Ok I have travertine in both my son's bath (he's 4) and my own. So here's my experience after a year and a half. I color my hair (ok you have to in alaska...the darkness fades it if you aren't black haired) and I color it red :oP (that is my real color) Ok i'm talking about that too much LOL Anyhoo, I'm not a tidy colorer and I shower to rinse it out. I have travertine in the room and have slopped color on the floor. It takes a swipe to clean it, and if it leaves a spot, I've once used an alchol pad to swipe over that (I think it was a stridex face cleaner). I have no stains on the travertine on the main floor, nor on the marble counters nor on the travertine shower floor or ceiling. My son's bath is travertine and granite. Not a stain on it and he's not a tidy child :) Grape cough syrup, benedryl, a very nasty cherry medicine (he's not well) and they all wipe up. No stains at all. Travertine is not uneven, nor should any stone be if you buy gauged tile (the most common if you're not buying 99 cent tile). A tile guy should have no issues but ask if they've done stone. I have no stains on the grout either :) And it's just grout (not epoxy). We don't baby our home...I haven't even resealed though I was thinking maybe it's time since we're moving for the winter, but our travertine looks as fab as the day we put it in and I'd use it again in a new york second :)

Surprised you haven't gotten any responses-- 'flooring' must be very quiet these days. I'm not going to be much help either, I'm afraid. I've never dealt with a polished trav/marble floor. Yes, it should be sealed, but sealing won't stop etching. Sealing basically fills the pores so that liquid doesn't penetrate, but etching is a chemical reaction between the alkaline elements in the stone and anything acid it comes in contact with. Etching can't really be removed, either. It's possible some of the new high tech polishes would make it less noticable, but the stone has been eaten away, and isn't coming back. It is possible to hone stone tiles, removing the polished surface. I think they'd be much easier to maintain that way, and the damaged areas as well as future damage would blend in better. I've heard of people doing it themselves. As to the loose tile, yikes: not sure what to tell you. You should be able to scrape the thinset off the backs and backer, re-set with a white, modified thin set. I'm not sure what you mean by being able to push the grout down. Grout is cement based, and can't flex. I wonder if they used a caulk instead, which stays rubbery. You can remove damaged and loose grout and re-do it, but unless you have some sense as to why its giving way, it could be an exercise in futility. The original install could have been bad, or the floor below could be flexing [which would also account for the tiles popping up]. If its the latter, it's going to be very tough to address. Best of luck!

It's funny to read this thread from 5 years ago hearing people talking about travertine as dated. My wife and I just bought a house and it is a pretty big upgrade to go from the included tile backsplash to a travertine backsplash. I guess my point is, and I doubt anyone is even reading this anyway 5 years later, but my point is that I agree with the people that say go with what you like and don't worry about anyone else's opinions. It's your house. Why do people always concern themselves with how other people will like their things, when they are not the ones spending all their time there.

Yes. We went on a two week cruise. The dogs were at boarding. During this time, the remediation company did the tear out, repair and replacement. It worked out beautifully. We had used this company previously. So, we had a pretty good idea of their work standard. I'm a control freak and they met my comfort level. Prior to departure, I had a meeting with the foreman. We discussed the project thoroughly. I placed an order on file with their preferred tile supplier in advance. I also left the tile setter a document with illustrations explaining what I wanted. They texted me pictures of the progress. It went really well. They did a great job with clean up. I couldn't be happier. We decided to go with a reduced project. We did not get into changing the countertop or flooring. We didn't get into the bath surround, either. When they did the tear out, it would appear that we discovered the leak very quickly. The Advantech flooring base had gotten wet, but was not soaked, or damaged. The tile setter advised us to keep it in place. He was afraid if he cut it out and replaced it, we would have cracking around the base walls very quickly. The material appeared to be in really good condition. We went with his recommendation. What we ended up doing was trimming the entry surround in the same manner as the other doorways in the room. Originally, the surround was made of tile. I thought the transition to a different tile would be too jarring. Thus, the doorway trim and base trim in wood painted to match the rest of the room. I think it works. I only have two complaints. One, the shower seat is narrower than it was before. It's really not much of a seat anymore. But, it works as a shelf and place to shave your legs. Two, the new tile wasn't quite as thick as the old tile and the shower door doesn't seal quite as tightly as before. It's acceptable, but not perfect. I had them take down the huge sconces over the tub and not replace them. I'm going to buy new ones to replace the old ones. I'm going to apply Rub and Buff to the lights above the sinks to tie them all together. The biggest improvement was the removal of the gross green walls. We painted them Sherwin Williams 2017 Creamy. It's a huge improvement. It's amazing what a coat of the right paint can do to update a room. Why did I not go for a full renovation? We have decided that our tenure in this house is only around five years. It didn't make sense to pour a lot of money into the bath. We would never get it out when we go to sell. This is plenty good enough and very functional. New doorway surround and paint job. New tile. We kept the old shower door, grab bars and shower controls The tile is a 12"x4" white porcelain subway tile with a bit of a relief. It doesn't get any simpler than hexagonal tile in white with white grout. We used an upgraded white grout that does not mildew throughout.