This was my first time traveling to Brazil and unfortunately I was very disappointed with my stay at Mara's airbnb.
No Wifi
The airbnb experienced problems with wifi. Wifi was extremely important to have so I could look up restaurants, google maps, use whatsapp and communicate with family. I arrived on a Saturday and the wifi was not working. It was temporarily fixed on Sunday evening and then lost connection again on Monday. I expressed the wifi connection issue to Mara but the issue was never resolved. I did not have connection for the rest of my stay.
Hot Water Issues
I arrived on a Saturday and there was no hot water. I expressed this concern to Mara and she communicated with Marli who lived down the street for us to go to another of her airbnb locations to shower with hot water. I had to pack my bag and walk down the street to another airbnb location to shower with warm water and then walk back to my actual airbnb. The hot water issue was addressed on Monday.
Nats/Flys
Having occassional nats or flys in apartment with windows is expected however these bugs became a problem even though we closed all the windows in the apartment. These bugs were primarily in the kitchen area even though we didnt have food or fruits out. There was also an abundance of them by the window area in the living room. They eventually spread into the bedrooms and bathroom. This issue was expressed to Mara however it wasnt addressed until two days before the end of my stay.
A/C
The air conditioning unit in the living room did not work. I expressed this concern to Mara on my first day and this issue was never addressed even though she said someone serviced and resolved it. This wasnt a big problem since the A/C units in the two individual rooms worked. A couple days prior to the end of my stay, Mara expressed that the A/C unit for the main bedroom was making a noise and that a neighbor had complained. She asked if we could relocate to the other airbnb down the street but I never acknowledge this concern because it was towards the end of my trip and frankly was tired of all the issues we experienced.
Location
The location is a great location. Its in walking distance (minutes) from Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach. The Zona Sul grocery store is nearby. There was a little cafe across the street. A bike rental place down the street. Lopes Cafe two blocks away, were we got coffee and breakfast sandwiches. Security is 24hrs. I always felt safe at that location. A lot of foot traffic in front of the building, people walking, biking, exercising.
Cost
My stay was in May 2021. The Hilton along Copacabana beach was actually the same price per night but I chose to stay at Mara's location in a neighborhood because I wanted a more "local" experience. Everything during my trip was very fun and enjoyable except my airbnb and at the end of the day after being out and coming home tired, the last thing you want to do is deal with issues at your airbnb or walk down the street to take a shower. Very disappointing.
Overall
The airbnb was not prepared at all for my stay. What was disappointing was that major things like no wifi, A/C, bugs, hot water were not ready or even checked for our stay. Mara was not on sight so I had to resolve issues by communicating and meeting with Marli, who is super sweet. lived down the street and only spoke Portuguese. Mara apologized for the issues but issues like the no wifi and bugs werent addressed. She mentioned refunding me one day for all of the inconvenience but this refund was never received.