Hotels in Venice

"the names of some great 4 star hotels that are centrally located in Venice and are not too expensive." We'd all like these. Unfortunately, they don't exist, because that would be a contradiction. Great, fancy hotels in a popular place like Venice can charge a lot - and do. So, you'll have to be more specific.
1. What do you mean by "4 star"? Do you mean literal stars (which are assigned by the Italian government and have more to do with amenities than quality) or something else? If you just mean "fancy," what amenities did you have in mind? Is it a large room, great room service, or something else? 2. What is your budget, in euros (either the amount you hoped to spend, the maximum you could spend, or both)? "Not too expensive" means different things to everyone.

Now knowing what you consider 'great' or 'centrally located' few are farther than 10 minutes' walk from any given tourist attraction) or 'too expensive' I would suggest that you do a search on Tripadvisor.com or Venere.com or many other sites and see what people like. On tripadvisor you can search by area, price, stars, people's ratings etc. As far as the area is concerned, Venice is divided into 6 Sestieri (districts). The one near San Marco square is called San Marco. Cannaregio is also close. But nothing is really far from anything in Venice. The old city is rather small. Tripadvisor has a map that will
The only place I wouldn't consider Centrally located is the Lido, and of course the new Venice in the mainland (venezia mestre).

First of all, 4-star and "not too expensive" are usually not in the same categories. However, it seems to me that Venice is a bit "loose" with their star ratings. You can look up 4-star hotel ratings on www.venere.com and see rates from $39/night on Lido up to $336/night near the Rialto bridge. As Roberto has said, Lido is not centrally located. Rialto bridge certainly is. San Marco certainly is. Try researching www.tripadvisor.com and www.venere.com for some ideas. Also note that at certain times of year (high season), many places will demand, and get, a minimum 2-3 night stay.

Mona, my wife and I have stayed at Albergo Ca Rezzonico and thoroughly enjoyed it. Located in the Dorsoduro area, it is quiet but still within easy walking distance of the major attractions. http://www.venere.com/inns/venice/casa-rezzonico/ Good Luck

Do you have a current copy of RS Venice Guide Book? If so, great. If not, I would suggest you get one soon as it is full of places to stay and their price rage. We spent the first week of this September in Venice and in making reservations, we found nothing inexpensive. As others have posted, you may get more/better responses from this group if you provide more information especially what you expect to spend or your budget and when you will be going there.