Originally Posted by kaka

there is..
1) Marriott Skycity
2) Novotel Tung Chung Citygate
3) Regal Airport

3 is connected to the terminal but 1&2 are global chains where its easier to get hotel points. From my experience 1&2 are also cheaper. Tung chung is actually a nearby town with its own local metro station... so connection to the city would be cheaper.

if you are staying at 2) I'd suggest taking the metro into town (Hong Kong station). take bus A11 from the airport if you're staying at 1 or 3 and get off at anywhere after the highway and the tunnel-some 5 stops into the trip. it takes 40mins to get to the far end of the tunnel... but see things to do

things to do - go to the peak on a good day. if you cannot see the top of the tall building on the other side of the harbour from the open area of either Hong Kong or Kowloon Station, dont bother going to the peak.

go around central/wanchai/tsim sha tsui and take the star ferry to see the buildingline

have dim sum at (i suggest) City Hall in Central- this is the 4th stop after the tunnel (and into the area with crowded buildings)... note buses dont have to stop at every stop... but i'm 99.9% sure the stops are announced (if not broken, which is rare). Opens at 11am on weekdays, 10 on Sats and 9 on suns.

if you still have time, wander around wanchai. It still has part of the old and typical Hong Kong AND english is more usable in this area(than the other older parts outside of Central/Tsim Sha Tsui).

Originally Posted by tcook052

Agree that for a 22 hour layover staying at the airport seems a waste.

Originally Posted by tcook052

Yes, seems it is for OP:

Originally Posted by Letitride3c

+1 on going into "town" instead of staying near the airport in the "countryside" high-rise concrete towers. First-time to HKG?

The Novotel Citygate (at Tung Chung on Lantau Island) is 10-15 minutes from the airport connected/part of a retail mall/outlet packed with mainland shoppers, easily reached by taxi/hotel shuttle & MTR - Hong Kong's excellent mass transit/public transit system (and, inexpensive, efficient & reliable vs. USA) With out- and in-bound stopover, getting the Octopus Card would be a good idea to get around, instead of just buying & using the Airport Express
deal (pro's & con's - refer to the Sticky on top, tons of useful tips & links.)
Tung Chung's Citygate Mall has a nice food court with a variety of meals, self-serviced fast food style plus fine dining too - only if you arrived jetlagged and do not want to go into town at all. Otherwise, there's plenty of night life and it is safe to venture around. Train stopped running before 1 am but there are 24 hour buses to get back and there's always the licensed taxi option.

Perhaps put about $100 to $150 USD's worth of stored value, per person (including a small, refundable security deposit) on the Octopus Card - giving you about $700 to $1,100 HKD's worth to cover express train, regular subway, bus, cross harbour on the world-famous Star Ferry, and even the Public Mini Bus (16 pax) if you are adventurous enough to brave & try it.) It can be used to pay for newspaper & purchases at local 7-11's and meals at McDonalds and chained store pharmacies - instead of fumbling for loose & exact change or figure out the coin's faced value - very convenient. It doesn't expire and unused deposit can be refunded in HKD at any MTR station booth - or keep it for the next trip/pass it along to a colleague or friend going to HKG next time.

Depending on your preference & status, there are plenty of hotel options and price tiers to choose from - occupancy rates are high & varied depending on your exact dates, please price compare accordingly.

Flying on CX/KA connections to/from PEK & HKG - your checked luggage might be thru to PEK/final destination and if you keep a change of clothes with your carry-ons, you don't have to worry about dragging everything. Otherwise, CX can check-in your bags again up to 24 hours before flight departure in-town from the Airport Express stations on Hong Kong Island or Kowloon Station stops - and you can zip thru airport checkin, allow 2 to 3 hours as security is quick & friendly and immigration/custom is professional/fast as well.

Go ride the Star Ferry on its shortened (due to landfills) cross-harbour route, walk down Nathan Road' shops and stores, and step back to watch the flow of masses of people rushing everywhere in Central, and if weather is nice on a clear day/night - ride up to the Victoria Peak for great views (the bus is scenic & very nice, non-tourist oriented and you can ride the Mini Bus quickly back down to re-connect to the MTR) Signs & directions are nearly all bilingual and visitor friendly, so there's no worries.

My advice to friends going for the 1st. time on quick turnaround is to skip the high-end harbour view rooms (unless it's comp/free/paid for via expense account) and pocket the savings for nice & variety meals - classic dim sum, price-fixed "set" lunch and perhaps seafood dinner (be careful about pricing, however) It will have you wishing to return next time & stay a bit longer.

Originally Posted by chinatown

Here's what I would most likely do
you land at 745AM, by the time you grab your bags and pass through immigration, i'm going to say its 815-830.... Find a place to stash your bags and bring a small backpack withyou consisting of the basics. i.e. tour book , camera, passport, wallet etc

830-900: Airport express into Central Station
9:00- 10:30 , Either have a breakfast at a local cafe (google Tsui Wah) , or have a early morning dim sum lunch at Maxims, which overlooks Victoria harbour. I reckon they are open by then?
10:30-12:00, Head up to the Peak by tram or by the Bus (Bus 15), its the most scenic part of HK. I'd recommend it for any first timer. there should be a easy 2km hike with great views.
12:00-15:00, depending on if you're hungry yet, you can always have lunch up by the peak or head back down to central. If not hungry, maybe a little shopping at IFC? Then i'd probably do more walking from HK Island towards the wanchai/causeway bay area.. just to get a feel of the city.
16:00-16:45 take a coffee break... my legs would probably be tired
17:00-1930 subway it over to Tsim Sha Tsui... HK should start to get dark by now and you should walk the avenue of stars to catch the famous HK Skyline. It's probably the nicest one in the world, and I say that without bias.
1900-1935- find something quick to eat
20:00- train it back to the airport via Kowloon Station, retrieve stashed bag, and hang out in the lounge.

Originally Posted by QRC3288

Here's the detail on Macau - I actually think it's quite feasible given your timings.

Details
a.) You'll have to take the ferry from HK city if you do Macau first (instead of taking the ferry from HKIA to Macau, since the first one doesn't go until 10am).
b.) Helicopter service: Starts at 9am, runs every 30 minutes. Cost is 2800 HKD each way, takes about 18 minutes from take-off to touch-down. I usually can exit immigration in one port and clear it in the next in around 30 minutes with the helicopter. You get to go through the diplomatic channel at Macau, but coming back to HK there is no immigration benefit.
c.) Ferry service: runs 24 hours, service at intervals of every 15 or 30 minutes between 6am and the evening. Cost is 150 HKD each way for an economy ticket and about 250 hkd for a premium class ticket. Major benefit to the premium ticket (called "super class") is you offload the ferry first, getting you ahead of the mobs for immigration clearance.
d.) Immigration is rarely over 10 minutes in either place. Both immigration facilities aren't exactly modern, but despite the dingy appearances at the ports you can wait a lot longer with a passport at HKIA than you can at the Macau or HK ferry terminals.

Say you arrive at 5:45am. You can easily be on the 7:30am ferry from the HK/Macau ferry terminal in Sheung Wan (main HK ferry terminal). You'll be through immigration in Macau by 9am. You could tool around Macau until 1pm and take the helicopter back, clearing HK immigration no later than 1:30pm. You then could have a 4 hour tour of HK before taking the Airport Express back and getting on the plane again.

If you want to do the ferry returning, you'll need to shorten your tour of HK to about 3 hours.