This is a great little place that's flawlessly located and rented by an awesome landlord.

The things people have already written about this place's location are totally correct. The beach, metro, Cervantes (ask Fabio about this place), and vans to Corcovado are all less than 5 minutes away. On the afternoon we left, we stepped off the sand at 2:15 and were rinsed and waiting for our cab to the airport at 2:30. Via the subway, you can get to the city center or down to Ipanema within 20-25 mins or so. A taxi to Sugarloaf will take ~10 mins and cost R$15 max. We had only 3 days in Rio, and were able to see most of what we wanted to see because this place was so centrally located. We never felt unsafe outside, and in fact, we preferred the neighborhood vibe of Copacabana to the sterility of Ipanema. If you're debating between the two, choose Copacabana.

Fabio advertises this place as a "silent" apartment, but you should never expect silence in one of the most densely-populated neighborhoods in the Americas. You'll occasionally hear the neighbors and smell the food they're cooking wafting through the corridor, but, indeed, you'll never hear traffic. And at night you'll even hear crickets in the trees immediately outside the bedroom window. We left the bedroom window open basically 24 hours a day because a lovely breeze flowed through the apartment (beware of mosquitos -- we found just 1, but it managed to bite me 6 times).

The bed was comfortable, the Wi-Fi worked religiously, and the hot water and water pressure in the shower were great. That alone is all you need. And yet...

Not to downplay the comforts of the apartment, but the real appeal in renting from Fabio is how willing he is to share his advice about the city with you. We arrived late (in a private car that Fabio arranged for us), and Fabio spent probably 10-15 minutes chatting with us and another 10-15 minutes drawing his suggestions for bars/food/sightseeing on a map. His suggestions were perfect, and here's my suggestion: fit as many of his suggestions into your itinerary as possible. When it came time to leave, he arranged a cab back to the airport using a discount (R$50) that we would have certainly never found ourselves.

All in all, an excellent stay. This is why AirBnB thrives.