Townhouse Nail Salon, Kensington — Local services in London

Sadly, I am writing to share my deeply disappointing experience at your High Street Kensington branch today, which has unfortunately led me to reconsider my patronage after years of loyalty. I have been a devoted customer since this branch opened and have built wonderful relationships with several of your nail technicians, particularly Teresa, Inky, and Leona, whom I still regard as excellent professionals. While I've previously encountered unprofessional service from duty manager Ema, I continued to support your business due to the overall quality of service. Today's experience, however, was particularly distressing. What should have been a relaxing pre-holiday pampering session became an upsetting ordeal. While Leona provided a lovely gel manicure (despite my having to settle for a non-preferred polish color), the pedicure service was problematic from the start. The pedicure technician raised concerns about bruising on my toes, which I explained resulted from wearing narrow shoes. I had received a gel pedicure with these same bruises just last month at your salon. Ironically, Amy, who performed my previous gel pedicure without issue, was called for a second opinion and now deemed it unsuitable. Despite my explanation and previous service history, I was refused a gel pedicure and instead told to purchase regular polish for a dry pedicure only. From that moment, any sense of self-care or relaxation vanished. I sat through an emotionally draining session, simply wanting it to end. The result was deeply unsatisfactory: my toes remain visibly bruised (defeating the purpose of the treatment), and the thick polish application smudged before I even arrived home. My holiday preparation is now incomplete. The most disheartening aspect is that after years of loyalty and genuine appreciation for your technicians' skills, I will not be returning. I need to find an establishment where my patronage is valued and where service consistency can be relied upon. I hope this feedback helps you address these service inconsistencies for future...

I had booked a gel manicure and pedicure with gel removal for both. Upon arrival at Townhouse, I was abruptly told I hadn’t booked a pedicure — even though I had. Only after I insisted did the staff check and admit it had been cancelled that morning due to a team member not showing up. They claimed they had notified me by email, but the message came at 7am for an 11am appointment — far too short notice. There was no apology, no courtesy, and no attempt to resolve the situation or make up for the inconvenience.

The manicure, done by Linda, was deeply uncomfortable from beginning to end. Her attitude was cold, impatient, and borderline rude. She seemed irritated from the start and remained consistently unpleasant throughout the service. I even attempted to address this gently, hoping to shift the energy for the sake of the appointment, but it made no difference. She informed me there wasn’t time for even the simplest nail art — a basic ombré — and rushed through the manicure, leaving my nails visibly uneven. Most concerning of all — she buffed my ring finger nail so aggressively while removing the builder gel that it caused pain and sensitivity.

Finally did manage to remove the gel on my toe nails but again done so unprofessionally with absolute disregard or finesse. No pedicure. Just a 15 min removal of existing gel like they did me a favour and charged me full price for it.

I chose Townhouse expecting a refined, professional experience. Instead, I left feeling disappointed, unwelcome, and frankly shocked by the level of disregard. For a salon that positions itself as luxury, this was an unacceptable experience. I won’t be returning — and I would strongly caution others...

I don't often write reviews, but feel compelled to after giving this place a second chance. My nail techs in both visits were excellent, very thorough and friendly so I would give 5 stars to all of them. However, my issue is down to the nail products themselves. The first time I went in June I got a gel mani (and a regular polish pedi, which was generally fine) for a holiday and my gel polish was peeling off within 24 hours of the appointment. This has never happened at any non-Townhouse salon I have ever been to, and especially with gel that is supposed to be more durable. I complained and was dissatisfied with the response, yet I decided to try this place again after a few months because it is conveniently located and very easy to book (I will give them that). This second time today I got a regular polish pedi. The pedi itself was great (though it was supposed to be a luxury pedi, but the price was adjusted when it ended up being a regular pedi so no issues ultimately) and the nail tech was wonderful, but I now have smudged nails after waiting 20 minutes post-pedi before putting shoes on. I have never had this happen (and have never had wait as long as 20 extra minutes) with OPI, Essie, etc. For the price I paid, I was not expecting this. Therefore, based on these two different experiences I find issue with the products themselves. Lastly, while I appreciate the move towards a modern/high-tech salon, choosing a nail colour from coloured circle on a phone app is rather difficult and many of the colours are not true matches in...