The Grohe's German quality is well founded. If you handle either of the other two brands you can feel the difference in weight and function. Their single lever technology was the first and they have a self cleaning system for lime deposits, you just wipe it off occasionaly no scrubing or soaking to clean it. So my vote goes to Grohe if you can find one at a price that satisfies you go for it.

I bought my Grohe Ladylux Plus with my new kitchen in mind. That was 5 years ago, and I finally got my new kitchen this fall. The Grohe is the ONLY thing that was saved and reused in my remodel (and that includes the drywall). I love it, and several family members love theirs. After 5 years of use, it still looks great in my shiny new kitchen.

Thanks you guys - that really helps since I haven't seen either of these 3 faucets in person. Will do in January.
Cheers!

We also have a Grohe Ladylux Plus - installed 5 years ago - perfect !! I couldn't be happier.

And yes, I was encouraged to choose it from Kitchen Obsessed members back then !!

Grohe is a much better faucet from my experience. Another choice you might consider, which I feel is a better choice is Hamat.

Drachiele: checked out Hamat and their faucets are nice but a bit on the expensive side.

I have the Delta Allora. Love it! Especially the magnet that holds the sprayer. I also was considering the Grohe Ladylux Plus, but chose the Delta since it was less money.

I "think" the Delta is about half the price of the Grohe? No doubt both faucets are good. Depends how much money you have in your budget for a faucet.

I also got a Ticor sink. Great quality at a low price. Saving money on both the faucet and the sink still gave me good quality products and more money to spend elsewhere.

Good luck! Don't think you can go wrong with any of these choices.

Barb

I can't speak for the quality of the other faucets because I have never had them. But I will tell you that I would be very surprised if I could like one better than my Allora. It is VERY heavy and, by the way, also has the self cleaning (just swipe your finger over the face) feature. It feels and looks like quality to me as I use it and it's tough to pick which feature is the best. If I had to choose, it would be the magnetic docking. It is the best. perfect, easy use and then perfect, easy and secure docking. I also like the hard plastic elongated button to switch between spray and stream. Doesn't get gunky or feel squishy like some.

I have the allora and very happy with it. The ONLY neg I find is it sets high, a good thing, but with a deep sink, I get a bit of splash. Sometimes I pull it down to lessen splash. I'm not sure why this happens...seems higher up with a deep sink would cause less splash?

I'm probably the only person in the world who isn't in love with her Grohe LP. Yes, it's a quality faucet. Yes, it's heavy. Yes, it has the crucial on-off sprayer which my DH insisted on.

It also sticks out way too far over our 33x22 sink, so we should have placed it in the corner. I have almost no room to pull it out before it's spraying on the floor. This means pulling a length of hose out to clean the sink with, is a two-handed operation.

The tiny end of the lever gets disgustingly encrusted. It can only be cleaned with difficulty, as it's far too tiny to get a sponge on it. I also find the action very stiff - if I want a full-on stream, it's fine. But too often when I try to modulate the stream to half-force, it shuts off unless I move the handle slllooooowwwwwly. Since I'm usually rushing around in my kitchen, I find this highly annoying since neither our previous Moen or Price Pfister had this kind of stiffness.

It will probably last forever. I would not buy it again: our next faucet will be a double-button, pull-down rather than pull-out. Just works better for us, so YMMV.

I am a thrilled owner of the Grohe Ladylux Plus, #33.737, for four years. I love the spray, I love the responsive feel of all the controls (mine's not stiff the way Jkom51's is); it has performed flawlessly. To keep it sparkling, I just give the faucet a quick swipe with a sponge or Dobie pad when I am cleaning my sink, but have never had the lever get encrusted the way Jkom51 described, including after messy Thanksgiving dinners, or barbeque clean-up or things like that.

Also, I have a large single-bowl rectangular sink, and the Grohe Ladylux's 10" reach is perfect for it. I didn't want a pull-down faucet that would come close to the edge of the sink because I would have to reach across my large sink for it. The OP should check the dimensions of his/her sink on this issue. However, out of the listed topic choices, the Delta Allora's reach of 9-7/8" is about the same as the Grohe's. The Kohler's reach is 9" so if the OP has a small sink, then that one would be the best choice of the 3 listed, just for that reason. I don't think the Kohler quality is quite the level of the Grohe's though, but it's fine.

Thank you all for your invaluable comments! I will be getting the Kohler "Bakersfield" undermount, 30 inch, white, cast iron sink (bowl size is 27x15x8). Is this considered a small sink? Does anyone think that either the Allora or the Grohe LP is too big for this size sink? Would like more commments on this fact. I feel silly that I didn't even consider the size of the bowl or thought that any of these faucets would be too large - thanks for pointing this out to me!

Jkom51 brings up a great point that I think people miss when shopping for a faucet - that is, how it will fit in your sink. I just posted on another thread about Rohl Country Pull-out faucets that my friend's Rohl, while a wonderful faucet, is too big for her sink. It is a good idea to do a cardboard cutout of the faucet(s) you are considering, and hold it over your sink to see how it'll fit. If you don't have your sink yet, then also do a cardboard cutout of the sink, including where the drainhole is located. It sounds like a lot of trouble, but is a worthwhile exercise.

Well, it sounds like I shouldn't get any faucet that is over a 9 inch reach because my sink will only be 30 inch max and no more. Is that right?

For those of you with the Delta Allora, do you find that, b/c of the angle of the faucet head, the water sprays towards the front of the sink? Also, what direction is hot and what is cold? I heard they were "backwards" on this faucet. Do any of you have the matching soap dispenser? If so, is it well made and easy to fill from the top? Thanks!!

bump

I'm curious, too. bumping this up

My Delta Allora does splash, but I don't know if it's due to the angle of the spray or the depth of the sink. If installed with the lever on the right, as normally pictured, the lever goes back (towards the wall) for hot, front for cold, right for on, left for off. It takes a while to get used to.

I wish I had installed it with the lever on the LEFT, because I realized too late that as a right-handed person I usually hold the glass or sponge or whatever in my right hand, and operate the faucet with my left. If I could do it over I'd also get a pulled sinkbase so the faucet spray would be further back.

I agree with Debbie about the Delta Allora. I've had mine for a month. I love the magnetic docking. I have a deep (10") Blanco sink. I've also noticed the spray comes out closer to the front of the sink than I was used to, and the spray does come out of the sink if the faucet is turned all the way up to full pressure. I've adapted to these issues by using lesser pressure and by pulling the head down and out slightly and then directing the water where I want it.
I picked the Allora (stainless) partly to make a bold statement, and partly because my sink is in a window corner cabinet with a huge space behind it. If you have a small sink and/or space, I think the Allora faucet might look oversized.

I got the Kohler Simplice and am not happy with it. Maybe it just needs adjustment, but I don't know how to fix it. There's a thread on it below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Uphappy with Kohler faucet -- is it faulty?

Christinamc and Debbie- I am getting the Blanco Diamond super single. Should I mount the Allora off to the side? Would that make any difference with splash?

Kris,
Here's a picture of my Blanco 2-bowl sink with Delta Allora faucet. I've adapted to the power of the faucet by not turning it up all the way when I am wetting a sponge, for example. Also, I've learned to pull out the spray head and let it dangle lower, then use it to direct the spray where I want it. I really love the faucet; it just took a little getting used to. I can't speak to your question about where to mount the faucet on a single bowl.

Christina - Thanks for the pic. Am so excited to get my faucet. I guess we'll all have to figure it out. I saw a picture of someone mounting their faucet off to the right corner. I don't know if that would be a good thing or not - was just wondering. Thanks!

Love your granite and tile. Kris

Regarding the hot/cold on the delta allora, I am right handed and like my control mounted on the right because that's the hand I reach with to turn it on. It's not really hard to get used to the front to back for hot and cold, there are also teeny little blue and red indicators to remind you which is which.

If I can get DH to get under the sink to unscrew the mount, I would like to position that handle just a bit forward (it can spin in any direction) so when on full hot, it isn't so close to my windowsill. That's my only complaint and it was an install issue.

I have heard many people complain over splashing on all the gooseneck faucets, not just the delta but it is a really easy fix....I got used to using less pressure (bonus is it saves water) pretty quickly. It doesn't splash at all in stream, only spray and then, only when turned up. I really only use my spray for sink cleaning and I always have the hose extended and the head sweeping around the sides...no spray even on high. My old side spray used to splash if it were turned up and held up high...I think it's the nature of the beast.

I have a kindred undermount stainless sink, single bowl. The bowl insides are 27.5 x 17 and I find it a good fit. When I first opened my faucet, my first impression was holy smokes, it's toooooooo huge. Not so. I love love love it. In fact, my faucet and single bowl undermount sink are my favorite things in the kitchen.

Jessie21: I love how it looks. Can't wait for mine. Thanks for posting the picture. One of my concerns is hitting the window sill. Would there have been room to install the faucet closer to the sink?

Yes there was a bit of room, but unfortunately, I wasn't in the room when they drilled the hole. Fortunately, though, neither the faucet nor the handle ever actually touch the sill, just a little close for my taste. I would suggest that when they are mounting the faucet, be there and slide that handle just a bit forward.......you can extend it all the way back first (to hottest position) to determine where you would like it best.

Just realized that my cheapie little half sink grid is in that pic! I sometimes use it to lift a small wash tub up higher when I want to hand wash a few things.

Jessie- Great advice, I do plan to be here when they drill. I'm neurotic that way. I was admiring your sink grid!

I will chime in as well and say that I really do love my Allora faucet. I have an Rohl Allia undermount 33x22 sink- 1 1/2 bowl. I thought when I first put it (faucet)in it would be overwhelming, but it is graceful and beautiful. My only regret is that I didn't get a one bowl sink. It actually came by mistake and when I saw it, it looked like a cattle feeding trough and I chickened out! I would have had to fight to keep it though, because of g disposal location etc., it would have been tough for DH to install--as it is, this sink is DEEP, but well made and a good compromise. "nuff abt the sink! I LOVE the faucet!

Kris,
Thanks. I picked the Delta Allora,(pictured in my previous post, above), partly because I have such a big space behind my sink, so I knew it would provide an architechtural element to my kitchen.

Even though I don't have a single bowl sink like you are getting, I can offer this opinion: I think it is desirable, when the sprayhead is in its locked position, for the spray to go directly into the drain opening. In my 2 bowl sink, the spray is about 1" to 2" in front of the drain in the large bowl, and more like 4" in front of the drain in the small bowl. This means I have to pull out the sprayhead if I want to direct water into the drain, like when using the garbage disposal, for example.
The installer asked me where I wanted the faucet placed. I was not expecting that question, so I said "You are the expert--place it where you think it needs to be." If he had placed the faucet further back, it may have been too much of a reach. So, who knows? I am fine with it as is.
A year ago, I replaced bathroom faucets and ran into the same issue with splatter, etc. Now, I have new undermount bathroom sinks which are larger, and the faucets are perfect for the new sinks.
There must be some kind of specs or guidelines somewhere about matching sink to faucet. Anyone?