Dublin City Council has decided to grant planning permission to Bewley's to extend and refurbish its hotel to upper levels on Westmoreland Street, Dublin.
It is one of three planning applications by the hotel group to the council relating to the site.
A spokeswoman for Bewley's Café Hotels Ltd said the permission granted was only one aspect of the plans for the site.
It was waiting for the council's decisions on the others, and everything depended on whether permission was granted for those.
In the permission granted, Bewley's Oriental Cafés Ltd applied to Dublin City Council to alter and extend the existing hotel at 10/11/12 Westmoreland Street, 19/20 Fleet Street and 1-5 Prices Lane, which are protected structures.
The link at the back between the upper levels of the hotel will be extended to the upper levels of Westmoreland Street, with a proposal that this area be used for more bedrooms.
The extension will be into an area at present occupied by the Dublin School of English, which is a tenant of Bewley's.
A spokesman for the school said yesterday: "We have a current lease. We have been approached by Bewley's, and certain matters are under discussion."
The hotel group's spokeswoman said:
"The Dublin Language School is a tenant, and Bewley's will be discussing with all their tenants what their wishes are in respect of their leases."
The area occupied by the school is on the upper floors above the café, and the permission has allowed amendments to the internal layout and front facade windows.
Other changes include internal and external refurbishment, new common areas, access to toilets in the main building and a glazed access atrium on the rear facade.
Appeals against the Dublin City Council decision are expected to be made to An Bord Pleanála. These must be lodged within four weeks.
The other applications by Bewley's with Dublin City Council include proposals for the relocation of the hotel reception area, restaurant and new cocktail bar to the ground-floor café rooms.
This would include a new café entrance, canopy and additional street lighting on to Prices Lane. There would be a new ramp and café tables on the Fleet Street pavement.
The hotel group proposes removal of the existing modern mezzanine level and the removal and change of use of the existing ground-floor front servery area to Westmoreland Street from a café to retail shop.