The hotel company, which does business under the Sheraton, W and other brands, was selected by Kyoto, Japan-based seller Shinwa Golf Group, which in November offered the hotel and a separate package of five golf courses and undeveloped property as part of an effort to clear up its debt in Japan.

Starwood does not have a purchase agreement with Shinwa, so the deal could still fall through. Marriott has also pursued the property, several people familiar with the sale effort said.

A Shinwa spokesperson could not be reached for comment yesterday, but in the past has declined to talk about sale proceedings, which are being handled by a Pricewaterhouse Coopers unit based in Japan and the Resolution and Collection Corp., a Japanese government agency in charge of reducing delinquent loans.

Keith Vieira, senior vice president of operations for Starwood in Hawai'i, declined comment.

It was unclear whether a best offer had been selected for the nonhotel package, which includes two golf courses, a retail center and farm at Kauai Lagoons Golf Club, three courses at Wailea Golf Club, the Wailea Tennis Club and about 250 acres of undeveloped Wailea land.

Expected bidders for the golf and land package are thought to be large Maui landowner Alexander & Baldwin Inc., Castle & Cooke and possibly others.

According to the bid invitation, Shinwa anticipated completing the two sales in August.

Local real estate and visitor industry experts said they anticipated a lot of interest in the Renaissance because Wailea has been one of the best-performing resort destinations in the state, with its location on Maui and mix of oceanfront luxury and upscale hotels, resort residential real estate, golf and retail.

Starwood, which operates several hotels in Waikiki, has been active expanding its presence on the Neighbor Islands, taking over management of Molokai Ranch's lodge in Maunaloa and agreeing to manage the Kona Surf hotel on the Big Island following a planned renovation.

On Maui, Starwood operates the Sheraton Maui and Westin Maui hotels in Ka'anapali and the Kapalua Bay Hotel.

Brokers have said it is difficult to estimate bid prices for the hotel and other assets because they will likely be based on cash flow of the properties, which Shinwa has said are profitable.

County government assessments for property tax purposes value the hotel at about $72 million, and roughly $245 million for Shinwa's other assets.

Shinwa spent between $800 million and $900 million investing in Hawai'i, including acquisition costs, development costs and a $40 million renovation of the Wailea hotel.

The company bought the land under and around the Wailea hotel and two golf courses for $197.5 million from Alexander & Baldwin in 1989, during the Japanese real estate acquisition boom. Two years later, Shinwa acquired the hotel and two Kaua'i golf courses. Shinwa also built a third course and clubhouse at Wailea.

About three years ago, the RCC seized Shinwa's loans from collapsed financial institution Nippon Credit Bank, principal lender for Shinwa's investments in Hawai'i.