Viviane's apartment is amazing and she is great as well. You never know if an apartment is going to live up to the reviews, but her place exceeded them. It was in a perfect location in southern Copacabana (just north of Posto 5 on the beach and a couple blocks in). We'd worried about story's of Rio's crime, but felt on the streets at midnight or one am, with lots of people around, and the Metro station was a few minute walk and whisked us around town avoiding the traffic. Also a great inexpensive and legendary music club called Bip Bip five minutes away (you can Google it).

the apartment itself was way better than any hotel--spacious and clean--we never felt cramped, and we saved money by buying fruit and cereal and making our breakfast in the full kitchen. Just a great place to come back to.

But the final treat was Viviane. Our only worry is that the building's doorman didn't speak English, unlike the staff in some hotels. But she spent an hour going over all her favorite places to see in Rio and was just a great guide (she does photos for Lonely Planet, remember). Just a really interesting person and we only regret that her schedule didn't let her spend more time with us.

One note--there isn't a phone in the apartment, but our Skype worked great with the WiFi. She's also getting an old cell phone set up so she can lend it to guests if need be. Should be ready for the next guest.

Overall, can't recommend it more highly and we wish our 8 days had been 80 days...