Tag: venue

  • Sheraton Saigon Elevates Event Experience with Level 23: New Multipurpose Venue and Skyline Bar

    Sheraton Saigon Elevates Event Experience with Level 23: New Multipurpose Venue and Skyline Bar

    In celebration of its 23rd anniversary, the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel, located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, has recently unveiled Level 23. This innovative space showcases a convergence of meeting venues, event spaces, and a rooftop entertainment area, designed to meet the increasing demand from business travelers, international delegations, and local patrons for multi-functional destinations.

    Exploring the Offerings of Level 23

    Level 23 brings together the private event space Altitude 23, Summit – a versatile meeting and event area, and Hai Bar, one of the most elevated rooftop bars in Dong Khoi. This promising project was officially introduced to the public during the “High Above Saigon” event held on June 26, 2026.

    Summit, the meeting and event space, features five adaptable rooms that provide natural daylight and sweeping views of iconic landmarks such as the Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Bitexco Tower, and the city’s skyline. With the largest room, Grand Summit, capable of accommodating up to 212 guests in a theater-style arrangement, 180 for cocktail events, and 160 for banquets, Summit offers a venue solution for a variety of events. The rooms can be used individually or combined, providing the perfect setting for anything from executive meetings, product launches, and corporate events, to galas, weddings, and private celebrations.

    Adding to the allure of Level 23 is Hai Bar, the hotel’s renovated rooftop cocktail bar. Open from 5 p.m. daily, the bar offers breathtaking views of the Saigon Opera House, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Saigon River, and Ba Son Bridge. Patrons can choose from 23 signature cocktails, each inspired by different regions of Vietnam and made with locally sourced ingredients.

    Introducing Altitude 23

    Altitude 23, the private event venue, is a spacious 260-square-meter area that offers panoramic views of Ho Chi Minh City. It can comfortably accommodate up to 200 guests in theater-style seating and up to 150 for banquets or cocktail receptions. The venue, which once housed the Night Spot nightclub, has been redesigned for contemporary events while preserving elements of the original space.

    According to Julian Wong, General Manager of the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel, the introduction of Level 23 is a significant milestone for the hotel. He emphasized that the concept is not just about height but rather about providing a tranquil, elevated perspective of the vibrant city. Wong affirmed that guests are increasingly seeking destinations that can accommodate multiple purposes within a single visit, and Level 23, with its high-floor experience, perfectly fits the bill.

    The unveiling of Level 23 marks the hotel’s third substantial development in less than a year. Earlier, it opened the Grand Opera Tower, added 120 renovated rooms and suites, and became the first Marriott International hotel in Vietnam to receive LEED Gold Certification under the LEED v4.1 Operations and Maintenance standard.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the concept behind Level 23 at the Sheraton Saigon Grand Opera Hotel?
    Level 23 is designed to accommodate the increasing demand for multi-functional destinations that can cater to a variety of events, from business meetings to private parties, all within a single space.

    What unique features does Level 23 offer?
    It brings together three distinct venues: Summit, a versatile meeting and event space; Hai Bar, a rooftop cocktail bar; and Altitude 23, a private event venue. Each offers a unique high-floor experience with panoramic views of Ho Chi Minh City.

    What is the capacity of the venues at Level 23?
    Grand Summit, the largest space at Summit, can accommodate up to 212 guests. The rooftop bar, Hai Bar, is open to all guests, while Altitude 23 can seat up to 200 guests in a theater-style arrangement.

  • Hyundai Venue Bags Over 2000 Bookings In Just One Day

    Hyundai Venue Bags Over 2000 Bookings In Just One Day

    The soon-to-be-launched Hyundai Venue SUV has garnered over 2000 bookings in India in just one day. It was just yesterday, on May 2, that the company announced opening pre-bookings for the new subcompact SUV in India. Slated to be launched on May 21, 2019, the new Hyundai Venue is the first subcompact SUV from the South Korean carmaker, and it will rival the likes of Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Ford Ecosport, and Tata Nexon. Customers can book the new Venue online on the company’s website or at Hyundai dealerships across India, for a token of ₹ 21,000. Few Hyundai dealers have been accepting bookings for the Venue from mid-April itself.

    The new Hyundai Venue will be offered in four variants and three engine options. While the variant details are still unknown, the SUV will come powered by an all-new 1.0-litre Turbo petrol engine, along with the tried and tested 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated petrol and the 1.4-litre diesel engine. The new 1.0-litre, three-cylinder Turbocharged engine will also get the option of a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission, while the 1.2 petrol and 1.4 diesel will come with a 5-speed and 6-speed manual gearbox, respectively.

    Visually, the Hyundai Venue comes with new design and styling, more in line with the company’s international SUV like the new Santa Fe and Palisade. The features list includes – a cascading grille with chrome detailing, projector headlamps with LED DRLs, high mounted indicators, and projector foglamps. The SUV also gets a set of new sporty 16-inch alloys, roof rails, and LED taillamps with Z cluster patterns. Hyundai will offer the SUV in 7 exterior colour options- Denim Blue, Lava Orange and Deep Forest along with three Dual Tone options.

    The Venue gets a new, fresh-looking all-black cabin with a new steering wheel, a well-laid-out dashboard, and nice fit and finish. For your comfort and convenience, the SUV also gets remote engine start/stop, remote climate control, voice recognition, vehicle relationship management, electric sunroof, cruise control, automatic climate control, rear AC vents, cornering lamps, and a cooled glovebox. This is in addition to an 8-inch floating touchscreen display, loaded with Apple Carplay, Android Auto, navigation and more.

    The new Hyundai Venue is the first connected car in its segment thanks to the BlueLink connectivity system. The system offers 10 India-only features with a total of 33 connectivity features including geo-fencing, speed alerts, SOS, panic notifications, destination sharing, and road-side assistance and so on.

  • Hyundai Venue Bookings Open At Dealership Level

    Hyundai Venue Bookings Open At Dealership Level

    Bookings for the upcoming Hyundai Venue have commenced at the dealership level in India. Several Hyundai dealers, especially in the Delhi & NCR region, are currently accepting unofficial bookings for the new Hyundai Venue subcompact SUV for a token of ₹ 25,000 to ₹ 50,000 depending on the showroom. One of the dealers we spoke to also said that officially Hyundai will start accepting online bookings first for the Venue. Considering the carmaker is unveiling the SUV today, it’s possible the company might start accepting bookings from today itself or later this week. The SUV is also making its global debut today at the New York Auto Show 2019.

    The all-new Hyundai Venue is slated to be launched in India next month, on May 21, 2019. It will be the first sub-4 metre SUV from the South Korean carmaker, and upon launch, it will take on the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Mahindra XUV300, Ford EcoSport and Tata Nexon . As for the pricing, we expect the upcoming Hyundai Venue to be priced in the range of ₹ 8 lakh to ₹ 11 lakh.

    While we are yet to officially see the SUV, the Hyundai Venue featured at Times Square which tells us that it will come with quite compact proportions, with some bold character lines. The SUV also appears to get dual tone exterior treatment with a contrast roof, which in this case was a shade of blue with a white roof. Up front, the SUV gets Hyundai’s cascading grille in chequered pattern with chrome highlights, a dual lamp setup with the LED daytime running lamps positioned above flanking the bonnet line and the main projector headlights positioned below with chrome surrounds.

    The Venue also comes with black claddings along the wheel arches and side skirts, along with a set of sporty-looking dual tone diamond cut alloy wheels. The Hyundai Venue will also get the Blue Link connectivity system featuring 10 India-only features with a total of 33 connectivity features including geo-fencing, speed alerts, SOS, panic notifications, destination sharing, and road-side assistance and so on.

    As for engine options, the Hyundai Venue will come with a 1.0-litre T-GDi Turbo petrol engine along with the 1.4-litre turbo diesel. The engines will come mated to a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission, while there will also be the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic available as an option.

  • Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV Unveiled In India

    Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV Unveiled In India

    Pulling the wraps off its highly anticipated offering, Hyundai Motor India has unveiled the all-new Venue subcompact SUV in the country. The India reveal of the new Hyundai Venue coincides with the global debut at the 2019 New York International Auto Show. The all-new offering marks the Korean car maker’s entry in the subcompact SUV space and will compete against the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Mahindra XUV300 among others.

    The Hyundai Venue is inspired heavily from the automaker’s bigger offerings in terms of design including the Santa Fe and the Palisade. The massive cascading grille takes prominence up front with the chrome mesh grille, while the split headlamps look in place and come with projector lens on the top variants. The SUV gets accentuated wheel arches that not only make the offering look wider but give it a rugged appearance as well, while the rear sports boxy LED taillights that look smart. The SUV also comes with projector fog lamps.

    In terms of dimensions, the new Venue measures 3995 mm in length, 1770 mm on width, and 1590 mm in height. The wheelbase measures at 2500 mm. Hyundai says the car is built using 69 per cent Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) and High Strength Steel (HSS), which have contributed to achieving dynamic stiffness and improved structural rigidity

    The Venue also gets a host of segment first features including wireless charging, air purifier, HD Display screen, eco-coating, Arkamys Sound, wheel air curtains and more. In fact, the SUV comes with Hyundai’s Blue Link connectivity tech that makes the Venue India’s first connected SUV and adds 33 new features, 10 of which are India specific. The company has tied up with service provider Vodafone-Idea for the new system and brings features like auto crash notification, panic notification, SOS/Emergency Assistance, stolen vehicle tracking with immobilisation (only on the 1.0-litre version) and more.

    There are features like remote engine start/stop, remote climate control, voice recognition, vehicle relationship management among other tech. The Hyundai Venue also comes with electric sunroof, cruise control, rear AC vents, cornering lamps and a cooled glovebox. The SUV also gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility. The cabin gets an all-black treatment for India, while the international spec could get a dual-tone finish, and there is brushed silver finish on the three-spoke steering wheel, gearshift knob, and the air-con vents. The instrument console is a dual-pod unit with a large MID unit in the centre.

    Power on the Hyundai Venue comes from three engine options including the new 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol motor that is tuned to produce 118 bhp and 172 Nm of peak torque. The motor is paired with an all-new 7-speed dual-clutch transmission in a first for Hyundai India, along with a manual gearbox. There’s also the 1.2-litre naturally aspirated petrol that churns out 82 bhp and 114 Nm of peak torque, and is offered with a 5-speed manual. Lastly, there is the 1.4-litre diesel as well with 89 bhp and 220 Nm of peak torque, and is offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox. Hyundai is yet to reveal the fuel efficiency figures of each of these engines, and expect the same to be announced at the time of the launch next month.

    In terms of safety, the Hyundai Venue gets six airbags, speed sensing door lock, ABS with ESC, VSP, Hill Assist Control, BAS, ISOFIX seats and more. The Venue enters in a highly contested segment and the model does look promising both in appearance and on the feature front to take on the established offerings in this space. In addition, the automaker is offering a segment first three years/unlimited kilometres warranty and three years roadside assistance.

    Hyundai will be launching the Venue on May 21, 2019, and select dealerships across the country have already started accepting bookings for the model for a token amount of ₹ 25,000. Deliveries can be expected towards the end of next month in the country.

  • New Sketch Shows Hyundai Venue’s Dual-Tone Dashboard

    New Sketch Shows Hyundai Venue’s Dual-Tone Dashboard

    Hyundai Motor India is all set to introduce the Venue Subcompact SUV later this year and the company is releasing details on the new offering ahead of its global unveil on April 17, 2019. While Hyundai released sketches of the exterior and interior a few days ago, the company has now posted a new sketch of the dashboard providing more details on the upcoming offering. The new Hyundai Venue will be offered with a dual-tone dashboard, while the sketch also showcases the large 8-inch touchscreen infotainment display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, along with an automatic transmission.

    The dual-tone treatment will also extend to the seats and the door panels, while rear AC vents are also likely. The big takeaway from the upcoming Hyundai Venue will be the Blue Link connectivity features that will be a first for the automaker in India. The system will come with a dedicated smartphone app and an eSIM from service provider Vodafone-Idea for in-car internet connectivity. The new connectivity system will have 10 India-only features with a total of 33 connectivity features including geo-fencing, speed alerts, SOS, panic notifications, destination sharing, and road-side assistance and so on.

    Poweron the Hyundai Venue will come from the 1.0-litre T-GDi Turbo petrol engine along with the 1.4-litre turbo diesel on offer. Transmission options will include a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed torque converter automatic, while there will also be the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic available as an option.

    The new Hyundai Venue is slated for launch on May 21, 2019 and will take on a host of offerings including the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport, Tata Nexon and the Mahindra XUV300. While the Vitara Brezza has been the sales benchmark in the segment, it will be interesting to see if the Venue will be able to attract similar volumes.

  • Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV India Debut

    Hyundai Venue Subcompact SUV India Debut

    Hyundai India will be entering the subcompact SUV segment later this year with an all-new offering. The company recently confirmed that the new model will be called the Hyundai Venue upon launch, carandbike can now confirm that the new SUV will be unveiled on April 17, 2019. The Venue is a Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Ford EcoSport and the Mahindra XUV300 rival, and will be positioned below the Hyundai Creta in the automaker’s line-up. Interestingly, the India unveil coincides with the world debut that is slated to take place at the New York Auto Show. The Venue nameplate is also what the subcompact SUV will be called globally, and not Styx as it was previously perceived.

    Hyundai says the Venue subcompact SUV will come loaded with features because the big USP of this car to stay connected with the rest of the world. The Korean giant is generous with its vehicles on the feature front and we do expect to see some segment first tech including wireless charging and possibly ventilated seats too. The car was also spotted on a number of occasions recently, revealing what to expect on the design front.

    The boxy proportions of the test mule promise a small yet imposing design on the Hyundai Venue, and will come with an upright cascading grille, along with led daytime running lights that are positioned above the headlamp assembly. The fog lamp housing is rectangular and the car gets dual-tone alloy wheels that lend a nice stance.

    Expect to see wide wheel arches, lower body cladding and large glasshouse area, with the latter bringing more light into the cabin. Under the hood, the Hyundai Venue is expected to be offered with 1.2-litre and a 1.5-litre petrol and diesel engines. Transmission options will include a manual, while an automatic is also likely.

  • Xiqu Centre finally opens in Hong Kong

    Xiqu Centre finally opens in Hong Kong

    Hong Kong’s new performing arts venue dedicated to Xiqu (Chinese Opera), has just opened. Located on the Eastern edge of the West Kowloon Cultural District, at the junction of Canton Road and Austin Road, the Xiqu Centre is directly accessible from the Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Austin MTR station, and easy to reach by public transport from all parts of Hong Kong.

    The building’s striking design, created by Revery Architecture (formerly Bing Thom Architects) and Ronald Lu & Partners, was inspired by traditional Chinese lanterns and blends traditional and contemporary elements to reflect the evolving nature of the art form.

    Stepping through the main entrance, shaped to resemble parted stage curtains, visitors are led directly into a lively atrium with a raised podium and space for presenting the rich and ancient culture of Chinese traditional theatre.

    The eight-storey building has a total area of 28,164 sq m and houses a Grand Theatre, accommodating 1,073 seats, a Tea House Theatre, with a capacity of up to 200 seats, eight professional studios and a seminar hall, all specially designed for different types of xiqu-related functions and activities.

    The design details of each of the facilities have also been created in response to the practical requirements and aesthetic features of the art form. A unique feature of the venue is the location of the Grand Theatre at the top of the building, which allows for a large open atrium below with space for exhibitions, stalls, and xiqu demonstrations and workshops.

    Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngo, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, gave a speech at the opening ceremony of Xiqu Centre. “The launch of Xiqu Centre is not only a significant international cultural event, but Hong Kong also takes it as a great honor and we all are very proud of it.”

    In fact, Chinese opera has been inscribed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists for a decade, Carrie Lam hopes the Xiqu Centres would help promote Hong Kong as an international arts hub and consolidate the city’s position in the development of Cantonese opera.