The lender for the embattled Ilikai hotel in Waikiki said it will stop paying operational expenses, prompting a move to close hotel operations as of Feb. 8, according to documents filed in state Circuit Court.

It is the latest action linked to foreclosure proceedings against developer Brian Anderson and his Anekona Development Group, which bought into the project in 2006 with big plans to renovate.

"Anekona will use every legal means available to us to fight to keep the Ilikai open," Anderson said yesterday.

The Ilikai was built in 1964 by businessman Chinn Ho as part residential condominium, part hotel, and gained pop-culture icon status as part of the opening scenes of the long-running TV series "Hawaii Five-0."

But in recent decades, the property has been showing its age and some of the problems that come with having a succession of owners with different priorities.

In July 2006, Anekona Development Group spent $218 million for a purchase that included 343 units in the main Y-shaped tower as well as commercial space and the connected Yacht Harbor Tower building, with 360 rooms. The company sold the Yacht Harbor Tower, which included the main pool for the complex, meeting rooms and commercial space, to an affiliate of San Diego-based eRealty Cos.

In August, lender iStar Financial filed a foreclosure lawsuit against Anekona.

Making changes to the aging property has proven difficult. Anderson and some longtime owners of individual Ilikai condo units have clashed.

According to a motion filed Tuesday in Circuit Court, without continued funding from iStar the hotel won't be able pay its management expenses.

In a letter attached to the court filing, iStar executive Bert Haboucha said the property has been operating at a loss of more than $300,000 a month.

Haboucha wrote to the receiver: "There is no reasonable prospect under any circumstance that the residential property will appreciably decrease this operating loss, much less generate a profit, in the foreseeable future."

Hotel operations include the front desk, bell desk, housekeeping, engineering, administrative offices and portions of the parking garage, according to the filing.

The court appointed hotel analyst Joseph Toy as receiver on Oct. 29. Toy said the lender's notice left him no choice but to move to shut down the hotel.

"I really don't have any options if there are no longer any funds available to operate the hotel," Toy said. "I'm seeking instructions from the court on shutting down the operations."

Anekona's Anderson said the receiver "has not been able to add additional revenue or make cost cuts to increase the bottom line."

Anderson said he has struggled to stay open and pay employees during a tourism slump. "One of the main reasons of my financial troubles is that I've mortgaged all of my properties to keep the hotel open and ensure employment for our long-term employees," he said.

UNITE HERE Local 5 represents 70 workers at the Ilikai. Spokesman Cade Watanabe said the union just learned of the court filing yesterday and will need to consult with attorneys on the next steps.

If the action does close the Waikiki landmark, "that will be an unfortunate and very sad day," Watanabe said.

"There are people who have called the Ilikai hotel home for decades," he said, and some of the most experienced hotel union members have worked there as well.

A hearing on the matter is scheduled on Feb. 3 before Circuit Court Judge Karen Blondin.

It's not clear how the action would affect the condominium owners who have other units in the building, some of whom rent them out and have relied on the hotel to manage their units when they are not living there.

Receiver Toy agreed that the closing would be unfortunate. He added, "It's something that nobody wants."