The owners of five-star Dublin hotel The Shelbourne are in the High Court claiming it is being "seriously mismanaged" by the company which is running it.

They want a court order directing that Torriam Hotel Operating Company, a subsidiary within the Marriott Group, give them access to the books and records of the hotel.

They have described the management of the St Stephen's Green establishment as "shambolic."

The court has heard that the owners, Shelbourne Hotel Holdings, claim their auditors have discovered a "systemic" breakdown in the financial controls at The Shelbourne.

They allege that this is because of serious mismanagement by the operating company which has resulted in substantial financial losses.

The hotel closed for refurbishment in 2005 and reopened in March 2007 and the owners say they spent €125m on doing it up.

Mr Justice Peter Kelly has heard that they ultimately want to end the agreement with the Marriott Group and allege the group has run the hotel with a high level of inadequacy.

For now, they say they are entitled to get the books and records so they can understand what is going on.

Michael McDowell, for the Marriot Group, has told the court the language used by lawyers for the hotel owners was very inflammatory and unnecessarily harsh.