This is our first trip to Hong Kong and we will be going to Macau before taking a ferry over to Hong Kong. We were planning to stay in Macau for abt 3days & another 3days in Hong Kong and we are trying to figure our itinerary and determine the best area/hotel for Hong Kong. As we are on a pretty tight budget (more $$ to shop!), we were wondering if Hong Kong featured any less mainstream and perhaps quirky little boutique hotels that is accessible to all the good eats & buys. We don't mind (Love!) staying up and shopping and food are high priorities so we would love to get recommendations on must-eat, must-see, must-go! Any advice would be greatly appreciated !

In March we spent 5 wonderful days in Hong Kong. Stayed at the Stansbury YMCA in Kowloon. Terrfic location, great room and excellent breakfast. Good rates. The hotel is 1 block from the Star ferry and we went back and forth on this ferry several times a day.

You do mean the Salisbury YMCA, right? I just want to put in my $.02. The Salisbury is as far from a "less mainstream and quirky little boutique hotel" as you could get. You can read reviews, including mine, on trip advisor (same screen name). It's a very good choide of hotel for location (near the Star Ferry, Nathan Road), view (if you have a harbour view room (spectacular)), and price. Other than that, it's like an unrefurbished Holiday Inn, the best word I can use is "tired".

What exactly is your budget? Most boutique hotels are fairly pricey, but if you're really tight on budget and don't mind very small rooms and using buses more instead of MTR (subway), there is a chain called Bridal Tea House that is pretty cheap.

BTW, Macau is pretty small. Since this is your first trip to both places, you should spend one more day in HK and cut one from Macau.

I agree than Macau is very small. Unless you're there to gamble, one day is sufficient. Macau's main attractions are the casino area and the main city area.

I agree.One or two days at most for Macau and the rest in Hong Kong where there is so much more to see and do.Have fun!

Thanks for your replies, we will definitely consider cutting down our days spent in Macau.

As for our budget, we definitely want to go below 1000HKD/night and we want to stay on Hong Kong Island as opposed to Kowloon. We are looking to stay at somewhere fresh & fun & the best reference we could find was perhaps Budacco Hotel in Bangkok http://www.budacco.com/rooms.php

Thank you for any advice given!

i too agree to spend more of your time in HK...