The apartment was great, and Matteo and his pal Roberto were attentive and obviously committed to making our stay as pleasant as possible. I even had to call Matteo after locking myself out, and Roberto came within 10 minutes. So awesome (and embarrassing).

Some things to note: the area is active, and bustling, but the neighborhood felt quite safe. We slept very well in the back bedroom (away from the street), dark, cool, and quiet with the a/c humming. Being a bit off the beach (but still very close), you feel like more of a carioca, and I never felt uncomfortable once we found the flat and met our host.

The doormen (24/7) were very friendly. The interior of the building itself (as opposed to the apartment) -looks- a but dodgy - only one of two lifts worked at any given time and the hall was rather dirty and poorly maintained... but once inside the flat - quite lovely, airy, clean. The in-room safe is great (they key is a bit tricky but works fine once you get the trick - has to be inserted just so).

You're not going to do much gourmet cooking there - the kitchen is fine but spartanly furnished (we had to ask for a corkscrew and omelette pan, but they miraculously appeared a couple of hours after we texted Matteo!). There is a great grocery immediately across the street (and lots of excellent restaurants nearby, of course).

The bed and bath linens won't remind you of the Ritz, but they did the job. And I would have liked a few more options on the TV, especially for Portuguese non-speakers, but the Wifi is great and easy.

This is a great choice and I really appreciated Matteo's and Roberto's caring and attention.

muito obrigado!