from the confines of her ....regular employment hours! Now we begin the service. The salon area is decorated nicely, and it smells pleasant - not like chemicals! (1 star!). The polish selection is abysmal. Like, one of the worst I've ever seen. A nice man wound up doing both my manicure and pedicure - he was kind and quiet, clearly trying his best (another star!), but the actual results of the nail services were so disappointing. The polish was applied so thick that it was gummy, chipping, and smudging over 48 hours after it "dried". It looked awful, immediately. Finally - keeping me from at least enjoying the atmosphere of this aesthetically pleasing nail salon, the female aesthetician who had initially demanded the extra $5 for the non-existent French continued to scream-converse-complain with my aesthetician (the man) in their language for the entirety of my time there. I get that it's fun to chat and of course, easier to converse in a language other than English! Duh - other languages are par for the course in any decent nail place. However, she was YELLING and clearly PISSED, and it threw off the entire 'spa' vibe. It was almost as if she was entirely unaware that I could hear her throwing a very loud fit in her language. I guess other people have enjoyed their experiences here, but this was such a failure (bad nails, worst receptionist award, & consistent unintelligible screaming as ambiance) that I'm not risking another trip. Onto the next one. Read Less