La Bella Nails & Spa in La Crosse, WI

I'll start out by saying that I've been to La Bella many times before and had excellent service, but something seems to have changed. Both service and product quality has declined dramatically. We had appointments on 4/24/2023 for 3 pedicures/2 manicures for our upcoming vacation. All 3 of us felt rushed through, like we were keeping them from closing. They sat us right away for pedicures and that was the end of the good service. I soaked for less than 5 minutes and he was off to the races. He was halfway done before I could figure out how to turn on the chair massager. I was last to sit and first done, with barely any leg massage. Then came the manicure. He kept looking at his phone in between steps. When complete, my nails were still rough and catching on things. Speed seemed to come before quality. I was so annoyed, I just wanted to get out of there. As for product quality, I'd think that a $75 service would last longer than 6 days, but not in my case. Gel nails fell off right in the middle of vacation. So embarrassing. Clearly, something at La Bella has changed and I won't be back. It's such a shame, I used to praise this place up to everyone. Not anymore.

If I could leave a 0 star rating I would. I called to see if they had time for a dip mani, and 2 pedicures. I was told yes, and when we showed up we were sat immediately. That was the only positive of this experience. The woman who did mine and my mothers pedicure rushed through it in maybe 10 minutes, mind you it is a $35 service that you are supposed to receive a 30 minute pedicure for. Then when it came time for my dip manicure, the woman rushed that too, so bad that another one of the workers came over and looked at them and asked if I had time for her to try and fix them. I agreed, but the "fix" was to keep dipping my nails over and over. I left with the thickest nails ever, and within the first 10 minutes 2 of them chipped. To add insult to injury, even though they knew the job they did wasn't what is was supposed to be, they still charged us $130

I reviewed this company a few years ago because it was truly my go to. I came from Minneapolis for the weekend and we decided to get pedicures. The pedicures were so rushed, no massage, and poor customer service. It saddens me because it was so good before. I will never be coming back.

Honestly top 3 worst nail salons I've ever been to. The inside is dingy, but that's not what turned me off. They don't sanitize or use new products between clients, staff are not friendly, and the majority of them don't even know how to properly do dip powder on the nails. The guy who was first doing my nails cut me (now I'm seeing several other reviews about getting cut). He messed up several times on my dip powder on my nails, but never took of the excess powder leaving my nails extremely thick. Then the lady who came to "fix" my nails told me I can just come back tomorrow, but I don't live here and I'm also not wasting another hour at this salon when I was there for almost 3. Not to mention, for a crappy small town salon, this place is overpriced. I get my nails done better and at a way nicer salon where I'm from out of state for $45. They charged me $55 for dip here. Save your time and money.

I am NOT a "regular" here because I'm really hard on my nails and I would have to LIVE there in order to keep my nails looking perfect all the time. But I DO enjoy the experience occasionally. That said, I need to commend this salon ... and especially DAO, my usual provider, for exemplary service. The salon is NOT over-the-top luxurious, but has always been clean and well-organized. Some of the hardware could use attention, especially at the "drying station" seating. The "bull-pen" arrangement works well for the proprietor AND for me, since I am more interested in efficiency and NOT concerned about privacy. Everyone seems to be sensitive to COVID protocol, and I've never been worried about undue exposure, in spite of the close contact necessitated by the nature of the services. In spite of my infrequent status, I am always greeted warmly and treated like a member of their family. Dao is especially sweet AND efficient. She seems to know when I want to talk and when I prefer to be left to my paperwork and headphones. She remembers my preferences and she gives a GREAT calf massage! I have not gone the gel route, but I know that they DO give me the choice of traditional or gel. The salon also lists MANY spa services that I have never tried , do there must be a private room somewhere...? I would have no problem in recommending LaBella for Mani/pedi services. (They have been known to offer gift certificates at a discount around the holidays, so keep them in mind if you are Christmas shopping. I don't know if they will be offering them in 2021.)