Don't try to book the Waikiki Edition hotel through Marriott.com anymore -- the website advises no rooms are available and you should try other area Marriott hotels instead.
Marriott created the boutique Edition brand, with designs by Ian Schrager, but the hotel owner apparently ousted Marriott management in a cloak and dagger operation in the last day or so.
The owner and hotel now have a new website and name, the Modern Honolulu.
The owner, M Waikiki LLC, brought in new management, Modern Management Services, which is affiliated with Aqua Hotels & Resorts.
The hotel owner terminated Marriott's management contract 29 years early, Marriott charges, calling the move "a blatant violation of Marriott's contractual agreement with the owner."
Marriott demands that Modern Management Services vacate the property and return control to Marriott, which is "pursuing all remedies against the owner and its partners in this illegal act," says Arne Sorenson, Marriott president.
The hotel owner sued Marriott in May, seeking to terminate Marriott's management agreement. The suit, filed in New York, alleged mismanagement by Marriott and failure to expand the Edition brand beyond Waikiki and Istanbul.
Marriott says it will open Edition properties in London and Miami Beach over the next two years and has invested $400 million in the brand.
Whether the Waikiki Edition will be an addition or a subtraction remains to be seen.