The room: very comfortable, stylish and clean, lovely private bathroom, extremely high-pressure shower to blast you clean.

The place: excellent neighborhood in the hills of Rio, plenty of cute bars and restaurants, beautiful foliage and views, you can hike down to the Gloria metro stop in ten minutes. I walked back up every night, but I'd recommend taking a cab home to spare your quads.

The host: Anna was very accommodating and helpful; I had a hideous time getting to Rio and arrived without my luggage, but Anna told me where I could buy some clothes and gave me a toothbrush and toothpaste.