My friend and I had been traveling all over Brazil, from Foz do Iguaçu to Florianópolis to Rio, and must have stayed in over 15 different apartments, hostels, pousadas, hotels- you name it, we stayed in it. But, Nando and Diea's apartment was by far the loveliest place we stayed. Not only was the apartment in a great location, but it was clean, well-decorated, had a super comfortable bed and the overall environment was just so cozy and inviting; The birds chirping outside the window in the garden and the way the morning light shone in to wake us peacefully each morning- it was so great! But, the best part about our stay at this airbnb in Rio was the hospitality of our hosts. They provided a lovely little breakfast set-up for our stay, and they also left us guides, and maps of the city; they even wrote up their own booklet of a guide to Rio (favorite restaurants, about the neighborhood, nearby attractions, favorite things to do in the city, best tours to take, etc.)- their guide even had an English version, which Nando brought by for us.
My friend, unfortunately, got sick during our stay, and as a non-native Portuguese speaker and an American girl in Brazil, I was completely helpless as to how to assist him. Nando happened to message me about the key-exchange the night before we were due to check out and I asked to extend our stay for another night because of my friend being ill, and Nando was SO helpful. He sent me photos of the medicine I should buy him OTC at the pharmacy, what I could make for my friend at the apartment to aid his pain, and so on. He even offered to come with us to the doctor to be our translator! But, my friend felt MUCH better after the medicine. Nando even dropped us off some DVDs (in English) at the apartment desk downstairs so we could relax and enjoy our last night in Rio- where we felt, sickness aside, as though we were enjoying the city from the adorable apartment tucked neatly away in the best part of the city. Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend this apartment; there is absolutely nothing bad to say about it, and the hosts are so welcoming that you'll feel as though you're just retreating at a friend/family member's spare place in Rio de Janeiro.