The Marriott Vacation Club recently held its grand opening of their newest timeshare property in Rivera Beach on January 15th of 2010. The 19-story Marriott Oceana Palms resort is Marriott’s 50th timeshare resort and it’s located on Singer Island, just steps away from the ocean on Florida’s gold coast.

The Marriott Oceana Palms timeshare resort is the second timeshare property on Singer Island and the 12th timeshare resort in Florida. Marriott is expecting to open another Florida timeshare, The Marriott’s Lakeshore Reverse, in Orlando sometime during this year.

The opening of this new Marriott timeshare could provide a tourist boost in Rivera Beach and to the county of Palm Beach. The president and chief executive of the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jorge Pesquera, said, “This is a renaissance of Singer Island. It adds another option to the Rivera Beach/Singer Island corridor, which used to be very significant for tourism.”

The first phase of the timeshare resort is called the Palm Beaches and features a 19-story tower with 91 villas, 75 of which are now available.  The timeshare villas offer over 1,100 square feet of space with a fully-equipped kitchen and all the luxuries of home, as well as spectacular ocean views.

The Marriott Oceana Palms resort amenities include a full-service restaurant, a fitness center, a spa, and even a climbing wall for the kids.  The resort also offers a zero-entry pool with a waterslide and a children’s Splash Zone that will keep the kids entertained for hours.

Marriott is currently planning the second phase, which will be another 19-story tower that will bring the total number of units to 169.

Even though timeshare sales are struggling, Marriott is very hopeful.  “We felt the demand was there, and this beachfront location was a great opportunity,” said James Woelbern, director of public relations for Marriott Vacation Club, which is based in Orlando.

Woelbern won’t disclosure any numbers, however he said that the interest in this new timeshare resort is already strong and said its “exceeding our expectations.” He also said that the other Marriott timeshare resort on Singer Island, Ocean Pointe, timeshare units “have been sold out” for several years.

The Marriott Oceana Palms had more than 55% of their rooms booked for the grand opening and the resort is expecting to have over 80% capacity in just one week after opening their doors.