The 21-acre luxury resort on Wailea's Polo Beach has 450 rooms, including 37 beachfront villas with private swimming pools. The selling price represents a value of about $789,000 per room.

Fairmont said no changes are planned for its 640 employees at the hotel, which will retain the Fairmont name.

Management and operations of the property will not change, according to Fairmont, which signed a 50-year management contract three years ago.

It is an "opportunistic time to sell because of the current market conditions," said Christof Luedi, Fairmont Kea Lani's general manager.

Fairmont bought the Kea Lani in February 2001 for $250 million, and will realize an after-tax gain of about $69 million with the sale. Fairmont plans to use the proceeds to reinvest in hotels and to buy the remaining interest in the Fairmont management company.

Host Marriott Corp., a hotel real estate investment trust, last year bought the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa for $321 million in cash from Blackstone Real Estate Advisors, a unit of buyout firm Blackstone Group LP.

Host Marriott owns 111 upscale and luxury hotels mostly under the Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt, Four Seasons, Hilton and Westin brands.

The Kea Lani hotel is one of two Fairmonts in Hawai'i along with the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island. Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts holds an 83.5 percent stake in hotel management firm Fairmont Hotels Inc., which has interests in 23 properties and owns Delta Hotels, a Canadian hotel management company. Fairmont manages 44 hotels.

The Fairmont Kea Lani deal is expected to close in August.