I highly recommend Luiz' place! I had a wonderful stay of 6 nights at his place, and I could not have felt happier or more welcome. Here are the many advantages (in no particular order).
1. Extremely clean and spacious bedroom and bathroom. Lots of room to unpack and feel at home. Luiz' place is very stylish and cleaner than hotels!
2. Safe location (I'm a female traveling alone and I felt safe even coming home late in the evening from the metro). I think Botafogo is one of the safest places in Rio.
3. Perfect location; 7 minutes walk to a great mall (Botafogo shopping); 5 minutes or less from the beach; 7 minutes walk from the Botafogo metro station and even closer to all the major bus routes (the buses and metro are safe in Rio). Also walking distance to a couple of areas with many restaurants & bars.
4. Delicious breakfast along with wonderful conversation with Luiz if you are up when he is having breakfast. If not, it is waiting for you when you wake up! I really enjoyed chatting to Luiz over breakfast.
5. The bed is very comfortable, the sheets smell so clean, the room is not noisy as the bedroom faces the woods. The bathroom is also very spacious. There is also a computer for guest use. Wifi signal was great. Air conditioning in the room also works great.
7. Lastly but by no means least: Luiz is so sincere, kind, generous and friendly, he went above and beyond what you would ever expect from a host. I felt like his "host daughter" during my stay and I hope to see him and his lovely girlfriend again on my next trip to Rio.

Walking from here to Urca early in the morning is very much recommended! If you like running or early morning walks many people walk/jog/workout along the Botafogo beach and toward Flamengo Park.

This was my third time in Rio and it was by far my best Airbnb experience, and Botafogo is my favorite location in Rio. Don't bother staying in Copacabana or Ipanema; it's overrated and can be dangerous for tourists also.