I thoroughly enjoyed my stay here while I visited Rio for the Olympics. Alex met us at the apartment and he was very pleasant. I immediately felt welcomed and he proceeded to show my friends around the apartment and helped to acquaint us to the neighborhood. A generous fruit basket was provided as well and I certainly did indulge *smile*. As the days went by during my stay, I appreciated even more how conveniently located this apartment was to just about everything. It was walking distance to Copacabana Beach, walking distance to General Osorio metro and a few others, walking distance to Ipanema, walking distance to excellent restaurants, a supermarket was literally directly across the street...and the list goes on. I felt very safe and comfortable staying here and so did my friends. There was plenty of room for the four of us.

A few times I reached out to Valerie with questions about logistics (finding a post office, arranging a taxi etc) and she was quick to respond and extremely helpful. I unfortunately did not get to meet Valerie in person but I spoke to her frequently asking for suggestions and recommendations. One of the best recommendations was where to change our US dollars to reals (at a very good rate I may add) and I also utilized their suggestions for restaurants and laundry services. My friends used the patio more than I did but they were on the patio sitting and chatting first thing in the morning and late at night when we were not ready to go to bed just yet.

Overall, I would easily choose to stay here if I ever return to Rio. Feels like a home away from home and I couldn't have asked for more gracious hosts.

Ron