We had a great stay at Santa Teresa Mansion - Blue Room!
The location is awesome, a beautiful well-maintained old house in a nice neighborhood in the hills of Santa Teresa. The room is spacious and you have a private bathroom. Great bars and small shops nearby, 5 minutes walk to a bus stop that brings you downtown, 15 minutes walk to the new-old tram that also brings you downtown (for free as of Sep. 2015). Getting to e.g. Copacabana from the house takes you about 30 minutes with public transport.
Bindu and her lovely family are a great hosts. Bindu is always willing to have a chat, help with directions or recommendations on what to do next in Rio.
The breakfast is a really good too, great coffee, fresh fruits, juice, and cake or pankakes, bread, ham and cheese definitely make you prepared for a day of sightseeing.
I can highly recommend that place if you're okay with staying not directly at the beaches of Rio.