Akiko Nails — Local services in New York

I've been getting regular manicures for over 15 years and my experience at Akiko has by far been the worst. I'm incredibly disappointed with the quality of the manicure + art, and the subsequent disrespect and mistreatment I experienced from management. I'm including more details below in case anyone is interested, but in summary there are many great salons and nail art studios in NYC, and I would highly recommend looking into other ones before booking an appointment at Akiko.

I went in for a gel manicure + nail art for a vacation I was going on later in the week. I presented the art I wanted, and long story short, ended up with a very messy manicure that looked nothing like the photo. The artist asked me to check the design and when I pointed out the mistakes, she said it was too late to fix. I wasn't sure what to do and didn't want to be too combative, so I ended up paying (a lot) for it and leaving. The friend I went with agreed that my manicure was poorly done and encouraged me to go back and ask what they could do to fix the mistake.

When I went back that same day, the receptionist agreed that it was poorly done. She said they could re-do it free of charge, or if I emailed management, I could ask for a refund. Given they didn't have appointments available for me to get it re-done before my vacation (which is why I wanted the manicure), I said I would email and ask for a refund.

When I emailed, I was told they don't do refunds. We went back and forth via email a bit, and I also received an email with several drafts (accidentally) attached between the receptionist and the owner stating they could do a refund, but didn't want to offer it to me. When they continued to deny a refund, I then tried to book my complimentary appointment (after I already went on my vacation), and instead of the appointment being complimentary, they said I would get a voucher for less than half of the cost of my original manicure. This was not what they originally offered.

The poor customer service and refusal to make their mistake right is the primary reason I wouldn't recommend Akiko. It's not about the money at this point, but the disrespect. If you are considering booking an appointment, I would recommend keeping my experience and others' 1- and 2-star...

It's a two star review not because the place is bad, as my over experience at the Salon was just okay. But because this is a nail salon and I come to get the art and craftsmanship that nail techs have to offer. Based on my experience and results I did not get that technique from a salon that claims on it to "specialize in Japanese nail art". My results came out overall DIY-ish.

My nail tech, Anna, was very nice and acommedating to try and make it to my liking. However, I just think my nail tech's skills to do the nail art were just casual or average. I don't think my nails really look similar to the monthly special. Also the monthly special looks alot different in person than they do on Instagram. On Instagram they appear severely edited. (I have attached those photos for comparison)

I want to clarify I DO NOT think the nails are ugly. They are just fine, and could be improved. I just don't think they're to my liking or up to my standards of nail art that someone would pay for.

The salon people are very nice and the atmosphere is nice as well. Booking and appointment super easy. Overall experience everyone was kind and helpful. They even gave me a 10% discount since my appointment time was scheduled wrong on their end. However, I genuinely do not like how my nails came out. I got the monthly special on my natural naked nail(which included the use of overlay). I misunderstood how that works, and that I admit is my mistake for not reading carefully. The monthly special just to clarify for anyone that you can choose 4 of 5 accent nails shown on their ig and then get a color to fill the rest of the nails. I did ask for an estimate for doing all accents on each finger, which would be about $165 more or less depending on the art.

Last time I came to New York I went to Krystal Oh's nail salon.This is just my opinion, but Krystal Oh's nail salon does monthly sets for $90 on natural nails and their techniques and execution are much better (also they have a more wide variety of cohesive designs). And they definitely put more effort in trying to recreate what they put out on their Instagram.

I think I just didn't get the right nail tech for me. And I likely won't go back to this salon, but it was nice trying a...

First Timer Review The location: cool spot, really good music (I sang the entire time), they offer you beverages, Nothing over the top. The service: I love my nails. Asumi did a really good job. She is very skilled. She moves with speed and precision and if there was anything I wanted to change or add, she was very accommodating. The job she did makes me want to return. Being in a salon where I can get creative, makes me think of all the things I want to try. Now, why the 3-stars? The salon is pricier than most, not the issue. I was prepared. I went online and saw the pricing list. I was also referred by a friend who frequents this location. When booking my appointment, I was asked if I needed removal or a design. I said yes to both, I was then instructed to go online and make and account. Online, I was then prompted to select what I needed done. One could assume that they would charge for painting your nails and extra, if the client desires designs. My issue: I went to pay, the total was more than I expected. I inquired about the charges and was told there was a $30 removal fee. I stated that wasn’t expressed when I made the appointment. The receptionist offered me a $10 credit, if I wrote a review. Ok here it is. On the website, under gel services, which is what I got, if your nails are done somewhere else it say $10 not $30. If you get them done there, when you return, it’s $5 for removal. If you’re going to charge $30 for removal that is something that should be highlighted or said over the phone, or Asumí could’ve told me before she started. I was supremely irritated. Still a little irritated. And for the price of the nail service, which is more than the average, almost double the average, removal could be included. If I had known it was $30, I would’ve just soaked them off at home for $4.99 (the cost of a bottle of acetone), saved Asumi the time, and myself the money. I think the receptionist or even the online system could be a bit more transparent about that. Other than that the...