The apartment is cute and the description and pictures are accurate. The location is great for a stay in Rio. Everybody loves the host, including the doorman, which means he is probably a great person although I did not meet him personally. Having lived in Rio, visited over 2 dozen times, and researched stays with other hosts, I think the space is a bit overpriced (even though the host kindly offered a small discount for my extended stay)--but if budget isn't a concern, the space is nice.

That said, it is important to know that the cancelation policy for this apartment is extremely strict. I had to change my plans due to some very difficult personal circumstances, and notified the host that I would be vacating the apartment 5 days early with the same advance with which I made the reservation.

The host kept the entire $742 USD remaining on the reservation after I had vacated the apartment. The host refused to open the reservation so that another guest could book the apartment to make-up some of the losses, and declined to come to any sort of accord for a partial refund of any of the nights.

Unfortunately, it appears there was some serious miscommunication about the hosts ability to attend to my request at the outset, which caused him to incur some costs and special inconveniences I was unaware of. I would not have rented the apartment should I have known, as it is never my desire to create more work for anybody.

You win some and loose some I guess!