We have hardwood in the kitchen.

I do like it, but not sure if that's what I would choose if it needed replaced.

The previous owners had dogs, and if you look closely it is terribly scratched everywhere. Since we moved in 2 years ago, we have put several gouges in it from dropped bar stools, and it's looking rough (it's about 5 years old).

This sounds weird but I do not like that I cannot "sanitize" it, although I've heard that vinegar (which is what I use) is a natural sanitizer.

My parents just had their hardwoods refinished (their floors are about 10 years old) and it looks gorgeous again. They paid about $1200 for the kitchen/entry/hallway. 

In another house we owned, we put in wood laminate and it looked beautiful and was easy maintainance but scratched VERY easily and I was not happy with that aspect considering it was expensive.

In our last house, we had a really thick laminate floor (cannot recall the type) with a large square type design. Our guests often thought it was tile. Held up beautifully and I loved it!!  If you are interested, I could try to find out what it was.