Palette Nails & Spa — Attraction in Middletown Township

I made my first appointment at this salon specifically for a gel pedicure and a UV gel set, the gel pedicure part is important for this story. I hardly ever get my nails done, so I wasn’t fully familiar with the process. I went through gel colors with the technician and was under the impression I was getting a gel pedicure. When I noticed she hadn’t put my feet under the UV light, I asked if she would be applying a clear gel coat, and that’s when the incident began.

She insinuated that I had requested regular nail polish, even though we had already reviewed the gel polishes and my appointment was for a gel pedicure. The miscommunication wasn’t the problem, the unacceptable part was how she reacted. Instead of continuing with the pedicure and giving me what I was paying for, she insisted I was wrong. I clarified that the only time I mentioned regular polish was regarding my toes before the pedicure, simply letting her know she only needed nail polish remover to remove it.

The situation escalated further when she ripped the salon sandals off my feet, saying that if she were doing a gel pedicure, she would never have put them on. Once I was frustrated and admittedly raising my voice, the owner came over. As I calmly explained what had happened, the technician yelled over me and stood between us, preventing me from speaking to him. Meanwhile, one of the staff members, speaking in Spanish, called me “stupid and crazy.” I have light hair and light eyes, so it seemed she assumed I wouldn’t understand, but I am Hispanic. When I told the owner what was said, another employee claimed she never said that, and he took her word. He didn’t seem interested in de-escalating the situation.

His wife (I believe is was his wife) eventually came out, fully apologetic, and tried to fix the issue, but by that point, I was left with such a nasty taste in my mouth. I held her hand with tears in my eyes, apologizing because I could no longer stay in that establishment. The experience was unprofessional, disrespectful, and stressful, and I cannot recommend this salon to anyone.

On a completely different note, if you’re looking for a salon that does excellent work and truly takes care of every customer, I highly recommend Holmdel Nails.

EDIT AFTER OWNER RESPONSE: The owner’s reply is deflecting — they know exactly what happened. Nobody “went over the gel procedure” with me; if they had, there wouldn’t have been such a misunderstanding. You don’t go through gel colors and then apply regular polish — clearly the process was not done correctly, and instead of correcting it, the technician escalated the situation.

Their claim that I didn’t pay is misleading — the only “service” performed was removing polish while they spoke about me in another language. The wife even followed me outside, apologizing and begging to fix it, showing they knew the situation was handled poorly.

There were no children present. I did not start the escalation and only raised my voice after being yelled over, insulted, and blocked from speaking to the owner. One technician called me “stupid and crazy” in Spanish, and the owner chose to believe the denial rather than address it.

Mentioning another salon is relevant. I originally came here because I heard they did quality work, but their customer service fell short. At Holmdel Nails, the technician took her time, fixed the shape of my nails with a smile, and treated me respectfully — that’s the difference: quality work with excellent customer service. Anyone who is curious about the quality of work at Holmdel nails, check my other reviews.

This update is only to correct misinformation. My original review...

Revised 4-star review:

After my initial bad experience, the owner personally reached out and offered me another chance to try their spa pedicure. I accepted and was glad I did—this time, the pedicure was excellent. Lola did an amazing job, and I left very satisfied with the service.

However, there was a small hiccup: when I arrived for my 10am appointment, the store wasn't open yet, and the doors didn’t unlock until almost 10 minutes after my scheduled time. It gave a slightly poor first impression.

I'm updating this review to 4 stars instead of 5 because it seems they need to work on their appointment/time management. Also I can't help but wonder if the great service I received was influenced by my previous review, rather than being consistently excellent. Nonetheless, I appreciate the owner’s effort to make things right, and I’m willing to give them another chance.

Original 1-star review:

I had a pedicure appointment here recently, and unfortunately, it was a very disappointing experience from start to finish. I arrived on time but wasn't seated until 20 minutes after my appointment, which I was initially willing to overlook—it was the weekend, and I understand delays happen. But once I was finally seated, I was left waiting so long that the foot soak water turned cold before anyone came back to start the service.

When someone did finally begin my pedicure, they only completed part of it before switching to a different tech mid-service without any explanation. It felt disorganized and unprofessional.

To make matters worse, they didn’t even seem to know what service I was booked for. I had scheduled a spa pedicure, but the second tech told me that I should’ve mentioned it at check-in if I wanted a spa pedicure. The issue? Check-in was fully automated, and there was no option to confirm the type of service. When I explained that I had booked the spa pedicure online, I was told I wouldn't be able to receive it because there was another appointment in 30 minutes, and I’d get better service if I came on a weekday.

Even the regular pedicure I ended up receiving was not what was advertised. Their website lists features like hot stone massage and lotion, neither of which I received. At least I was only charged for the regular pedicure, but honestly, it didn’t even meet the basic expectations set by their own description.

To top it all off, the tech didn’t use toe separators, so one of my toes got smudged the moment I stood up.

All in all, it felt rushed, impersonal, and not at all the relaxing experience a pedicure should be. I won’t be returning and wouldn’t recommend this...

Hands down the best nail salon that I have ever been to! When I first moved to the area one year ago, I struggled to find a good nail salon. I tried a lot of places. Even before I moved, I didn’t have a “go-to” salon. It is hard to find a nail salon that does good work, is clean and is fairly priced. Palette Nails is all of the above. It is super clean, and seems to be newly renovated. The decor is super cute and they have every nail polish color that you could think of.

I have been going to Jenny for some time now. She is very knowledgeable in her craft. She is amazing! Sometimes I come in and I don’t know what design or color to choose, so she surprises me. She always exceeds my expectations and I always leave super happy! When I show her a reference photo, she does it way better than I could have imagined. Seriously, I get complimented on my nails wherever I go. Not only are they super cute, but they last long as well. Sometimes I can go about a month without a fill.

Everyone is super friendly at this salon and the overall ambiance is wonderful. I highly recommend this salon to everyone! My whole family comes here, because we love Jenny and the salon as a whole. If I were to move to another area, I would travel 1,000 miles just to come here. Palette Nails has a client for life.

I’ll let the photos speak...