City Nail Bar — Attraction in Grand Rapids

OH.MY.GOD. This is the BEST nail salon I've ever been to.

TLDR: If you are looking for a new and comfy home then come here and you won't be disappointed. Whether you're a complete newbie or an expert, you'll fit right in and feel like you belong.

I've been to several nail salons and I only ever get gel/shellac manicures. I'm a complete novice and getting my nails done really intimidates me because I feel like I never know how to answer any of their questions.

Usually, when I go to nail salons, I notice that there are some regulars that feel really comfortable there and have developed relationships with the nail techs. I've always assumed that this takes time and you have to be an outspoken/confident person in general.

My friend and I came in and we immediately felt like we were at home. We were having friendly conversations with our nail techs and other customers that came in, complimenting each other on our nail colors, and just having casual conversation in general.

My nail tech was the nicest nail tech I've ever had. She was also extremely knowledgeable and even pointed out that the last nail salon I went to really damaged my nails and she educated me on proper procedure, which also meant that she answered my several questions (since I know nothing about nails). I actually asked her for her name so I can book with her again (which is something that I've never done before). She told me her name was "knock" like "knock on a door." I don't know how it is spelled so I really apologize for that.

Oh, and I haven't even mentioned my nails yet. They are GORGEOUS! My friend got her nails done too and I wish that I took a picture of them so I could post them but they were great too. She let her nail tech pick any color she wanted and she did such a good job. We were talking about how amazing her nails were for the rest...

Normally i really enjoy going to city nail bar, i have gone there 3 time before my last visit and the nail tech have alway been able do to an amazing job. I had booked last week with a random nail tech since i was on a time cruch having to leave for vaction soon. I ended up getting Emma as my nail tech she was very sweet but i wasnt aware she was still learning. When we started, her drill constantly kept dying due to her cord being broken, personally i think this was extremely unprofessional as this is a professional nail salon. Then when it came to applying the gel x she didnt know how to, two other nail tech had to show her. When I went to wash my hands there was glue on my cutiles and a bubble in one of the nails, another nail tech had to fix the bubble for her. When it came to shaping i wanted medium size almond and none of them ended up looking the same and every time i would tell her the nails kept getting shorter. I was very upset with this experience as when it came to the nail art she also didnt have experience doing air brush designs. i was very nervous so i switched the design 2 time and eneded up asking for french tips. When she started french tips she would have to resart the base twice as well, which was considering as it was only the base color. The owner finally asked what was wrong and she ended up having to redo my nails. I got to my appointment at 5:30pm and did not leave until 9:10pm. Based on the work quality and skill set of Emma i feel that the salon should not be charging the same as the rest of the experienced nail techs. I still ended up having to pay the full amount $83, i was not offered any discount...

I was only in town for the day and needed to get my nails done. This place had decent ratings and was close by. I called ahead to request an SNS manicure. When I arrived no one greeted me for several minutes, when finally acknowledged I asked to look at the SNS colors. They showed me the wrong sample colors. When they began to remove my previous SNS manicure, instead of soaking my nails in acetone either in a bowl or with cotton balls, the nail technician tried to pop the polish off with a nail tip. She only soaked my nails after I suggested it. They did not have a sample pallet of polishes but instead showed me several jars of the powder to choose my color. They seemed completely unprepared to complete the manicure I requested and actually switched technicians in the middle of my manicure.

On top of all the missteps in the process of getting my nails done(having had an SNS manicure twice a moth for the last six months), I watched the tech put the acetone used to soak my nails BACK into the acetone bottle. Then she placed the bowl I used directly back into the cabinet without rinsing or washing it. I was never asked to wash my hands until the very end of my manicure. They charged $45 which is much higher than I've experienced at other salons.

This salon seemed unclean and woefully unprepared for the new techniques used elsewhere. Would...