Hell's Kitchen Groom Room

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Heidi J

Joined 2 years ago

Best groomer in Manhattan!. I never write reviews but this experience is well worth a few minutes to praise this amazing groomer!

From the moment she answered the phone when I called to schedule an appointment to when I picked up my pooch, Katina was by far the nicest, most pleasant person I've had the pleasure of meeting in my 2 years in Manhattan. I'm a Southerner so a little politeness goes a long way with me.

I was very happy to see how clean her space is. Even though my 4 lb. Maltese was terrified to be in there (she's a snob with severe separation anxiety), I was very relieved to see such a well kept place. She also offers doggy day care and even the dogs in there were very calm and happy - which from what I've seen at many other places, is very uncommon!

I'm also very picky about how my dog is groomed. I've had her groomed at a few other places and was always very disappointed in the results so for the last 2 years, I've groomed her myself but I needed a professional to clean her up a little better than I can for a portrait session we have next week. Katina was very patient and listened to everything I wanted. Not only did she listen, but she actually did what I asked!!! (Also very uncommon in my experience.) My little pup looks beautiful!

A few other people have mentioned that she was expensive but I found her to be right on par - if not more affordable than other groomers in the area... especially when you consider how amazing she is! Thank you, Katina!!!

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Alessandro D.

Joined 1 year ago

IF YOU LOVE YOUR PET: THIS IS THE RIGHT PLACE!. First, let me say how highly I regard Katina, her work product (my dogs always look fantastic and are pleased to return to be groomed by her) and Kat’s work ethic (seven days a week, twelve hours a day and still does a fantastic job). This despite the fact that she has been caring for her own ailing, elderly cat (she has three by the way, all older and all rescues) who has kidney failure and requires intravenous medicating.

Second, I am saddened to say that not all of Katina’s clientele are as respectful to her or even to their own four-legged companions as they should be. I was appalled to witness another client become irate with Katina for the client’s own insensitivity – to Kat and to her own dogs.

In a nutshell, here’s what I observed. The client came in after 10am (she was supposed to be there at 9am) to pick up her dogs. These two dogs were brought to Katina for grooming at around 4pm the previous day. (You can already probably see where this is going and how bad it is going to get.)

When Kat called the client at 8pm to tell her (as Kat always does with all of her client’s) that the dogs would be ready within a half hour, the client informed Kat that she could not come to pick the dogs until after her movie ended. This client went out of Manhattan to go see a movie – a movie that had not yet started! This meant that the client bought tickets for a movie that started when she was supposed to pick up her dogs! (For those of you that don’t know, it often takes about 3 hours to groom). Mind you, again, she went out of Manhattan to see this movie!

Wait; it gets better. Then the client tells Kat that she won’t be able to pick up the dogs until sometime after 11pm. Anyone who knows Kat’s hours – as this long-term client did - knows that Katina usually closes around 7pm! Was this client insane?! Is this how the client would treat her children?! Oh, but wait, it gets even better.

Kat informed the client that she could not be there, explaining her ailing cat’s situation. Did the client care? Absolutely not! Wait. It gets even better. The client NEVER CAME to pick them up. So, dealing with her own ‘kids’, Kat also had to pet-sit these two dogs that don’t get along well with other and pee everywhere because this selfish, insensitive woman just HAD to see this movie – out of Manhattan. Wait – wait; the best part is still to come!

Then, this woman gets upset that Kat charged her to sit the two dogs – a fee that was far less than others charge in this neighborhood!!! I concluded that this hysterical, delusional woman – who would not pay and when she ultimately did give her credit card it was denied – was, in fact, out of her mind! Even her boyfriend(?) told her that Kat wasn’t being unreasonable.

In conclusion, folks, all that I can say is that Kat had the integrity not to lock the pups up and leave them there. Katina would never do that. You see, she actually cares, despite having to deal with people who treat their dogs as mere accessories. That is why I have continued to go to Kat all of these years – I can sense what the dogs already do – Kat is, simply put, the best there is. Others can talk all they want about loving animals – Kat doesn’t just walk the walk; she proves it day in and day out with every single groom that she does! If you haven’t used her yet – I urge you to do so. There’s a professionalism when you speak to the owner who IS THE GROOMER that is absent elsewhere! Go to her. See the difference. My dogs do and so do I!

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brutenyc

Joined 2 years ago

expensive but good. she's very expensive. i mean, c'mon, she's not styling models, however, she does a great job on my dogs hair so I won't stop going there, at least until december when i move back to miami!

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ny3bb2

Joined 2 years ago

Katina's the best!. I stumbled to city search because I forgot my phone - and I had to write when I saw the nonsense here.

Katina's the best - I can tell she really loves the dogs and takes her time to make them feel good and comfortable in a normally scary place. I trust her completely with my little Mia (she's 12), and Katina always makes her look great.

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roserednyc

Joined 7 years ago

Bring my dog here from Hoboken. I don't like bringing my little 11 yr old dog anywhere and leaving her there, and she is normally easy going but gets very scared at places like the vet. But she seemed to have a good time at Hell's Kitchen Groom Room, and came back all nice and clean, and was more relaxed and happy than I expected her to be. Katina took the time to make sure she got acclimated and comfortable before beginning to groom her, and it showed. I expected to return and pick up a neurotic, desperately homesick mess of a dog but got a clean, happy, calm dog instead. My dog hates being clean and moreover hates being bathed and brushed. But she seemed very pleased with herself after her visit to Hell's Kitchen, like she knew she had gotten special treatment. When we picked her up, she wasn't even anxious to leave the shop and wanted to keep exploring everything within sniffing reach.

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bwb208

Joined 5 years ago

Great service. Whoever wrote the nasty review below is a neurotic imbecile and obviously has no experience with dogs or has some nefarious agenda. I agree with everyone else on this site except this one nutty outlier, and have only positive things to say about Katina, her care of the dogs in her charge, and the high quality of her work. I think her rates are also very reasonable considering the amount of time she spends and the excellent results. My dog - a very spirited schnauzer - loves visiting Katina too, and he is not typically fond of dog groomers. If he could type, he'd be writing rave reviews for the groom room.

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MaxsOwner

Joined 5 years ago

LOL'd. I too am a pleased client that needs to get Katina's number from Citisearch when an appointment is needed. I saw the review by DogMaster and LOL'd.

Katina can be trusted. She is so blunt with her honesty, even I became flushed by it. One time she had to shave down my dog, though I argued that was not what I wanted. She was adament about the reasons why, explained why it needed to be done, the actions that will be taken and what to expect afterwards. My ego was front and center but I knew deep down she was right. In short, I was not happy but in the end it would been unfair to my dog and that is what matters.

Regarding her staff to not be trusted? She doesn't have any staff working for her...at least for the past year I've been a client...nor have I ever seen any other groomers...but I will go out of my way to ask her when I make my appointment.

The price? Didn't you do your homework prior to making your appointment? If you did, you would have known she's few dollars more than the others. Based upon that comment in your review, I'm sure you knew that hmm?

With reading all these reviews, I too can added to the list of Katinas clients whom cannot help but wonder how legit these negative reviews are.

Doesn't Recommend

dogmaster3

Joined 5 years ago

Horrifying Experience !. Do not trust the owner or her staff . My dog left there & it has been days since he is the same .Not to mention the groom serivce was horrible & over priced !

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Bobinny

Joined 5 years ago

Fantastic Results. I love the work that was done on my Baby ,Thank you so very much for the excellent work, and all the great advice.

A customer for life. Rob

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jessie_from_bm

Joined 6 years ago

Someone you can TRUST. Although I've never been to the Groom Room, I did have the pleasure of working with Katina for almost 2 years in another grooming shop. I can honestly say that she is someone you can TRUST with your babies. She sincerely cares about your pet and wants them to look and feel their best. I have never seen her do a half-ass job to save time, neglect an animal or try and "force" a squirmy one to "behave" (I watched her save an older dog's life in that shop and was amazed by her presence of mind to act rather than stand there stunned). She has always been patient and kind and very helpful to new owners or those that might need a bit of instruction to make things easier for the next grooming. I'm very happy to hear that Katina is doing well in her endeavor to bring love and calmness to what can be a very hectic line of work. I hope you read this K and I miss ya!!