I went here after purchasing a Groupon for a manicure/pedicure. Like the other reviewer said, I too was disappointed that there was no spa pedicure station. It was one chair with a plastic foot soaking bath. My pedicure has chipped already after one week. I then got convinced to do the shellac manicure- an $8.00 upgrade from the Groupon price. Since I was going on vacation I said sure why not. The color was chipped already from a few fingers after 1 week. It has now been 11 days and 2 whole nails have peeled off and most of my other nails have major chips in them. It seemed like a really nice place inside, and maybe their hair care is much better, but I wouldn't recommend this place for nail treatments. And I think they said the regular price for a pedi and shellac mani was $96! read more

I decided to leave my old salon due to a conflict of interest, sadly having to leave behind the first person who could ever properly deal with my hair. I had no idea where to start looking for a new one, since I'm terrified of anyone new touching my hair (they always want to chop it, and can never style it properly). I'd driven by this place a ton, but never really given it a second thought until I got a Groupon for a shellac mani/pedi. I went in to make my appointment, and the owner (Alano) jumped up from the haircut he was doing to greet me and take care of me until the receptionist got back from the bank. He was very friendly, welcoming, and chatted with me a bit until she got back. I made my appointment, and Alano offered me half off a hair cut if I wanted to come back. I loved the shellac treatment; as someone who can't keep nail polish on for more than five minutes before it smudges, chips, etc., it's amazing. There's also ZERO dry time, so you can start doing things right away. I wasn't super impressed with the pedicure, mostly because they don't have a traditional spa pedicure station. I ended up booking a hair appointment with Olivia, and, despite my overwhelming anxiety to have someone new get near my hair with scissors, she did an amazing job. I mean, it was just a trim, but I've had "just a trim" screwed up too many times for my taste. She also explained what she was doing and using on my hair as she went along, and gave me a gorgeous style to boot (and cut my bangs properly for once, which is a miracle). Aside from Alano, whose prices are high (but worth it, I hear), cuts start at $25, which I think is a good price for a great cut and style. I've paid more and less, and gotten the same service paying more, and many, many awful cuts paying less. I took away one star because they don't (unfortunately) have a spa, and I am disappointed with the majority of spas in the Kalamazoo/Portage area. I'd much prefer to keep all of my beauty business here, but I can handle spreading it between Alano and KCHA. read more

I moved to the area at the end of last summer and desperately needed to find a salon. I'm really picky about new people cutting my hair, but I couldn't have done any better than Alano. I got a Groupon to come here, and Alano himself was providing the cheap Groupon cuts. And I have never been so impressed with a new person cutting my hair than I was with him. 6 months later, I had a terrible cut and experience at a place downtown (which was conveniently located for me) and called up Alano to fix it. Olivia actually ended up fixing my hair and she did a fantastic job. She even had time to wax my eyebrows after - and it was a good wax. It's a great, professional and modern place. I moved here from a city that has great salon options - and Alano definitely stands up next to them. I highly recommend all services here. I wish they were a little closer to downtown Kalamazoo, but I have learned my lesson and will drive the way to have peace that I'm getting great services here. read more

I had my hair done by Kelsey for the first time at this salon. I wanted a big change and she gave me a great new color and style, better than I could've picked for myself. I wound up here due to a Groupon and I am very happy. They have great offers for new clients too. read more

Great salon that takes care of their people. Kelsey is my usual gal and always does an awesome job. Once I had to have two other gals help as she had a family emergency and they were both awesome as well. Friendly atmosphere that is also relaxing. Somewhere I like to go when I have a few hours to myself without the kiddos! read more

I got my first pedicure ever at J Ashley because I had a groupon discount. The girl that did my spa pedicure was rude, she kept going on and on about how because I got a Groupon discount I needed to make up for the discount in the tip. You should not be telling customers how to tip, how they tip is a reflection of your performance. Perform well and speak kindly, they tip well. That's how it works. Not happy with the lack of customer service at this place. read more

Good luck getting anyone on the phone to schedule an appointment. Go ahead and leave a message. They won't call back. $25 down the drain from a Groupon. Had to go elsewhere. read more

I relocated from California to Kalamazoo temporarily this spring, and needed someone to keep my hair looking great, since I could no longer go to my beloved stylist/colorist in So Cal. I woman at Macy's recommended Alano Salon, and I also found them on Groupon. So I got the deal, as they say, and made an appointment with Diana, the owner of the salon. She's amazing. They use Redken products, and really know their stuff abount the brand. My color looks terrific, and since I was so pleased my mother has also started going to this salon. In addition, I started getting the shellac manicure as well, and it's terrific. Rachel and Kat are both amazing. A lifelong nail biter, my nails have never looked this good! What I like the most about this salon though is the atmosphere. It's a comfortable, chatty environment where you get to know everyone.... an old style "beauty salon" with lots of up to date products and a knowledgeable staff but it's not pretentious. I love it. read more

I used a Groupon deal to get Vinylux mani/pedi. My nail technician was Kelly and she really took her time to ensure that my mani/pedi was done properly. She made a mistake on one of my fingers (mani) so she did not accept tips and gave me a coupon for $10 off for next time. She also gave me a punch card for gel mani/pedi (for the future services). Her service was great and I will probably come back to Alano for my next mani/pedi. My only wish is that they accept credit cards (they currently accept cash and checks only) in the future. I also like the fact that they use Redken products for hair. Thanks for your service, Kelly! read more

I was referred here when my salon of many years closed. I was very nervous about changing salons. Rachel has been very patient with my hesitancy for change, listens to my concerns and does her best to translate my needs into a style. Everyone there is very friendly, it is less expensive than my former salon and it is a lot closer to my home. It was a good move for me to come here and I would recommend it. read more

I went to Alano Salon for a year, and always received a great cut from Alano himself. His staff is very friendly and pleasant to work with. However, my appointments with Alano regularly were not on time, and on several occasions I waited 15 to 20 minutes until was available. The last couple of times, when I realized that my appointment was again going to be late, I asked the receptionist to reschedule me. The final time, Alano actually chased out the door after me - leaving his client in the chair - to tell me that he just couldn't do it any more, that it was too stressful for him to have me leave when he was running late. In effect, he FIRED me as his client! Actually, it was a good thing. He charges a lot for simple haircuts (and mine is very simple, chin length, a 20-30 minute cut at most). At $55 each time, my haircuts always took an hour-plus because he talks a lot and stops cutting while he's talking. I've since found another salon that is wonderful, gives me a great cut, and is more reasonably priced. Alano is a nice guy who gives a good haircut, but his poor time management/customer service skills lost him a client. read more

I received a mani/pedi as a gift, it was also the Vinylux Mani/pedi. The girl was quite young but very nice. - However but I don't think she did a very thorough job. The chair was basic and my feet were placed in a plastic bucket. The water was tepid at best and my feet only soaked for a minute or two before she began working on them. My hands were never soaked. Both with the feet and the hands, I felt like she barely pushed my cuticles back at all and only snipped off microscopic bits. I told her that I did not have sensitive cuticles and also that they grew really fast down onto my nail (hint hint) but it didn't seem to register. Also, every time she talked, she stopped moving/doing anything and talked behind my head to her reflection in the mirror behind me.. It was almost comical, except for the fact that it was really slowing her down. I was there over 2 hours for a mani pedi and it never once felt like it was spa-like. She breezed through the exfoliation portion of my feet and barely touched my nails with the buffer at all. I am not sure why it took so long. It also began chipping after 2 days and my cuticles were no where close to being fresh. I could have done a better job at home, honestly. I really wanted to like this place. It looked nice and clean inside, and I'm sure some of the services were good but I would NOT recommend it to a friend or go back for nail services. read more

I spent over $100 in this salon to get one of the worst haircuts in my life. Rachel was nursing a hangover from the night before and it showed in her work. I showed her pictures of what I wanted and she did not even come close. I told her I was not happy with the cut and asked her to fix it but she refused. She told me to come back in a week and took her next customer. Upon getting home I realized not only was it not the haircut I wanted but the bottom was not even. I wanted my haircut to look good for upcoming job interviews and decided to just put it up until I could get it fixed. I was horrified to find she had notched pieces of my hair in back so short I couldn't even pin it up. Very unprofessional on her part and the salon's as they knew of her condition and allowed her to work. I would not recommend this salon to anyone. read more

Incompetent staff, rude owner, not worth the cost. I was a customer of this salon for 5 years, initially I thought the service was good, but over time I had several problems with the staff and the owner. For the last 5 years I have been trying to grow my hair out, at every appointment I would ask my stylist, Olivia, what I could do to help my hair grow, she rarely gave me advice, and a few months ago she told me that my hair may never grow longer and that just happens to some people. Shortly afterwards I was shopping at HQ Salon & Spa and had a hairdresser talk to me about some products, not only did she tell me that it was definitely possible to grow my hair out longer, but she pointed out the problems in the regimen that the hairdresser at J Ashely had advised, furthermore she told me that the way my former stylist was cutting my hair at the ends was causing major breakage and was the reason my hair had to have so much length cut off every time I went in for a trim. My former stylist had made so many mistakes in her advice and execution, that I've had multiple hairdressers ask me if I had been getting my hair cut by a beauty school student. I have also had issues with other stylists at J Ashely, I went in to have my hair colored in the ombré style, and with my hair being very dark I assumed it would need to be bleached, the stylist, Rachel, told me it wasn't necessary to bleach it and she convinced me that a baliage treatment would look the same as ombré, three hours and $200 later my hair didn't even look as if it had been colored, it looked exactly the same as it had before the treatment. The stylist didn't say anything at the time, I had to call days later and tell them I wasn't happy with the service I received, especially considering the amount I had spent, and then when I came in to have it fixed I saw the stylist I usually saw and she told me that she knew what the problem was in the execution the first time, she had been there that day and saw her coworker doing the wrong thing and knew at that time that it wasn't right and she didn't say anything to me, her coworker, or the owner, Jen, who was also there that day. So not only is the staff incompetent, but they also don't even make an effort to educate one another, even when it means the customer will receive subpar treatment. The staff can also be very disrespectful and rude, on one visit to the salon I commented on the fact that they never use their names when they answer the phone, and the stylists told me that it was because they had some "annoying customers" who called regularly that they tried to avoid, and that was the sole reason they chose not to give their names upon answering calls. Furthermore I have had multiple problems with the owner, they have a lot of offers for new customers but very few for existing customers. At one point they had an offer for any customer to receive 30% off any treatment that was "new to them" I had never had my hair dyed before and wanted to use that offer, the owner refused on the grounds that I had had highlights there before, even though that's a different service than hair dyeing and it is listed as a different service with different pricing on their menu. Another time I called to see what the price would be to order a special shampoo through them, when the owner told me it would be $20 more than it would at ULTA, I told her politely that I would rather purchase it at ULTA because it was more cost effective, she kept me on the phone for 20 minutes trying to justify spending more money to purchase it from them until it ultimately became an argument. Yet another time, I called to ask what the name of the dye they had used for my ombré treatment was, because I had a friend who lived out of state that wanted the same color I had, I explained that to the stylist on the phone who told me I was not allowed to have that information. I paid over $200 to have them put the dye in my hair but I was not allowed to know what they'd put in. So I told them that having had countless problems with them over the last five years, and having spent thousands of dollars there, if I wasn't allowed to know what dye they used in my hair, they would lose my business, this was yet another occasion in which their owner, Jen, did nothing. Overall, the owner and staff treats their customers with disrespect and provides poor service that is ridiculously overpriced when you consider the quality of treatment received. read more

I was so lucky to find this place for getting my hair cut after moving to Kalamazoo. If you can, request Olivia. I am an incredibly unhelpful client because I can't ever describe what exactly I want, and she always could somehow figure it out anyway. Yes to J Ashley! read more

I went to Alano Salon today for a haircut and received outstanding service! When I arrived, Alano opened the door and greeted me warmly. It was a very welcoming atmosphere. Rachel cut and colored my hair and I absolutely love it! Alano and Rachel worked as a team during the consultation and process. It was clear that both Rachel and Alano really cared about how my hair turned out. The advice and professionalism was top notch! It was so nice to get professional advice about my hair, there was a lot of time and kind thought given. I highly recommend Alano Salon, it is definitely a wonderful experience. I feel very blessed to have found them! read more

Wretched. If you want to pay up the nose for a pedicure that consists of soaking your feet in cold water, leaving with calluses, and having your toenails painted, then this is your place! Terrible customer service. The staff is rude. I waited 45 minutes past appt time for the worst pedi ever. This happened once before but I decided to give it one more shot and it was a mistake. Take your time and money elsewhere... You'll lose a ton of both at this place and walk away empty handed. read more