The landmark hotel was closed in April 2005 for a 40m renovation, and was originally due to reopen its doors this month.

But after building work delays, that date was pushed forward to 1 December, and has now been extended again to next spring.

The delay means the hotel will now miss the Christmas tourism market as well as the Ryder Cup, which is expected to be a hugely lucrative event for the Irish hospitality industry, and is projected to generate around 130m for the economy.

When the first reopening deadline was missed, a spokesman for the Marriott group, which operates the hotel, said the cost of the delay would be covered by a 4.7m provision made for the closure.

The Sunday Tribune was unable to contact a Marriott representative to determine whether that provision will also cover the hotel for losses incurred from this latest delay.

The new hotel, to be called simply 'The Shelbourne: A Renaissance Hotel', will be one of only 22 five-star hotels in Ireland, and will have 265 guest rooms, compared with the previous 190.