Gustavo is the perfect host - very welcoming, fast responsive, and accommodating (he let me stay 5 more hours so that I can catch my flight without hussle). His place is very modern and super equipped (there is even a toothpaste!) and it says the owner was sincere preparing the apartment for the guests for the best experience. The working desk/chair was helpful for me to get my work done. The bed is comfortable and the dryer/washer was a blessing. The place was squeaky clean.
The house is on the hill (around 130 ft elevation) - took me around 6 mins to walk up and 5 mins to go down whenever I had to go out (I am medium built). I enjoyed this routine exercise. And I also get to the experience the vibrant Ipanema life.