This place is very spacious and the location is perfect, close to both Ipanema and Copacabana with a store just across the street which makes it convenient. Th flat is equipped with all the appliances you might need and for a less experienced traveller is probably OK.
This was my 7th time in Rio de Janeiro throughout a period of 9 years, however, this was probably one of my last favourable experiences on AirBnb to date. We faced many issues which resulted in us, at hosts request, having to involve AirBnb support on few separate occasions - this was very uncomfortable and at moments overwhelming.
The issues were as follows:
1. House Rules: the host provided house rules through Whatsup that were contradictory to the house rules on the AirBnb site and required us to follow additional house rules which were not presented on the AirBnb site altogether (e.g. to behave "reserved" when entering the building, to enter through the garage and use service elevator when coming from the beach etc...). This made our stay very uncomfortable and we were unable to resolve the situation with AirBnb support for the whole of our stay (i.e. the case is still pending). You will not be allowed even to have a friend over for coffee without reporting their info to the host thorough Whatsup. We were accused of not wanting to follow house rules.
2. Social Profiling: as a result of point 1. the host resorted to arguments based on social profiling stating that the building is more for "families" and not for us and that we might want to consider moving out (we were two friends, which we have informed the host about prior to the arrival at host's request). For me, this is by far the most unacceptable thing - even though the AirBnb advert hints that the flat is progressively inclusive of various social groups, this was surely not the case. We felt extremely uncomfortable.
3. Interactions with the Host: the host's responsiveness was increasingly difficult and at points ceased altogether after we were asked to take our issues with AirBnb support team. This is an unacceptable level of customer service.
4. Flat: the flat itself does need a touch of refurbishment. Some wardrobes and cupboards were taped with duck tape and "Out of service", some furniture had issues due to increased moisture in the air (rust, lifted surfaces etc.), AC's were not all working, which is an issue especially in the common area which is huge and can't be cooled down properly, showering in the smaller bathroom caused water to flood the floor etc.
Given the above, I would not recommend staying at this place, especially if your privacy and feeling relaxed and comfortable in the place you are staying in is important to you. We felt profiled, micromanaged and very uncomfortable. If you are looking for a place to only sleep over and spend time with your family, it is probably OK.
I have asked AirBnb to liaise with the host to update the House Rules for future gusts to have a clearer picture of the requirements and the environment which I hope will be resolved soon. I would advise you to read them very thoroughly and confirm with the host no additional rules are expected to be followed.
I hope this review will be of help for future guests and for improvement of AirBnb experience altogether.