Hilda is an amazing host. From our first interaction to the last, Hilda was the star. The apartment was well equipped with excellent cooking facilities and Hilda kicked things off for us by leaving some fresh goodies in the fridge. When we had questions, she was available and helpful. The apartment was very clean, the internet the fastest we have experienced in four months of traveling and the aircon in great working condition.

The apartment has a good pool and is a minute to the beach. There are a few restaurants and a mini-market/pastry shop about 5 minutes walk. Other than that, the area is a 30 minute walk or short taxi ride to the largest shopping center in Latin America.

We don't speak Portuguese so getting a taxi with the help from the front desk or security guys didn't work. We had to go out the street and flag them down. If you are going to need to get to the main sites of Rio often, you should consider hiring a car as we racked up a few hundred US dollars in taxi bills.