Location, location, location!
We stayed at Raul's place in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, for a few days during the World Cup. The location of the apartment could not be any better, you are in the middle of all the action in a very cute neighborhood, two blocks from Ipanema beach (by lifeguard station # 9) supposedly the “in beach”; you can walk to the lovely neighborhood of Leblon with its less touristy beaches, great boutique stores and chic restaurants like Sushi Leblon and may others. You can also walk to the very happening Copacabana area. This is a lovely, cute, immaculately-kept one-bedroom with two full bathrooms, washer and dryer that came in very handy (no need to over-pack), kitchen, elevator, 24-hour doorman, in a very safe neighborhood. Close to the farmers' market, fruit juice cafes, the very chic Fasano hotel, and a few upscale malls.

We highly recommend the apartment and its host. This was our first time using airbnb. Raul was very accommodating, we actually booked the room two days before we took off to Rio, he got the keys to us, had the apartment cleaned by the time we landed and provided us a list of recommendations on what to do in Rio.