My fiance and I stayed here for a week during carnival. It was simply amazing. The roof top terrace really has the best view. You can see Copacabana and the Christ statue while enjoying a fabulous breakfast (the best we had in our 8 weeks of South America). It's a very steep climb to the hostel but we always took the motor taxis for 3 Reales which was a cheap and fun way to get to the top. We felt really safe in the area. All in all I can only recommend staying here if you are visiting Rio.