Staying at Andrei's place was great. Besides the relatively big living room and kitchen, my sleeping room was small but definitely enough for a short stay.
The apartment was clean and everything I needed was there.
The apartment is located in a good, central district where it's probably safer than in most areas of Rio. If you consider going there by car, be prepared that it can be tough to find a parking spot. A bigger shopping mal with several ATMs is in walking distance, and also running to the beach is easy.