We did not meet Tom in person but he was very welcoming in his e-mails and responded to his telephone when we had a question that need an immediate response. The apartment was as described and Tom provided a cleaning person to clean the apartment halfway through our two week stay. There were some pots and pans and silverware but no food prep utensils. The apartment is on the 8th floor and is exatly one block from Copacabana beach. We enjoyed the downtown neighborhood with good restaurants, laundry, metro, and grocery shopping close by.