Roberto's apartment was solid overall. Great apartment, quiet and comfortable overall. Stayed during Carnaval '15 for about a week.

Our visit got off to a rocky start as some other guests had stayed after their checkout time and the apartment wasn't yet cleaned. Granted, we got there early but this was still an inconvenience because it pushed back the time the apartment got cleaned. Roberto was very helpful in having the other guests move along.

Apartment:
The actual apartment is great! There are large windows, the couches are comfortable and it's pretty spacious. It actually does look better than the pictures here (Roberto needs to invest in a decent dSLR). The AC worked well in the high February heat, the showers were strong and overall it was very clean. There is one master bedroom and another bedroom with 3-4 twin beds. You can also pull out the couches for added bed space. As some others have noted the view is of a favela, but we neither felt unsafe nor did this cause any noise or discomfort.

Not his fault, but the elevators are pretty bad. Only one of the two actually goes all the way to his floor and they are somewhat small.

Location:
The building is located about 8 or 10 minutes from the beach. If it's your first time in Rio, know that you do not need to be right on the beach. His street felt safe and was surrounded with other large condo type buildings. Ipanema is a wealthy neighborhood, so security should not be an issue. The building is in a cul de sac type street so after a week it did get inconvenient to walk all the way to the end of the street where the apartment is located. This did guarantee a quiet stay during the overall crazy Carnaval period.

Conclusion:
Roberto has a comfortable, spacious and clean apartment. Our stay was pleasant and we'd recommend the apartment. Personally I'd stay somewhere else next time just to see another part of Rio.