Thea & Gui are awesome! Great hosts, very responsive (which I appreciate a lot), superb English, accommodating to your plans. Seriously perfect.

Location is perfect. An easy walk to the beach, in the nicest, safest, most beautiful part of Zona Sul. Easy walk to a gym, a jiu jitsu academy (if that interests you), 3 different super markets, dozens of great bars and restaurants, and a new subway station.

The apartment itself is fantastic. The bunk-bed room is a tight squeeze so don't put adults in there unless you're trying to save money. But the master bedroom was GREAT! Hot water was consistent, AC in every single room, a washing machine in the apartment. I would happily stay here again!

The place itself is a 4 floor walkup, so that's something to be aware of. I personally LIKE this. It wasn't a huge walk, and it made me feel more deserving of all the all-you-can-eat steakhouses I frequented on my trip :-)

In terms of internet (very important for me because I run an online business), it doesn't match up to USA internet speeds BUT it was faster than my friend's apartment, faster than Starbucks, and I don't recall a single day it went out (a small miracle for 4 weeks in Rio).

Overall a clear 5/5 star apartment.