It was clear from the start that Michael loves hosting. His hospitality goes above and beyond, and he is a very communicative, accommodating person. The apartment is in the middle of some steps, so make sure you're up for climbing (but that's Santa Teresa in general!) I appreciated the exercise and gorgeous views. You're walking distance from Lapa which has lots of bars and nightlife, or restaurants and shops in Santa Teresa including Cultivar (the best pão de queijo I've ever had) and Bar do Mineiro (known for their feijoada). You're close enough to the beach (by car) to get cool ocean breezes at the apartment. My family lives in Tijuca/Vila Isabel, so this was the perfect spot for us. After a month, it started to feel like home.
This soft-lit, sunny apartment has one bedroom, a cozy living room w/ Apple TV, a bathroom w/ washing machine, a kitchen, a balcony. The bedroom has a powerful fan, an A/C unit and blackout curtains, so in addition to the breezes, you can turn them on and close the curtains if you sleep hot (my boyfriend appreciated this!) One thing to know is that the flush button on the toilet tank sometimes gets misaligned with the mechanism inside. It happens occasionally but was never an issue because all you need to do to fix it is lift the tank lid and put it back down. This neighborhood is also fairly quiet. There was one Saturday night where a few of my cousins stopped at the apartment around 3am, stayed longer than they intended, and were a little too loud, laughing and sharing stories about past relationships. Michael was pleased that we were having a great time, but at the same time, reminded us that's it's important to respect the sleeping neighbors. I had completely misunderstood that it was alright to have people over late as long as the front and balcony doors were shut, and felt awful for causing a disturbance. Again, Michael was extremely kind about it and told us it wasn't a huge deal, and this is only to let people know that's it's important to keep the volume down after 23:00 or so.
There were so many twists and turns in our trip, mostly having to do with my family members in the US not planning well, missing flights and not being able to secure places to stay, in addition to a family tragedy. Michael was very kind to us, despite it not being ideal. He made exceptions, especially during that difficult time, and I can't tell you how much easier it made everything on us. Michael was a fantastic host.
Would recommend this apartment to anyone and would stay here again the next time I come back to Rio. Obrigada :))