When the Royalton Hotel opened in 1988, it was dubbed “the hippest hotel in Manhattan” and started an international trend toward smaller, highly designed boutique hotels. When The Morgans Group, the hotel’s owners, decided the hotel's funky chicken 1980's look needed a serious face lift, they hired Roman and Williams. Fire, war, pounding drinks and sex was the inspiration. The project included the design of a destination restaurant, operated by restaurateur John McDonald, which was integrated into the design of the lobby.