In the first decade of the new millennium, nobody cranked up the volume on Hong Kong’s high jinks quite like party tsar Chris Lenz. He wasn’t just the brains behind mock-horror-themed Igor’s restaurant, he was its body and soul, frequently taking to the stage to urge guests on to greater excess. In the Lan Kwai Fong nightlife district , the crowd spilling out of his maritime-themed bar, Stormy Weather, regularly blocked the street. Just up the hill, The Cavern – his tribute to the 1960s – rocked and rolled with a vengeance. These were followed by several more restaurants and bars, all devised by the man who soon acquired the nickname “Zoom Lenz”. But by 2009, the Canadian entertainment entrepreneur had had his fill of Igor’s Group. He cashed out, leaving him with a good sum of money in the bank, and set about building the 104ft superyacht of his dreams in southern Thailand. The vessel, Silver Lining, was launched in 2011. Together with his wife, former public relations professional Vicky Chima, and children Kyana and Kanon, Lenz set course to enjoy family life at sea. By autumn 2013 they had reached Panama in Central America , where Lenz felt it was time to drop anchor for a while. “We chose Panama mainly so the kids could learn Spanish, which we thought would be useful, as they already spoke Cantonese and Mandarin,” says Lenz, 54. Empty beaches, free food in Thailand, for the few there to enjoy them “[Panama City] was safe, had good international schools, and seemed like a Central American version of Hong Kong or Singapore. It was supposed to be our base for just a couple of years, but after six months I was hating it. Then I looked in the mirror and realised it wasn’t Panama – it was me. “I was feeling bored and useless. I’d stopped work at the end of 2008, built Silver Lining, then set off on our grand voyage, so this was the first time I was sitting in a house doing nothing.” Casting about for a new project to fill the time while his children finished their schooling, Lenz decided to buy a property in Panama City’s historic centre and refurbish it. After centuries of Spanish colonisation, and with a marked American influence gained during the construction of the Panama Canal in the early 20th century, Casco Viego – “old quarter” – was both architecturally distinct and full of a charm undimmed by decades of semi neglect. After a prolonged reconnaissance, Lenz’s eye fell on a former Jesuit mission dating from the 17th century and adjacent buildings that occupied an entire city block, but initially dismissed it as being too large. The complex had already been partially cleared out, but the owners – a development company – had been diverted by other projects that they felt were more in line with their skill set. Lenz made some rough calculations to ascertain how many rooms and restaurants could fit into the site, and swooped in to buy the freehold. “It didn’t take me long to fall in love with the idea of a boutique hotel in Panama. After all, the chance to bring back the history of such a site in such a fabled spot was not something that comes along every day,” Lenz says. “Vicky asked, if we didn’t need the money – and we were lining up to retire to Phuket – why I would take on such a mammoth project. So I asked her: why do some people climb Everest?” With a US$20 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and additional funds from former Igor’s investors and staff, Lenz sized up the task of converting a brownfield site into a boutique hotel that he decided to call La Compania. Panama City is awash with international hotel brands housed in gleaming skyscrapers – including one that was once part of the Trump brand – but to date has no authentic historic boutique hotel. The prospect of La Compania’s opening has been greeted with enthusiasm, but also puzzlement over what is regarded in Panama as a somewhat radical concept. Spread among four buildings around an extensive internal courtyard, La Compania – which is due to open early next year – is smack in the heart of the old quarter and a stone’s throw from the Panama Cathedral. The 88 rooms and suites are being given a historical look, with a Spanish wing in the oldest part of the hotel, a French wing that recalls France’s pioneering work on the Panama Canal, and an American wing that occupies what was originally a department store built in 1905. A clutch of high-end restaurants, a spa, health club, and rooftop swimming pool and bar are the icing on the cake. Such was the grand vision. However, “the best-laid plans of mice and Lenz sometimes go awry”, he says. Coronavirus restrictions struck in spring, bringing La Compania’s construction to a halt. A frustrated Lenz returned to his native Thunder Bay, Ontario. I was feeling bored and useless. I’d stopped work at the end of 2008, built Silver Lining, then set off on our grand voyage, so this was the first time I was sitting in a house doing nothing Chris Lenz on his decision to take on the Panama hotel project “I had a new mission, I was feeling the passion again and the imagination was running – then we had to slam the brakes on,” Lenz says. “We started up again at the beginning of September but the hold-up set us back several months. Still, we are well over halfway there, and will soon be looking to announce an opening date.” La Compania is being built by China Construction America (CCA), an offshoot of a Chinese conglomerate. Lenz admits that finding a reliable contractor was a tough, lengthy process. “CCA have been performing very well. It’s a small job for them as far as revenue is concerned, but they appreciate the heritage aspect, and I’m lucky to have the loan from IDB,” he says. “This is the first private programme that the bank has funded in Panama, and IDB is pretty much the central bank of Latin America. If you’ve got them behind you, it signals that you’re legitimate, clean and above board, and you won’t face many of the problems that are sometimes associated with this part of the world.” The hotel’s centuries-old fabric has required gentle curation, and a group of 30 Colombian stonemasons have been working on its walls, built of brick, limestone and coral. “It’s a fascinating process, working through the layers of history,” Lenz says. “You can make an educated guess at a building’s age by what sort of mortar was being used. And we’ve unearthed entire stone columns, which were probably shipped over as ballast and then incorporated in one of the buildings here.” Building a new hotel at a time when the travel industry is in disarray due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and many hotel projects around the world have been postponed or cancelled outright, does raise some eyebrows. “La Compania is going to be a unique property,” Lenz says. “It’s not going to be a Raffles or a Peninsula or a Galle Face, but it is going to be very special. There’s concern over whether the travel business will ever recover, but every industry has its ups and downs, and I tell my investors that I’m in it for the long term.” Lenz landed in Hong Kong in 1989 when he started working for Omni Hotels. “I thought it would be for just a couple of years. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d end up on the other side of the world putting together my own hotel. Still, I guess you can’t complain.”