I run about 8 WordPress sites. Some are more complex than others (1 is moderately intensive). I would like to host all my sites on the same platform, rather than have 1 here, 1 there, etc. I can spend up to $40 a month on hosting. So a few questions:
1) Are there any "premium" shared/cloud hosting platforms out there (I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but some shared hosts are better than others).
2) Should I look at Managed WordPress solutions? Any recommendations?
I am looking to upgrade to something more WordPress friendly. I pre-paid for a year and it runs out in January so I have several months to find a new host or renew (currently paying about 26/month).
Any info on these web hosts: Hosting022.com and Cloudarion.com ? Are they trustworthy?
What host is better?

Thanks!