La Lotus Nails Spa - Downtown Vancouver — Attraction in Vancouver

Summary: Rude staff, rushed work, favouritism, false advertising

The first time I came to LA Lotus I just walked in because I had broken a nail and asked if they had time to fix it. They were super charming and I loved the atmosphere of the place. I left happy and planning on going back the next time I was in Vancouver. The next time was very disappointing. Me and a friend had booked an appointment and I sat down and felt very unwelcome. My nail tech was a guy and he was nice enough if shy. The girl next to me was brought tea or something and asked if she needed anything else and I get she was probably a long time customer but nobody was treating me with a fraction of that courtesy. I was looking at colours to pick what I wanted and this older lady worker comes up to me and is like “are you done!?” and laughs obnoxiously. This happened after I showed my tech and her what I wanted, which was taken from their Instagram, and I was told they no longer carried that colour. And then, towards the end I ask for jewels to be put on my nails and my tech try’s to say that he can’t because he has another persons nails to do. At this point my friend isn’t even done but comes over to me on her way back from the bathroom and we both mention how it’s not okay to just leave my nails unfinished, that we pre-booked this and how I was feeling unsatisfied with things. He doesn’t argue and grabs the jewels but I felt bad now because I didn’t want to stress anybody out. He rushes things, doesn’t put any cuticle oil on, and I feel to guilty for taking up to much time to ask him to. I ended up tipping him a 20 in cash and then 20% at the till. This does not mean I was at all satisfied with the service I just know how it is to work in the service industry. And they should of put aside more time for me in the first place so we could of avoided all of this. Not to mention most of my nails broke off quickly in the following weeks while every one of my...

Very disappointing experience with the technician who could not do the nail design + burned my nail bed. I booked express gel nail + nail art for my visit on Feb 04, 2023. I emailed them my nail design in advance and told them that I have short nails. They told me they found a technician who can do my design and booked me in. However, when the technician saw my nails she briskly said that my nails where 'too small' to do the design on them.

As I wasn't expecting that I would have to do a simpler design, I asked for suggestions where the technician shrugged her shoulders and said it is up to me and rushed me to choose the nail colours. I told her I wanted the same nail colours as the reference photo - while working on one of my hand (cuticle care), she gave me a basket of nail colours to look through. I felt extremely rushed and it was uncomfortable trying to pick the colours with one hand. In the end, I opted not to do any nail art as I literally did not have time to choose a new design nor any help from the technician.

Towards the end of the appointment, my right hand was under UV light for last curing (I chose matt top coat) - this felt BURNING HOT. This was not a normal experience I had with previous nail salons and I told the technician it was too hot (I literally withdrew my hand in pain). Technician said that it was perfectly normal and gestured towards her own hand (which had gel nails on them) to say that it's a normal experience for everyone. This is simply not true as my left hand did not feel scorched. Later I looked up the cause for this and found out "if the UV gel is applied too thickly or cured in an unsuitable nail lamp, then excessive heating may occur", causing heat spikes. My nail bed for right hand is still sensitive right now.

Finally, the edges of my nails look messy, surface looks lumpy under light and pink + grey shade do not match. What was supposed to be relaxing turned out to be a...

I have been coming here off and on for a few years now. I like that I can book online, for the most part it's a clean salon and I generally get a good manicure. Customer service hasn't always been consistent though. I have arrived on time and sometimes get a look like I'm late or I've waited up to 30 minutes without too much consideration. Also when deciding on colours, there are different prices as not all gel colours are priced the same. I did that once as nowhere in the salon or online is there transparency about this. I didn't do it again. Keeping it current and why I'm writing..... Like all of us, I needed to get a manicure and why not go back to where I normally go as for the most I've made peace with the issues.... until now. I made an appointment. They were quick to accommodate due to not being busy yet. My nails are way shorter than what I asked for, manicure (cutting away dead skin around nail,) is fair but again I've made peace and wasn't expecting 10/10. I went to pay bill and while I read there were services fees added to services (due to covid) I didn't scroll down to see how much. The increase per service is 23%. About $10 more per service. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? With all the help that the government is providing for small-medium business to stay in business.... the salon is going to add $10 more per service to cover their costs. Let that sink in. I'm sure I won't be missed but I can't support price gauging. I can afford the increase but it's the principle. It sure isn't transparent on their website the increase and how much they increased it. How long they intend to do keep the increase. Think about it - $10 per service?? How about just 10% more on the total bill. Forget about breaking even they will be turning a profit in no time. I could go on and on about why this makes me sad and mad but best I stop here. This review is directed at the management/owners as the staff only follow what...