Marcia was very kind and helpful throughout our correspondence and during our brief meeting upon our arrival; she even brought her husband to help with the language barrier--thank you. We were a bit surprised to find many homeless sleeping on the stoops right next door at 10pm when we arrived--though, they assured us the neighborhood was safe until 11pm, and we did feel safe during the days. The next day, we realized our ocean view was only an unobstructed view between two tall apartment buildings and was a bit disappointing, and upon looking back now, seemed to be the theme. Overall, this apartment felt like a step above a hostel. To note, we were only provided one towel each, one set of linens (that were on the bed), and one hand towel to last us a week. I see now that toilet paper is NOT provided (although the amenities provided are written in Portuguese and that is my fault for not translating everything), there are no napkins/paper towels provided, no beach towels, and one beach mat (even though we are literally next to Copacabana Beach). The floor fan was broken, but Marcia was very accommodating and fixed it within one day. Unfortunately, without the fan, we could not deflect the septic smell from the building's old plumbing. Also, the hot water for the shower stopped working near the end of our stay; admittedly, we did not alert Marcia to this because we had already corresponded enough about the fan.

This is an experience that makes you feel like you are a part of the community, but we had friends staying at a local Copacabana hotel. They paid a few dollars more, had a clean and large 2 queen bedroom, complimentary breakfast, discounts to local establishments, and beach towels/mats. Were we to visit Rio again, the hotel option is something we would consider more.