Janete was an incredible host, super flexible with check in and check out times, very communicative and helpful. The apartment was fabulous; I felt super comfortable and at home and wish I could have stayed longer! The building doorman was also sweet and helpful!
Urca is a beautiful, relatively quiet, quaint, and extremely safe neighborhood. There are a handful of restaurants, a small supermarket, and a small beach nearby, as well as the entrance to Pão de Açúcar. It's also about a 15 minute walk to a major shopping mall. For those who haven't visited Rio, however, it should be noted that this is not a location that is walkable to much outside the quiet neighborhood. That said, Ubers are plentiful and quite inexpensive compared to the US.