The brief was to produce a scheme which would add seventy 5-star standard bedrooms to the existing hotel.
In the event, planning permission was obtained for over 90 additional bedrooms.

Negotiations with Dublin City Council to achieve this involved exploiting the principle of planning gain: among these were the complete redesign of the water-storage, which allowed for the relocation of unsightly elements which had projected in a haphazard fashion above the roof line; also, the reorganising of the internal circulation pattern so as to allow for the removal of a lift which had destroyed the visual quality of the original 1862 grand staircase.

Opus Awards 2007: Heritage Award Hospitality Awards 2007: Best Overall Hotel in Ireland, & Best Cocktail Bar in Ireland.