I stayed with Luiz in Rio on the last leg of my trip in Brazil. The location of the apartment is excellent. You are a block away from the beach and a block away from awesome bars. As expected, everything around is kinda expensive, but you're in Ipanema!

If you want to go to another part of Rio, it's really easy to catch a bus.

The room itself is quite small, as advertised, even for New York standards (I live in New York). But, if you're traveling alone and just need a place to crash at night, this room is good for that.