The Pros:
Viviane's place is in a great location. It is just a short walk to the beach and on a smaller street so not as noisy at night. Viviane's brother, Eduardo, greeted us at the gate right when we got out of our taxi. He was cheerful, informative, and VERY prompt. He gave us an orientation of the apartment, and gave us useful maps and guidebooks to the city. He answered every single question we had and made us feel very comfortable. We used his tip sheet for restaurants and had a fabulous time eating in the city. Viviane is also very responsive with her email communication. The booking and the check-in process was as smooth as it can be. The apartment is also very clean. The sheets smelled like it was newly laundered. Bed was comfortable, but slightly smaller than a U.S. queen. Shower had hot water so whatever was causing the lukewarm water in the other previous reviews were fixed.

The Cons:
Below the apartment must be a restaurant because we can smell food frying a few times a day. It seeps into the apartment even with the window closed. The smell is bearable and only lasts for about 5-10 minutes at a time. Another thing about the apartment is that the sewage drains in the toilet must be connected to other apartments in the building. Twice in our 4-night stay, there was a very foul smell coming from the bathroom. We opened the door/window to try to get rid of the smell and it dissipated after about 15 minutes. The second time it happened, we lit a match and that helped.

The pros really outweighed the minor cons for this apartment. I highly recommend this property as it served our purpose wonderfully.