The W Honolulu-Diamond Head hotel on Waikiki's "Gold Coast" is being bought for a second time in two years, and will see at least one major change —the loss of the hip W brand name.

However, the envisioned future for the 50-room boutique hotel at the far diamondhead end of Waikiki is being kept under wraps.

Diamond Head Pacific Capital LLC, a firm affiliated with the operator of a local yacht charter and sale business, has an agreement to buy the hotel from kama'aina real estate investor Brian Anderson, according to one person familiar with the deal.

The transaction is expected to be completed at the end of this month, according to the person who asked not to be identified because the sale involves a confidentiality condition.

A price for the hotel, which is on a mix of fee-simple and leasehold land at 2885 Kalakaua Ave., was not disclosed.

As part of the sale, Starwood Hotels & Resorts will stop managing the property, and the hotel tentatively will be renamed The Resort Hawaii Diamond Head, said Starwood spokesman David Uchiyama.

Chad Allenbaugh, a representative of Diamond Head Pacific Capital and principal of Hawaii Yachts, declined to comment on the purchase yesterday.

Uchiyama said guests registered to stay at the hotel after the sale closes will be accommodated.

The anticipated change will mean the loss of Starwood's only Hawai'i W hotel, which caters to business travelers and features the hip Wonderlounge club on Friday and Saturday nights.

Anderson bought the hotel in August 2004 for about $9 million, making some improvements but no major changes.

Previously, the hotel was owned by Los Angeles-based investment firm Colony Capital, which acquired the 13-story building in 1996 as part of a purchase that pre-empted foreclosure of two buildings formerly known as the Colony Surf Hotel.

Colony spent $10 million renovating the hotel and sold its stake in the adjacent building before selling the W property to Anderson.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.