We stayed at the Four Ambassadors for one night pre-cruise and one night post-cruie earlier this month. This is a condo complex where one tower is short-term or hotel style rentals. The neighborhood is nice and relatively safe, on the edge of the financial district. Both of the units we stayed in were quite clean, but getting a bit shabby around the edges. Since there were two and adults and two adult-sized teens to be accommodated, we opted for the deluxe suite, which gave us tons of room and was cheaper then paying for two "regular" hotel rooms elsewhere. The only major complaint was that in neither unit was the sofa bed really in usable condition. My son was a good sport about it both nights, but then he can fall asleep sitting up! Even though there were four of us expected, we had to call for extra towels both stays (there were only two complete sets in the entire unit). The housekeeping staff spoke very little English, so it was a good thing that I was able to dust off my high school/college Spanish.
Many permanent/long term residents apparently Cuban--so I suppose language problem a non-issue for many people. Nice little deli, coffee shop, Intenet cafe, two specialty restaurants. We got supplies for quick breakfasts at the deli both stays (our units had complete kitchens), which probably saved some time and money. Intenet access was easy and cheap at $2.50 for 30 minutes and $5.00 for an hour.

Previous review had indicated that it was only a short/cheap taxi ride to pier, Sobe, etc. The closest and cheapest taxi was about $6 to the Bayside Marketplace. It is about a $12 ride to the pier and nearly $25 to the heart of South Beach. Something tells me that the higher gas prices have driven up the taxi fares since earlier this year.