Dreams Come True For "Make a Wish" Youth at St. Regis Punta Mita PuntaMita.com
go to original October 2, 2012

In a partnership with the Make a Wish Foundation, The St. Regis Punta Mita saw that the wish of one young man came true.

Ian Sabastián Batista, has been battling cancer of the eye for nearly half of his seven years and is currently in recovery after two years of chemotherapy. Having lived in the desert state of Chihuahua (located in the Northern/Central part of Mexico) all his life, Ian's greatest wish has been to see the ocean.

When Carl Emberson, the General Manager of The St. Regis Punta Mita heard of Ian's story, he was immediately committed to making Ian's wish come true.

Ian and his family arrived at The St. Regis Punta Mita Resort last month, where they were greeted by a grand welcoming from the staff who had prepared balloons and posters in his honor. After the welcoming ceremony, Ian and his family were escorted to their room, a two-bedroom luxury suite, complete with a full kitchen, living room, dining area, and pool. As the suite sits on its own private beach, Ian was most ecstatic to learn that for the next four days, his home would have an ocean view.

Ian's days were spent exploring the beach and enjoying the resorts daily activities as well as special events such as private picnics and dinners with the staff. On his first morning, the guides from Punta Mita Expeditions/ (the resorts on-site tours/activities partner) taught Ian to fish and although he did not land a keeper, he did catch a palm tree while he was learning to cast!

After his fishing lesson, Punta Mita Expeditions took Ian and his family on a snorkeling tour of Las Islas Marietas, a UNESCO protected group of small islands just off the coast of the resort. The Batistas were thrilled to find the islands surrounded by a variety of colorful and exotic fish as well as to discover the hidden beach whose picture has been the subject of much excitement on Facebook of late.

We tried to catch up with Ian before he left as he was finishing an aqua-aerobics session to ask him about his experience thus far, but we were unable to get more than "It’s been fantastic!" out of him as he was already rushing off to play soccer on the beach.

In his wake were the beaming faces of the activity staff and two other guests who Ian has befriended – clear signs that the resort enjoyed Ian as much as Ian is enjoyed the resort.

Source: St. Regis Punta Mita

  Learn about Make-A-Wish Foundation Mexico

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