Overall the apartment was OK. It was slightly less than a 3 star hotel in overall quality and therefore somewhat overpriced. The kitchen and bathroom were lackluster, limited in space and functionality. The bed was a 3 inch thick foam mattress. But it was very clean and in a good location.
However the biggest downside is the complete lack of communication by the owner. This was almost a disaster on check in. And was VERY frustrating and stressful on check out. All of which could have been avoided by a simple response from the owner. I'll explain breifly.....
On Check in , a couple was having a romantic dinner in unit. They did not speak English and I do not speak Portuguese. OWNER UNAVAILABLE!!!!! Lucky I wasn't an hour later and they would have been in the bedroom, not at the dinner table. I didn't mind the mistake. Things happen. What is unforgivable is the owner's complete lack of response until the next day. The owner should have been available to fix the problem. (btw, AirBnb customer service did not respond for 24 hours - also unacceptable). Ultimately I was able to sort it out with hand gestures and a smattering of Russian that I learned in high school. They were a nice Ukrainian couple.
On check out, I made a mistake and thought I was checking out one day later. Important medicines were in the unit and as a cardiac patient these medicines are critical. Again, the owner was completely non reponsive and of no help in getting my meds in a timely fashion. I did get a very delayed response, but only after I was fortunate enough to purchase the critical meds from a local Pharmacy without a prescription, which may have literally saved my life. Although it was my error, the owners lack of response made for an unnecessarily stressful and problematic day. Again.... problems occur. This is life. But not being available to solve them is completely unacceptable. I wrote to her that my plane departed at 10am the next day. Her response was that I should pick up the things at noon - two hours after departure!!!! She is a joke.