[gentoo-user] Online hosting recommendation - VMs?

[Stroller]

Hello,

In the next few weeks I need to move my email server (a very old Gentoo installation) from the closet in my home, into the cloud so that I can go travelling and access my mail from anywhere.

I've never used VM's before, but my understanding is that they look just like a normal machine to the users inside them, and there shouldn't be any problem with me getting used to them. My current mail server is an old 700mhz Pentium III (I think), so performance is unimportant. I guess VM's have some kind of web or VNC console I can log into for the initial install (and if I screw up remote access)?

1. Are these suppositions right?
2. Any recommendations for cheap / reliable hosting providers, please?

I expect to use Gentoo because I've hardly used any other distro for years, and find others less intuitive. 

Thanks,

Stroller.