[gringochileno]

If you have the cash Ipanema would probably be ideal. Close to the beach, upscale area, and not as far from Copa, Lapa, and Botafogo as Leblon is. I stayed at the Mango Tree hostel a block away from Posto 9 and it was ideal. If money's an issue I would stay in Copa. It didn't seem very sketchy to me (in fact there are a ton of tourists there) and the central location and proximity to the beach are hard to beat.