Such a gorgeous place and soooo convenient.
A few hints -
Lisi is not kidding when she says not good for grandmas with bad knees. Although they helpfully had someone to carry the luggage up, just remember, when you have a beautiful view like that, it means several flights of (steep) stairs.
Pack light, be fit and energetic and you will love it!
We drove and it might seem a bit alarming to pass a police checkpoint at the base of the hill. You will look on the map and go - OMG, am I in favela Vidigal? No, but you would be if you continued south and up the hill. Driving in Rio is horrible - we never touched the car while in town.
It’s very safe, we walked everywhere (it’s a quick and beautiful walk on the cliffs overlooking the ocean to Leblon - an affluent neighborhood with tons of restaurants and bars). The Sheraton Grand resort is across the street, but you will have a better view and more room and will feel totally smug about it.
We probably should have used Uber, but ended up walking everywhere. We even walked all the way from the apartment up to Christo Redentour via the Parque Lage trail. Not sure if it was miserable or glorious. It was both. We did take the train down and then a bus back.
Full kitchen with filtered water dispenser but we did not cook at all while there. Highly recommend Braseiro da Gavea for an excellent meal and drinks with great service that is good value and a better deal than a touristy rodizio churrascaria.
We wished we could have stayed longer at this spectacular spot!