The Apartment....

When looking for a place to stay in Rio, I looked long and hard at at LOT of hotels. I kept running into issues with cost and safety. The price of nice hotels in Rio is quite high. I started looking on AirBnb, a very popular website for apartments. I then looked on Trip Advisor and found a few great apartments - after reading many many many reviews I reached out to a couple places. I didn't hear back from one, but the other one informed me that the property I was interested in was booked, however they sent me a few others. The pictures and the price was perfect - I was definitely skeptical wondering if the apt would actually look like the pictures.

I'm happy to report the apartment was EXACTLY like the pictures - gorgeous and conveniently located to Ipanema and Copacabana beach. The woman who owns it lives in London and had recently renovated it - upgraded appliances, beautiful bathroom, and modern decor. The kitchen saved us a lot of money by cooking breakfast and lunch (there was a grocery store right down the street).

The building was secure (24 hour doorman) and it was easy to get a cab. The apartment was fully furnished, had wifi, a washer/dryer, Nespresso machine for morning coffee (along with a regular coffee machine) - even a fondue set. The owner of the rental agency, Petra and her assistant, Tessa were incredibly nice and helpful. They arranged for a cab to pick us up and drop us off at the airport. Our security deposit of $500 was returned within 24 hours of us checking out.