My friends and I stayed at Jean's apartment and were met by Jean on arrival in Rio. He told us the area was safe and couldn't quite recommend anywhere in particular for dining in the area.

The apartment contains most of the same furniture as shown in the listing, however does not represent the condition of the apartment and furnishings. The best word to describe the apartment is dingy. When we entered the apartment was not clean and I must say this apartment negatively affected our stay. There is a cleaning fee charged for this apartment, so I can't understand why it was not cleaned for our arrival. The listing says that the apartment can accommodate 6 people, however with four people we were already feeling crammed. I cannot in good faith recommend this apartment.

The area did not feel very safe at night, however during the day it was fine and being two blocks from the beach was a positive. Copacabana is also a good midway spot between Ipanema and Leblon in one direction and Santa Teresa and Lapa in the other.