Can't speak to HD tile or whether the tiles were installed with proper underlayment, but having lived with polished minimal grout stone for more than three decades in several houses, with pets and as a frequent entertainer, here's my take: Polished marble can be stunningly beautiful; is cold underfoot unless radiant heated and affects the overall room temp, but that would not be a deal breaker w/o; is dangerously slippery when wet and very unforgiving for dropped items; can be repolished as needed -- once a decade or more frequently depending on various factors -- usage for sure, but more importantly what type of stone as not all marbles wear equally; spills wipe up easily but highly advise use of runners by sink, stove etc; and area rugs, besides adding warmth and beauty, are a good acoustic idea to avoid echo chamber effects. I don't like drapes, but if she does they also help acoustically.

I've dropped acidic foods and wiped up w/o problems, but one of my former pets developed diabetes in his advanced years and his accidents necessitated repolishing, which can be done in a touch-up fashion by good craftsmen, but every few years she may want to consider having the floors repolsihed just as one would need to maintain wood floors. If she is really concerned, have a rep from a local high-end stone source look at the tile and advise further.

Thanks, abundantblessings. This is FL, so heat is only a problem for a short time in the winter, and it's straight on slab. She had polished marble in a previous home so I guess she understands about the general upkeep, but there she had something else for the kitchen floor. However, this place has a very open floor plan, so there's no easy way to have different flooring in the kitchen/dining room.

I was mostly concerned about the effect of spills on a polished surface that's as reactive as that is--wouldn't have thought twice if it were honed. Glad to know that's not a dealbreaker.

I'd bet that they used a topical gloss treatment for the travertine rather than having had it polished. It's very rare to use (or even find) igh gloss polished travertine. I'ts usually honed or polished to a very low gloss. When polished, it doesn't get to the gloss level of marble. That's why your description says a film forming coating such as polyurethane. That means that it is more likely to yellow or chip in the future. It will protect it from etching while it still coats ther surface, but when it does get chipped, she'll have to have all of the floors sanded down to the actual stone to get rid of that coating and then just sealed with a penetrating sealer used.

Perhaps it's not travertine but an actual polished marble resembling trav. In FL, highly polished imported stones, many of mid-east origin, are used more commonly than elsewhere perhaps, and fit the the FL lifestyle --except for the slippery part -- for those that like a contemporary or a more formal classic decor. If the house comes with a pool on the lanai, best to use really absorbent mats at the entries. I've not come across topical gloss floor tiles, but anything is possible. It should be very easy to find an expert stone dealer or fabricator just about anywhere in FL and ask her/his advice.

Well, in this particular case, I haven't any doubt at all that it's whatever HD was selling as "polished travertine tile". It's not a fancy place at all, just a low end townhouse where the owner got a little carried away when it was suddenly worth five times what it was worth four years earlier. (There's a house up island from me where the owner tiled the entire exterior with travertine during the giddiness, but at least he did use the honed for that.)