I'm following this thread because I'm possibly going to HK later this year, but I find the debate about Kowloon versus Island side to be quite amusing. I mean, it's not like it takes half a day to take the Star Ferry across the harbor. It's not like it's a view of the garbage dump from the ferry. And if I can afford the flight ticket to HK, I'm sure that I can cough up the $2.20 for the ferry.

To me personally, it's not so important which side I'm on, as the harbor crossing in itself is part of the HK experience. It's more important to find a hotel close to the MTR with plenty of eateries in the vicinity. But if I had to choose, I'd give Kowloon a slight advantage. There are more markets on the Kowloon side, so a Kowloon hotel could mean less schlepping of purchased goods to the hotel. The places that I like to visit are probably arranged 60-40 with an Island advantage, but as I said, the extra crossings would be part of the charm and it wouldn't break the bank.