So the first guy finally showed up?

Pebble size- the smaller the pebble the smoother the texture will feel. Some people complain about the "rough texture" of Pebble Tec while others say that it feels no rougher than the surface of a basketball. I suspect a lot of that depends on the applicator. Pebble Sheen is Tec with a smaller aggregate size. People who are concerned about the texture usually go with Sheen. Sheen costs a bit more as well.

Neither Pebble Tec nor Pebble Sheen are in any way, shape, or form, anything that could be considered "rough." However, having said that, the pebbles in the Tec are most definitely larger than those used in the Sheen, and will give a bumpier texture. A smooth bumpy texture.

The texture of Pebble Sheen is very much like that of a basketball or football.

If your pool builder can't arrange for you to personally visit some pools with both textures (and I can't imagine why he couldn't), he can at the very least bring some samples that Pebble Technology, Inc., provides to pool builders. They're about 4" square (although they are often sort of triangular or diamond shaped), and come in all of the colors that the company makes.

But if you go to see actual pools, you should at least be able to take your shoes off and step onto the first or second step so you can get a first-hand (first-foot?) opinion.

Also, you should definitely go to see in person some pools with the color interior you're considering, whether it's the Tec or the Sheen. There is no way you can accurately determine what any of the colors will look like until you see an actual pool. But, you still have to bear in mind that the environment at YOUR pool location can/will affect what you see. More or fewer trees, etc., can affect how the interior looks.

When we built our pool (we did it as owner-builder) and had decided to go with a pebble interior, we pretty much figured that we'd go with Pebble Tec. Some folks in the neighborhood allowed us to come see their pool, which had Tahoe Blue Pebble Tec - exactly what we'd been considering. As soon as we saw their pool, hubs and I knew immediately that Tahoe Blue was not for us. We took off our sandals and stepped in. Hubs didn't mind the feel of the Tec, but it was too bumpy for me.

We ended up with Black Onyx Pebble Sheen, and love it. This was taken soon after the pool was filled:

I think you'll get answers all over the place on this one ans as others say, think you will need to feel the finishes for yourself. We have Pebbletech in a pool at our rental house and loved it, took a look at the Pebblesheen for a pool we're building now and my wife and I didn't like it. My son, who thought the Pebbletech felt rough, liked the Pebblesheen much better.

How's that for no help on your question! Good luck.

Re: your question about pebble for the waterline, we went to a pool with this and it looked awful above the waterline, but beautiful below. It really takes a beating with the mineral deposits.

I 100% agree with Lisa, get a tile waterline. We wanted a more natural looking pool and went with Pebbletec all the way around the pool, the calcium buildup is awful and there is no way to clean it off. Definitely get a tile waterline that you can scrub mineral deposits off.

re: tile pebbles
The Master Tile pool & spa tile catalog I have shows an "Earth Stone Pebble" series, which are are a mosaic tile, similar to 1x1 format bu they're in various-sized round shapes to look like smoothed flat pebbles, but they are really just tiles on a mesh sheet (I think).
Unfortunately, I can't find them online so this must be a really really old catalog that the one PB left for me.

re: Sunstone pebbles
I did get a chance (thanks to your suggestions) to wade onto the large pebble version of sunstone. I wouldn't say it was rough, just very textured. The PB says the large pebbles show more color than the small pebbles. I have no idea how to get the color I want, except just keeping looking at real pools out in the sun until I find it (so many are in cages around here and so the light is different).

Thanks for the feedback everyone! Enjoying the pictures.

Have you looked at Stonescape Mini pebble or MPI's product. Both of these, the pebbles are very small and don't even need to be polished like the Pebble sheen product.

Personally, the bigger pebbles "look" better more like a real life stream...but they are rougher. You should see if you can a hotel that has them and swim there one weekend.