We are arriving in Venice on Jun 27th and plan to stay at the San Cassiano Hotel.
We then move on to Tuscany near Cortona to Villa di Piazzano and in Rome The Colonna Palace. We finish our trip in Praiano on the Amalfie Coast at the Tramonto D'Oro Hotel....We'd like to believe that these hotels are good choices but thought I'd run it by the experts for your opinions.
Also we are renting a minivan for our travels and have been asked to pay in advance for the rental....Is this the norm????? I welcome your opinions and comments.

If you haven't received any responses, perhaps it is your heading. It should be: Misinformation. Your heading looks like you are addressing someone.

My husband had to prepay his last rental car in Europe. He had not done that in the past, but maybe this is the new way of doing business?? Or maybe it depends upon which rental agency you use. He used a different travel agent than he usually does, so it could have been her routine.

Here's MY expert opinion: if you think these are good hotels, then they ARE. Unless you know the responder's tastes quite well you'll always be in doubt when they "review" a hotel until you actually get there.
I agree there are times when an absolutely overwhelming number of people might say good or bad things about a hotel I've chosen and I'd be tempted to change my mind, but if I were you I would NOT do so unless the responder gave a very GOOD reason for doing so...something other than, "it isn't charming" for example. Enjoy your trip.

Hi dew,

Have you looked up your hotels at www.tripadvisor.com, or done a text search here?

Why a minvan? How many of you are there?

Thanks for the good infomation......
It's true everyone's opinion of good varies. We were looking for something Clean, safe, in a good location,having a bit of charm, and being within 200-250USD per night and this is what was recommended to us.....
We are thinking about a minivan because there are 7 of us and we rented a 9 pax van...There are 4 adults 3 kids and luggage....I will do a search and look at trip advisor. Thanks for the tips

If you're renting from AutoEurope, one of the options is to pre-pay the rental in dollars. But you can also choose not to do so and go with whatever is the Euro rate on your arrival to pick up the car.

It sounds to me as if these are all good choices. You are going to love Praiano. Terrific spot to end the vacation. I can't comment on any of the hotels from direct knowledge, but I have rented and paid in advance for a rental car in Italy and it worked wonderfully. With a group that big, I might want to have two cars -- but if you are all doing everything together all the time, the van is the best way to do.

I think paying $200.00-$250.00 is too high. You can find a charming, safe hotel for half that price. If a travel agent recommended your hotels, they tend to suggest "American-style" hotels...for lack of a better term. These places are fine, but cost a lot, and really don't have anything more to offer than the smaller hotels.

Do a search here for Venice hotels and you'll find lots of better deals...in my opinion.

Also, a 9 passenger van in Europe is quite large for European streets. I was stuck with one of these on one trip and it was a nightmare to drive...but it was roomy!

Try National car rental. This year, I've found them to have the best deals.