This was my first experience at airbnb. I had an 11 night stay at Mario's place. The place is centrally located. It is just 2 blocks away from the beach. I had a conference at Ipenama. It took about 20 minutes to go there on foot, which is very reasonable. The big bed was too comfortable, that you do not want to wake up sometimes. The TV has been upgraded to an LCD, which was also good with me. It does not have many channels, but you can find some interesting programs.

Mario runs the place like a mini hotel. So, he offers professional services. A cleaning lady checks the house 2-3 times a week. The price is reasonable as Rio itself is a very expensive city. I had collegues, complaning me that they paid $100-$200 for a stay in the same area at a hotel. The bathroom is also fine. I could not figure out how to adjust the hot shower. For future residents, I hope he will provide some instructions on that.

Security is a serious concern. So, Mario's first suggestion was to tell me the places that I should not go. He also told me about the things I should not do. Initially, I took his advice, but that was boring. So, I decided not to become a gringo and joined the be a local group. Those are some favela guys with basic knowledge of English, which introduce you to real Brazil. I went to soccer games with them. The favela party (aka funk party) was among the best I have ever seen so far. Do not be shy, Just make some moves, and you will never know how the party goes on :) You might hook up some chicas at the party, who look good enough to make Hollywood stars jealous. Just search the internet for "be a local" and you will find their information.

There is a hostel across the street named Copahostel. This place hosts mostly Brazillian youngsters enjoying Rio for their holiday. They also act as a travel agency. I recommend checking their services while you are in Rio.

There is another tourism agency named blameitinrio. They do similar services. They also offer fair exchange rates for your USD. There is a guy named Bob from New York, who suggested several places that I should pay a visit. Rio Scenarium is one of them. If you know basic Portugese, this place is the best for single guys. Do NOT exchange money on the airport, as you would be getting at leat 15% to 20% less than what Bob offered to me. I took a tour for Angra, where I fed the exotic fish with my bare hands. That was quite an experience for me. (Brazillians at the same tour were scared to do that)

From the airport DO NOT take private taxis who keep bugging you whether you need a taxi or not. Those guys charge you twice than the regular airport taxis. I paid 110 Reas for airport-to-Copacabana. When returning, the yellow cap costed me only 55 Reas. The guy did not speak any English, but that is totally cool with me.

I wish Mario offered bike rental services as well. There are bike rental services offered by the city of Rio, but I could not figure out how to use it.

All in all, Mario was a super host. Given his energy, I think it would be smart to call him super Mario. The apartment room is also nice, and the location is central. I would rate my experience a 5-star one.