Fernando and his wife were excellent hosts. They were very flexible with both arrival and departure times, and allowed me to arrive early/depart late. I had no direct meeting with Fernando, but spoke to his wife, Lena, a few times and she was always pleasant. The room itself was as described. One issue I had was the non-functional electric shower (also mentioned in another review). There is also no microwave or any kind of heating element for food (there is a fridge, silverware and plates/bowls, yet nothing to heat food in?).

*Before I get into the next portion, I should clarify that I did not rent a car while in Rio, relying solely on taxis and the bus. If you do rent a car, you can disregard the following, but it's an important perspective to review if you won't be renting one.*

The one huge issue I had was the location of the apartment, which is a long trip from downtown and major tourist locations, and in an area where GPS doesn't work too accurately for the natives. Due to this, taxis/Uber got lost literally every single time during pick-ups and drop-offs, creating lots of frustration. Additionally, while the property itself is gated and totally secure, go 100 m to the left outside the gate and you have to walk through an extremely poor favela, as well as up/down many extremely steep hills to get to the main bus line. The bus line in front of the house does not go everywhere a tourist might want to go, so I was forced to take this long and arduous route to/from the main bus stop several times throughout the 10 days I was in Rio. This was the most frustrating part of my trip, and while absolutely not the fault of the owners at all, it's definitely an important point to consider if you're not renting a car and choose to stay at this location.