I stayed in Mariana's apartment with three friends for Carnivale and the apartment was great. Located a block from the beach, the photos look just like the real thing, and the air conditioning was a life saver! Really, it would have been miserable without them - coming in from the Rio summer to a cool apartment was huge. Mariana was great with adjusting to our arrival that was delayed due to plane difficulties. Ipanema was a blast, nice beach and cool bars nearby. Would stay again.