Koi Nails

Came here to kill time before meeting up for happy hour and also because I was going to a wedding 2 days later. They are appointment only, but I was able to make an appointment for the same day on their website. They were super busy and all of the technicians seemed to be really interested in getting to know their customers. I got just the standard mani-​pedi but I have to tell you, my manicure lasted over 2 weeks! I’ve had gel that didn’t even last 2 weeks before. It’s out of the way for me but I definitely suggest anyone who lives or works in the area to give them a shot. I knocked off 1 star because some of my nails were shaped a little oddly, but I don’t care that much.

I love getting my nails done here! Another plus is 98% of the time the employees speak english so I don’t feel as if theyre talking about me. The employees are always nice I”ve been a handful of times and have never been disappointed.

Koi Nails has been a place I’ve researched for a while since I never get my nails done and I wanted to treat myself for once. I liked the salon, the clients, and the technicians. Nida was mine and she was very friendly and her customer service was great.
I got a signature mani pedi and Nida did a great job with my colors and all. Unfortunately, without much effort, my mani started wearing off the day after. I don’t know if it’s because I didn’t get a gel manicure (?) but I still feel like chips and all shouldn’t have happened till maybe a week or so after. I’m kind of disappointed. Luckily my pedi since looks great, hence the three stars.
I may try Koi again, maybe a gel manicure, and see if it lasts longer.

While I have yet to get a pedicure here, I have never been disappointed with my manicures. I’ve only ever seen Tina, but she is excellent and always does a great job & exactly what I wanted. In my experience (also maybe because I only see Tina) but you have to make an appointment ahead of time. Depending on what time of day you are after, I felt her evenings booked fast but often had spaces during day. I try to book about 2 – 3 days ahead and haven’t had any issues. Their website has a great tool that allows you To schedule appointments online.
Highly recommend

Took my 8-​year-​old daughter here for a mother/​daughter manicure and pedicure for her birthday after reading positive reviews. I was not disappointed. The staff was very friendly and treated us so well. I’m recovering from a cold and Tina brought me water and cough drops. They did a beautiful job on our nails and made us feel pampered and special. Love this place!

Love that you can make an appointment online, appointment is confirmed via text. Greeted very warmly and offered a bottle of water. Great for a hot day! The shop is clean, it appears that the instruments are really sterilized and I love that you are given your files to take with you (never used on anyone else).
My nails look great from a distance, a close look will show that the bottom of the nails are messy. Based on other reviews, I would try again, just would not use the same person.

So at first I really loved Koi, I would go with my mom when they first opened and they accepted walk ins. Normally that’s what my mom and I do because we can’t exactly know when we are getting our nails done to make an appointment. Now while I think Koi is great if you make an appointment I always felt like the services were rushed.
Most people go to get pedicures and want to enjoy themselves and have time to relax, but I felt rushed.
There are many other nail salons that have more of a relaxing atmosphere and that offer alcohol and other beverages.

I was looking for a nail place in Howard County since I was going to be in the area for the day. Unilocal brought me here, and I am more than happy it did. I made an appointment on-​line, and I was sent an e-​mail and text reminder. Thanks!!! When I walked in, you can tell that this place loves their customers. The young lady called me by name, and it was my first time coming here. You would have thought that I was an VIP. Well, this is how they made me feel.
I went to the pedicure chair, and Bertha ran the water, which was perfect. Then, she offered wine with my pedi. What!!! Wine?! yes! please! The sweet red was a wonderful pairing with my pedicure. Oddly enough, this was the first time my manicurist has actually held a full conversation with me (I have been getting my nails done for the last 20 years). Bertha was so pleasant, and I liked getting to know her.
Since I was late, I could only get the signature mani/​pedi. This shop works solely on appointments, and they take it seriously. No waits here! If you are looking for the total experience with no wait and awesome wine, this is the place for you. My hands and toes look wonderful, and by boyfriend likes the work on my nails. I did ask her hours, and she is nights and weekends only. She did state that everyone is awesome here. I did notice that all the nail techs were friendly and outgoing.
Needless to say, Bertha is my new found love!!! I will travel the 30 miles for this customer service.

I have lived in Howard County for just under a year and never found a place to go for eyebrow waxing. I usually go to a place closer to work, but I stupidly forgot that everyone and their mom was running errands and out of work on July 3^rd and my normal place was booked solid. So I checked out Unilocal and decided to give Koi a shot… and trusting a new place with my eyebrows is not something I take lightly!
I gave them a call and they, too, were booked for the day but said they could see me for a quick appointment. I came in and they were so friendly and brought me to the back immediately. The space is clean and devoid of a lot of the cheesy décor you see in other nail salons. And, most importantly, they did an AWESOME job on my eyebrows. They use some kind of chocolate based wax (so as a bonus it actually smells kind of good) and cleaned up my brows while still leaving them thick. (A lot of places make my eyebrows way too thin for my face despite my always asking them to leave the natural shape and size!) The girl who did my brows also explained some things about my natural eyebrow shape that I found to be interesting and useful for future trips… nobody has ever offered up unsolicited helpful advice before like that!
The only thing I didn’t love is that they left the door open while I was getting waxed. Granted it was just my eyebrows, nothing more private, but the people drying their nails at the drying station could see right in. In any case I will definitely be back the next time my eyebrows need a little TLC closer to home!

Nice clean place with friendly English speaking technicians. I made my appointment online and arrived early because I was the first appointment. They got me back did my toes and gave me a lovely 30 minute chair massage. Very pleased with the designs too. I called to ask who does designs because this place is busy and I picked one person who had a time slot open for me. So pleased!

Tina at Koi nails is the best. As I stated before they stay very busy so you MUST!!! make an appointment.
The salon is clean, new and a nice atmosphere.

I have been coming to Koi for the past three years for my french gel Mani, deluxe pedicure and waxing. Most importantly, Koi is clean, well maintained, and the staff employ best practices when it comes to sanitation. It’s an added bonus that the staff are so friendly, funny and welcoming.
I usually have my services with Tiffany, the owner. However, when I go in (once every two to three weeks) everyone greets me by name, including Stephanie, their friendly front desk receptionist. She will help you choose your color. She knows what i like, and sometimes she will suggest something just beyond my usual comfort zone, which i appreciate. It’s nice to be encouraged to try something different! Stephanie also knows what services I usually get, so that one time, when I booked online for only half of what I usually have done, she took the time to call me to make sure I knew and that it wasn’t a mistake.
Most times, you must have an appointment. I’m perplexed as to why people are upset when they cannot get a walk in. The fact that they are typically fully booked is a testament to their customers being very happy with their experiences, so they keep coming back. I’d be worried if it was too easy to walk in!
Book online, or call ahead for an appointment a couple days in advance. You won’t be disappointed!

Do not even waste your time going to this joke of a «business»! Despite what their doors & website claim, they DO NOT accept walk-​ins. I went there with my 9 year old niece on a Thursday morning to get her a kids mani/​pedi for her birthday, and was told (with no eye contact) that they were «completely booked». Meanwhile, there was only 2 customers in the place and a plethora of «workers» standing around staring. What a waste of space! If you want great service, drive the extra 5miles to TRUE NAILS in the Normady Shopping Center off of Rt 40.
PS. Only giving 1 star bc I’m forced to in order to post a review. This place deserves NO STARS.

This place was an absolute joke. Made an appointment on a weekday online and they had no clue made me wait 20 minutes, mind you the front desk lady never said hi or greeted me except with a frown face. Finally get in the chair, it turned out to be no exaggeration 10 minutes. I said wow that was fast as she was painting my toes and then started to massage bc she knew she was wrong, which added an extra 5 minutes.
To top it off she chopped my toe nails down to the core and were very uneven. I asked her to fix them without burning my toe skin. This place is a joke and it’s a shame bc I really came in wanting to feel pampered and be a loyal customer. Oh and they never offered me a drink but other customers they did. Not sure why they treated me so poorly but I hope the owner feels ashamed and this keeps other clients away who aren’t treated like this as well. I am writing this review under my husband’s account bc my account is locked.

They DO NOT accept walk ins. Be sure to make an appt. I went in at the time they opened on a THURSDAY and was told they were fully booked for the day…
Update: finally booked an appointment three weeks later and it was definitely worth it. They are indeed a very busy salon though. While I was there the phone never stopped ringing. So if you’re looking for last minute availability, if you call instead of book online they sometimes have cancellations and will work you in. They worked really hard to fit in the girls that were calling to come in last minute. But I love that you can make appts online. So much easier, especially when you know they’re busy, calling takes time away from clients. As they didn’t have a receptionist there when I went.

I… LOOOOVVVVEEEE this place! :-) Everyone is super friendly, the services are top notch, the prices are right, and you get to enjoy a mimosa during your visit. I mean really what else could you ask for?
They have online booking for appointments which is awesome.
Again. Love this place. Love these girls.

One of the best nail salons I’ve had the pleasure going to! I had a quality mother daughter date here complete with gel manicures and waxing! Tia was especially helpful in helping me decide what I wanted to do with my nails and there was quite a large selection of colors for gel (which I usually can’t find in other salons). Everyone made you feel at home and the ladies were all hilarious and easygoing. Everything was visibly clean and the nail tools were in blue, sealed bags! My eyebrows came out exactly like I wanted them to: they were clean, true to the shape I explained, and painless in the process. An extra plus, the wax was chocolate wax!

This place is fantastic. I’m new to the area and decided to treat myself one night. This place had consistently great reviews so I booked an appointment for a mani/​pedi online with Nida. Super easy. Not only do you get email confirmations but a text alert the day of!
When I arrived they were already ready for me and so I chose my colors and sat down in the chair. Nida asked if it was okay that the grey I’d chosen for my toes was so sheer. I was hemming and hawing and asked if she knew if they had something in a similar color but more opaque. She asked what shade I was looking for and went and found a perfect Essie polish.
I got chatting with the woman beside me as she and I had clearly been hunting for similar shades of red for our nails. I wanted red on my fingers but that grey on my toes. Nida offered me sangria or a mimosa. I went with the mimosa and it was delicious.
She started working on my toes and was surprised to find that I barely noticed that she was working on them. She was so gentle, didn’t fight the skin, etc. You know what I’m talking about when techs at some salons start hurting the skin around your toes or go too far under the nail and it gets sensitive. None of it happened here.
My nails were sad and unkempt before and they looked pristine when Nida was done with them, even before the polish. The conversation was small but very pleasant. She’s quick to smile and likes to joke.
On to the manicure! Same deal at the toes. She did a fantastic job. We happened to be sitting with another tech and her client and the four of us got into some very funny conversations. When Nida was done she left me to dry while she did some other things. Eventually she let me know that I should be fine as long as I wasn’t shoving my hands into pockets and the like.
She checked me out and it was only $ 35! The manager happened to be up there and I mentioned what a nice outfit she was running. No question at all that this will be my go-​to spot for nails, and it seems like they have plenty of other loyal customers too.

Got gel mani n regular pedi. with Nani? n Tia… they did a great job… gave a mimosa with my pedi. They have a huge selection of OPI n Essie nail polishes n bunch of different gel polish brands.
They give little hands n legs massages.
Wish they would clean beneath the nails too. but they didn’t do that.
Utensils were sanitized… came in blue bags. so u knew it was in an autoclave… at least I’m hoping it was :-)
Also left with some blue stains on my toes. possibly from the blue tablet they put into the whirlpool. also water wasn’t that warm.

Clean, new place! Love how they use new tools each time they do a manicure or pedicure!
Service is great! Tiffany and Tia are very friendly and precise! Definitely coming back!