I had the apartment pictured here, at the top of the house. It was lovely, very well equipped, very clean and very comfortable. The bed is on the road side and traffic goes on late, so earplugs are a help if you're a light sleeper. I had a great welcome from the property owner, Rui, who also guessed who I was after I walked past the door twice and came out from his office across the road to meet me, and gave lots of useful information about places to eat, visit and shop. The location is good: Lapa Metro station is about 2 minutes walk away (go down the ramp and walk straight down with the flats on the right) and I felt safe returning there even late at night. It's about a 20-30 minute walk downhill into the centre (I never tried doing it the uphill way!), and if you want the beach, the bus goes from just outside the door.