The place is in great location, just one block away from Copacabana beach (right in the middle in terms of beach length).
Alex is great host, very helpful, giving information about the city's attractions, transportation, security - valuable information from the local person. He was also very swift when we found out the water heater in the shower does not work. He managed to get it fixed quickly.
The apartment is basic but for us it was OK as we are not demanding and we were looking for something with low price in good location at Copacabana.
We were there in bad weather (rainy and only 17-20 degrees during the day), so it was bit cold in the bedroom (the windows are not completely close-fitting - air from outside and noise from the air conditions goes through). It would be nice if the air condition machine can also heat up the air in the room or if there is some small electric heater for such cases. But we understand weather like this is not common and most of the time in the year it might be just fine.
In the living room there is sofabed, so we slept there as it was warmer in the living room.
In the bedroom, there was also light moldy odor (seems the cupboard was the source), but we have smelled this also in our accommodation in Buenos Aires, so maybe it is difficult-to-beat problem for humid coastal areas.
The apartment building is one of the older ones, the walls are not soundproof, it could be issue for those with weak sleeping, as you can hear neighbours.
The kitchen is small but enough if you want to prepare breakfast, cold snacks, dinners. Maybe not for proper cooking, the kitchenware should be in a better condition. Also the cleanliness of the cutlery and some dishes should be improved. There is no hot water in the kitchen (we are used to have it in the kitchen for the washing the dishes). As we found out this is not common throughout the Brazil.
In general, we would definitely recommend this place for those looking for something in a great location and are on tight budget and are not too demanding.