Hillcrest Nail Lounge — Local services in San Diego

Let’s start by clarifying. I hate my nails.

This fill took 1.5 hours and cost $60 before tip. Started off by waiting about 15 minutes totally fine but the person who seemed to be in charge was complaining about how all her nail girls called out today.

She sets with up with a very nice lady who obviously does not do acrylics. She didn’t even know how to use the device that cuts nails shorter. I’m not even joking. I really couldn’t be mad at her because she’s being asked to do nails when she typically doesn’t.

I’m giving this place 1 star due to the lady who seemed to be in charge. She seemed annoyed from the jump and literally every time the lady doing my nails asked her a question she would get annoyed.

The lady doing my nails also didn’t know how to shape my nails so she had to ask lady in charge to help. She came over and said to me “you should have said you wanted almond shape because you shouldn’t have cut them so short”. Like HELLO I’m not the one doing the nails. That’s a question that you are supposed to ask me I’m sorry you overbooked your appointments and are understaffed but the last thing you should do is give an attitude to a paying customer that you obviously setup an inexperienced nail tech with.

1 hour and 15 minutes later we are ready to paint and I ask for an iridescent white. Everyone looks clueless and the lady in charge says “like an off-white?” with such an attitude and look I can’t even believe she is in customer service. She must get away with her horrible customer service skills because she can do nails well.

After 5-10 minutes of confusion I settle on the paint above. As I’m getting ready to pay I notice the person across from me is literally has their nails painted exactly the way I was describing to everyone. No one tried to help her do my nails correctly. Literally people giggling about how cute their nails are when this lady was struggling the entire time.

I tipped 20% and won’t be returning. There are too many options to have to settle for a...

I’m very disappointed with my visit to this salon. I was recommended a specific technician who was said to work according to Russian manicure standards, but I saw nothing of the sort. A broken nail was not extended to match the others — now one nail looks completely out of place. The cuticle wasn’t properly removed; only the edges were roughly trimmed with nippers, and the nail plate wasn’t prepared at all. For me, this is essential: in a professional manicure,the tools are sterilized, the cuticle is first pushed back, then carefully removed with a drill or scissors, and only then does the actual work begin. Here, everything was done out of order, skipping the most basic steps. The nail shape was filed unevenly and carelessly, and I seriously doubt the tools were properly sterilized. Maybe the polish will last a while, but aesthetically, the result is a disaster. My nails look messy and far below the standard of care I’m used to. I cried on the way home — instead of feeling pampered and uplifted, I was left stressed and upset, now forced to spend more money to fix it, which I hadn’t planned for. It’s a real shame, but I definitely won’t be coming back, and I cannot recommend this place. A manicure isn’t just a service — it’s a form of self-respect, and what I received didn’t reflect that at all. If someone is ok with this quality, I'm happy for them, but I'm not. Additional star only for...

I ask for a standard mani pedi, after 4 hours and $155 plus tip, I get a-symmetrical french tips and mediocre toes. Three days later they literally fall off one by one, and my toes begin to chip. I call in and explain my issue. They tell me to come in at 5:00 no problem they’ll fix it for me. I arrive and they direct me to sit down, 20 minutes goes by and I decide to buy the tech some coffee, I come back and wait some more, finally I am directed to sit down. I get my nails and toes re done as i’m telling both of the techs that i’m back because they all fell off. Once all is said and done, They asked me for payment!!! Even though they told me not to worry about it on the phone and it was their mistake!! They said nobody heard me say anything and there was no proof I said anything about broken nails or revision. I was treated with disrespect, threatened , and told that I was “crazy to come in and act such a way”. The lady who fixed my nails was not the initial nail tech, but I didn’t ask for her to do them. I was directed to sit down and that’s what they did. Lack of communication and unprofessionalism. I said I would tip her $30 because I understood it wasn’t her who messed up, but after she began to threaten me saying if I keep acting like this she’ll call someone and that if I feel safe and good about this decision to not pay, to walk out, I decided to pay nothing and walk out....