My wife and I spent 2 nights going and 2 nights coming back on a Copper Canyon tour. The Rio Vista is a bit of an off-beat place but very charming in its own right because it offers the only view of the river of all the hotels in El Fuerte. The proprieter, Chal is as about as accomodating as you can get and went out of his way to make us feel at home. The meals were good and the margaritas some of the best we've ever had. The hotel sits high above the river and the property offers good views, particularly from the outdoor eating area. We love birds and saw many species while relaxing and enjoying our meals and drinks.

Chal took us on several tours. We drove out to a local indian reservation and were very entertained watching native dancing and Chal's brother took us on floating tour down the river where we saw vast numbers of nesting Great Blue Herons, White Egrets and Cormorants in the trees. We also walked a couple of miles and saw several new bird species and visited some 2500 year old petroglyphs.

If you want a 4/5 star experience this is not the place but if you want a friendly atmosphere with adequate rooms, good meals and great drinks then this is the place. My only warning is come prepared for biting noseeums and put on repellent before going outdoors -- believe me when I say it's better to be safe than sorry. My first afternoon I got over 50 bites on my lower legs while walking around the historical district in shorts from 4-5:30PM in late March. They don't start itching until some hours later and then itch for 2 or 3 days!

We stayed here on the 1st and last 2 nights of a burro hiking tour in Copper Canyon. The owner, Chal, is very nice and helpful, as are all the staff. He arranged for our transport to and from the Los Mochis airport.
The place is lovely, with bougainvilla and lots of other tropical flowers, hummingbirds and other colorful birds everywhere. There was a small gecko in the bathroom. The rooms are fairly large, colorful and rustic. A delicious breakfast is served on a charming balcony with a river view. On our last day Chal arranged for us a birding and petroglyph tour on the El Fuerte River with his brother Felipe. Felipe was an excellent and knowledgeable birding guide. Both Chal and Felipe speak good English.

The hotel is a short and easy walk from the center of town, next to the museum.

The shower worked fairly well, but the beds were a little too soft. I only gave it a 3 for sleep quality because of the roosters, donkeys and the noises from partying neighbors on the hillside below.

We arrived in El Fuerte after a long train ride from Creel. The taxi driver took us straight here; it is both well hidden but also very near the centre of the village.

Great welcome, very nice large room with bathroom on the ground floor level. Excellent food although there were few people staying while we were there. Very attentive host.

You can really relax here on the patio, looking out over the river. We wished we had had time to stay longer.

We stayed at Rio Vista Lodge as the first overnight on a tour with CanyonTravel.com....the amazing plethera of hummingbirds is terrific - but on the other hand, the laxidaisical attitude of customer service in Mexico prevails, it is once again 'buyer beware'. As an American, it is hard to prepare yourself for the pitfalls other than to lower your expectations to the ground. Thankfully we did not have power outages during our stay, but the ram-shackleness of the facility could have turned bad at any moment - fortunately we were okay and rolled with the punches. But I would recommend if you're booking with CanyonTravel.com, please read more of those reviews first.