The neighborhood is beautiful, safe and central; many restaurants, bars, shops, banks, supermarkets, sightseeing, the beach, tour agencies, etc. It is a very touristy area so that is something you have to expect. Silvia is a very nice lady, although we had trouble reaching her upon our arrival (our first couple phone calls were not answered). We had the doorman of the building call Silvia to explain her the situation in Portuguese so that she comes and gives us the keys. When she arrived, the apartment was not clean. It was not really a problem for us since we only dropped off our belongings and went out to explore the beautiful Rio de Janeiro. She did apologize for the confusion. When we came back everything was spotless clean. She answered all of our questions and gave us recommendations for stuff to do and visit. She did understand some english and spanish. She even did my laundry! Thank you very much for that. I would say it is a very nice apartment overall, there was coffee which I liked. I would say that the smaller bedroom is not very nice to sleep. The base of the bed is smaller than the mattress so you have to stay on one side not to fall off. Silvia was flexible with check out time and that was very appreciated. Thanks again! I recommend this place to anyone visiting Rio.