How're the grout lines? That's the complaint I've always heard from people who've had tile countertops, who are all eager to tell you how they never want them again. I tend to try to eliminate anything in the kitchen that's not smooth and am baffled by places where things aren't smooth for no good reason—any countertop edge that's not just a smooth curve makes me sad.
I'm coming around to the opinion that modern mid-quality laminate is actually the best all-around countertop material. Cheap, easy to self-install (making it yet cheaper). No maintenance. Softish, which I consider a bonus. I hate granite and other stones, having to always take great care placing anything breakable (glass, ceramic) on them. Only downside to laminate is that it signals cheap/poor, which does kinda matter when, say, selling a house. And you can't put hot stuff on it, I guess. That's about it.
I really like my quartz countertops. They so far have been similarly durable and easy to clean to tile, while also tolerating fairly hot pans (I haven't tried anything hotter than 400F).
I'm coming around to the opinion that modern mid-quality laminate is actually the best all-around countertop material. Cheap, easy to self-install (making it yet cheaper). No maintenance. Softish, which I consider a bonus. I hate granite and other stones, having to always take great care placing anything breakable (glass, ceramic) on them. Only downside to laminate is that it signals cheap/poor, which does kinda matter when, say, selling a house. And you can't put hot stuff on it, I guess. That's about it.