As my wife and I were planning our trip to Rio in the week leading up to carnival, we knew it'd be hard to find a reasonably priced place to stay. After reading all the reviews on Bed and Breakfast Leblon I was still unsure, but decided to take the risk. In the end, it turned out that it wasn't much of a risk at all.

Stella was fantastic from the word go. when we arrived, she had a fresh cocoa drink waiting for us, and wasn't pushy when asking us to fill out the required forms, allowing us time to freshen up and kick back. She only asked once about the outstanding balance, saying that we could pay later if need be, and also asking if we needed any money that needed changing.

The neighborhood where the B&B is located is excellent. It's safe, extremely close to Leblon beach, and there is a bus stop 50m from the front gate. The apartment block also has 24hr security. Just to give you an idea about the area, Leblon is one of, if not the most expensive places to live in all of South America, so you can imagine the kind of people that you'll find there. Unlike Copacabana, which has a favela leading off one of its main roads- not that it's not safe there, because it is. I'm just trying to give you an idea of the location. Copacabana is more 'touristy', so to speak. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just depends on what you prefer.

Both of us are vegetarian, and there was enough variety at the table for us to choose from. Everyday we were given a different freshly squeezed fruit juice which was delicious. We saw how much breakfast can cost in cafes and restaurants, and I'd advise staying at a place that includes breakfast in the price (if you're paying £90-£100 per night).

The apartment itself was adequate. Very clean, but could probably do with a bit of updating. The main problem with this place was the fact that the bathroom was shared. On the second day, after we got ready, we went into the living room to eat breakfast but were unable to as the two people staying in the other room were sitting down eating (we had to wait for them to finish in the bathroom before we could use it). We just said to Stella that we would come back. It felt like we were just waiting in our room for them to finish so we could have our turn. This put us slightly behind schedule too. So from the next day onwards, we kind of felt like we had to 'race' against the other guys to use the bathroom so that we could eat breakfast first. It wasn't the the best thing to have to do, especially when you're meant to be on holiday. But then Stella started laying the table for four people to sit and eat (even though the table was slightly on the small side), which was probably the best solution as we all used to wake up at around the same time. It turned out that the other two people staying there were really nice, so it was a shame we all weren't able to sit together before.

Stella was a great host. She was more than happy to offer suggestions on restaurants and sights to see, and even told us what buses to take to see the sights, saving us loads on taxis. We booked a favela tour through Stella and she organized it all for us. All we had to do was wait for the van to pick us up from the main road. She never rushed me when I was speaking to her, and we had a few lovely conversations with her late in the evenings, telling her about our day, and learning more about the Cariocas and their city.

If you like to have your own space wherever you're staying then this might not be for you. We used to leave early in the mornings and return late in the evenings most days so our room was enough for us. Just bear in mind that Stella and her husband also live there so you may walk in to find them curled up on the couch watching tv! :)

If this was any other B&B then I would probably have rated it 3/5. But like the title says, Stella is wonderful and she brings it up to 4/5.