# Not The Type > Not The Type is Dorian Takahashi’s site: candid reviews of high-end hotels from a guest who doesn’t fit the mold, and first-hand lessons from growing a local trading card shop into a multimillion-dollar business with operations in Japan. Author: Dorian Takahashi (Honolulu, Hawaii). Reviews are independent. Every hotel review includes a signature "How they treated me" score (0–10) alongside room, service, food, location, value, and overall. ## Key pages - [About Dorian Takahashi](https://notthetype.com/about): background, the card shop story, and why the hotel reviews exist - [Consulting](https://notthetype.com/consulting): advising card shops and collectibles businesses on operations, tech, card shows, market strategy, and expansion into Japan - [The Story](https://notthetype.com/story): how a 400 sq ft card shop in Honolulu became a multimillion-dollar business in Hawaii and Japan - [Notes](https://notthetype.com/notes): short updates a few times a week - [Hotel reviews](https://notthetype.com/hotels) - [Trips](https://notthetype.com/trips): each trip and the hotels stayed at - [Business insights](https://notthetype.com/insights) - [The book](https://notthetype.com/ebook) - [Contact](https://notthetype.com/contact): dorian@alohacardshop.com ## Hotel reviews - [Waldorf Astoria Osaka, Osaka](https://notthetype.com/hotels/waldorf-astoria-osaka): 7/10 overall, 5/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). Great location, great room, and really good service overall. But the staff downstairs seemed more interested in other guests than in getting me a taxi. - [Shangri-La Paris, Paris](https://notthetype.com/hotels/shangri-la-paris): 10/10 overall, 10/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). Everything was amazing. They treated our kids great, the Chinese restaurant was amazing, and they never made me feel out of place in my jeans and T-shirt. - [Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Paris](https://notthetype.com/hotels/disneyland-hotel-paris): 3/10 overall, 4/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). It doesn't have the Disney service you'd expect. Next time we'd stay in Paris and get a driver. - [Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, Venice](https://notthetype.com/hotels/danieli-venice): 6/10 overall, 3/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). One of the most beautiful hotels in Venice, with an amazing rooftop restaurant. Just don't expect anyone to care that you're there. I wouldn't go back. - [Hotel de la Ville, Rome, Rome](https://notthetype.com/hotels/hotel-de-la-ville-rome): 10/10 overall, 10/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). By far the best service I've had at almost any hotel. The doormen, the concierge team, the food, the staff. All of it was amazing. - [De Bonart Naples, Naples](https://notthetype.com/hotels/de-bonart-naples): 3/10 overall, 3/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). Didn't feel like a five-star hotel. No help with bags, a small room, and maintenance walking in without knocking while our kids were inside. - [The Dominick, New York](https://notthetype.com/hotels/dominick-new-york): 5/10 overall, 5/10 for how they treated me (1 stay). Great SoHo location and a great doorman. But the rooms are old and dated, and the front desk cares more about the upsell than about you. I probably wouldn't go back. ## Hotel stays (one review per stay) - [Waldorf Astoria Osaka, 2026-10-25 to 2026-10-27](https://notthetype.com/hotels/waldorf-astoria-osaka/2026-10-25): 7/10 overall, 5/10 how they treated me. Great location and room, really good service overall, decent breakfast. Downstairs, they were more interested in other guests than getting me a taxi. - [Shangri-La Paris, 2026-10-21 to 2026-10-24](https://notthetype.com/hotels/shangri-la-paris/2026-10-21): 10/10 overall, 10/10 how they treated me. Everything was amazing, and they didn't make me feel out of place in jeans and a T-shirt. - [Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland Paris, 2026-10-20 to 2026-10-21](https://notthetype.com/hotels/disneyland-hotel-paris/2026-10-20): 3/10 overall, 4/10 how they treated me. Didn't have the Disney service. We should have stayed in Paris and gotten a driver. - [Danieli, Venezia, A Four Seasons Hotel, 2026-10-18 to 2026-10-20](https://notthetype.com/hotels/danieli-venice/2026-10-18): 6/10 overall, 3/10 how they treated me. Beautiful hotel, really nice room, amazing rooftop restaurant, great location. The service was the problem. I wouldn't go back. - [Hotel de la Ville, Rome, 2026-10-15 to 2026-10-18](https://notthetype.com/hotels/hotel-de-la-ville-rome/2026-10-15): 10/10 overall, 10/10 how they treated me. Service was a 15 out of 10, by far the best I've had at almost any hotel. Amazing doormen, concierge, food, and staff. - [De Bonart Naples, 2026-10-13 to 2026-10-15](https://notthetype.com/hotels/de-bonart-naples/2026-10-13): 3/10 overall, 3/10 how they treated me. Definitely not a five-star hotel. Small room, no help with bags, and maintenance walking in without knocking with our kids inside. We'd never go back. - [The Dominick, 2026-10-09 to 2026-10-12](https://notthetype.com/hotels/dominick-new-york/2026-10-09): 5/10 overall, 5/10 how they treated me. Great location, great doorman, dated room, and a front desk that's all about the upsell. Probably wouldn't go back. ## Trips - [Osaka business trip with Isaiah](https://notthetype.com/trips/osaka-2026-10) (2026-10-25 to 2026-10-27): A business trip to Osaka with my son Isaiah. - [New York Comic Con, then Italy and Paris](https://notthetype.com/trips/nycc-europe-2026-10) (2026-10-09 to 2026-10-24): New York Comic Con for work, then 16 days through Italy and Paris with the family. ## Recent notes - [Osaka opens next week](https://notthetype.com/notes/osaka-opens-next-week) (2026-11-02) - [Same jeans, two very different hotels](https://notthetype.com/notes/same-jeans-two-hotels) (2026-11-02) ## Business insights - [The software behind our card shop](https://notthetype.com/insights/the-software-behind-our-card-shop) (Tech): We run a multimillion-dollar trading card business on software we built ourselves: one inventory record across our stores, Shopify, and eBay; graded-card intake with human-approved pricing; a bilingual buying system for Japan; and tools for running card shows.