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Review content:
Visited Radney on a Thursday afternoon in April 2011 for a $100 Botanical Mani/Pedi, using a Living Social deal I bought for $40. Diana was my nail technician. This was my second visit to Radney's for a mani/pedi using a Groupon/LS deal.
Everyone I encountered at Radney's both times was kind, friendly, welcoming, and energetic - almost to a fault. In a spa, I prefer a more gentle, relaxing atmosphere, and while I think they mostly achieve that with their furnishings. But their friendly, energetic chatter greatly detracts from the calming surroundings.
Diana took me me back to the mani/pedi room (only 2 stations) and asked me to pick a nail color from their extremely limited selection of OPI and Essie polishes - they do not have any of the current/trendy shades from either vendor, but stock mainly reds, pinks and French white polishes.
From there I was shown to my chair, which was the fanciest massage chair I've ever seen. The massaging was surprisingly great and the chair was very comfortable. However, there was no where to put my handbag (except the floor), or the drink they had offered me. The only extra table/shelf in the area had a huge stuffed bear and the tech's purse and cell phone on it. And the tech kept moving my drink from one side of the chair to the other before I told her she could just get rid of it. The foot bath jets were pretty good, but the water was way, way too hot, and they put a scoop of aromatherapy potpouri type stuff in it that didn't dissolve, stuck to my skin, and basically was a nuissance throughout the mani/pedi - plus, I couldn't even smell the fragance.
The actual mani/pedi was not so great. My nails weren't cut/filed straight, the corners were not filed smooth, and the polish was, well, terrible - partial yet thick coverage, bubbles, previous paint color not completely removed from corners and cuticles. Diana tried really hard to make it perfect, touching it up here and there, but there was not one mistake free nail on my hands or toes. The massage was almost non-existant, and was done with all the excess potpouri stuck to my skin. And you should know that it is Radney's policy to wear plastic gloves during the entire mani/pedi. I understand and appreciate the idea behind it, but I really hate the feeling of wet plastic gloves touching my skin. I'm not sure if that's optional, but I'll definitely request it if I make it back there. One more thing to note - they schedule plenty of time (1.5hrs+) for each client so there is no rushing through the service, but I was actually there for over 2 hours, certainly longer than I had expected.
The very first thing I asked of Diana was for a magazine, yet I didn't get to read it. Diana was uber-chatty and kept me engaged in conversation the entire time, asking me about a picture in the magazine if it got quiet. She was so friendly and nice, but I would have prefered to relax instead of hearing about her lengthy career path, her favorite TV shows, or her opinion on the Charlie Sheen fiasco.
Diana was as nice as could be, even offering myself and the neighboring client a cup of the flavored coffee she had just brewed. But I was hoping for a relaxing and professional mani/pedi, especially considering the $100 cost of the service.
I don't quite remember the details of my previous mani/pedi experience at Radney's, although I do recall that my nail tech was Lily and that I was sufficiently pleased with that service, enough to come back a second time at least.
I'll say it again - EVERYONE, especially Diana, is super friendly and kind at Radney's. And if another deal comes my way, I'll probably visit again, but I definitely won't pay full price, or go prior to a big event where I want my nails to look great, or myself to look rested.
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