The location is perfect, ideal and safe walking distance to Ipanema and Copacabana, including Arpoador just 800 metres away; cheap for Uber to nearby attractions too. I even walked to Leblon from there in under 40 minutes.
The hosts met me up front and helped me with my luggage. They don't speak English, but are very charming and helpful, so we communicated via Google Translate, using WhatsApp.
The building is slightly older. One day there was no water in the building due to maintenance. The hosts warned me about this, there was nothing they could do and I was prepared. Only issue is that after the water came back, because of the older pipes, it was brown for a little while, just have to let the taps run for several minutes.
The bed isn't the most comfortable for an extended stay (I was there for eight nights), but for short durations it's fine.
There is a washing machine in the apartment, it works great, I dried my clothes by hanging them on chairs, hooks, etc.
The WiFi is strong and reliable.
There is a grocery store and a couple of reasonably priced restaurants on the block, as well as two different banks. Excellent for visitors. A drug store is also available on the next block at the corner.
Overall the inconveniences were small and the positives of this location was great.