What brand and line is the tile? It is difficult to comment without knowing that.

It might just be "in the eye of the beholder". I had picked out a kitchen floor tile and my tiler with 30 years in the business told me it looked cheap. I hadn't seen as many tiles as he had, so I took his word for it and selected a different tile.

Tesoro Nuvo Calacatta in Gris. It is a porcelain, glossy finish to be used for shower walls

I agree with your tiler. I recognize those tiles as an import line that changes names for everyone that sells them so as to be their private label tiles. Elite Tiles, Merola, Somertile, and a couple of other brands that I can't recall at the moment are all the same tile. If you choose to use it, plan on a higher than average overage for it so that you can cull out the less that flat or square ones, as well as the less than aesthetically pleasing ones. Also do not plan for using a small grout line with them. You need a larger more traditional grout line.

live wire oak

Can you recommend a tile manufacturer?

Well, this is interesting. We got Merola subway tiles, which will go in next week. This is our tiny bathroom for kids, so I'm not too concerned though.

We are going with the Tesoro, but it won't go in till Oct. We have a very highly recommended & experienced contractor & he sees no issue with that tile. Also as far as I could research, it appears to meet the recommended technical standards.

"Cheap'' was meant as a pejorative about the decorative aspects, not the actual technical aspects. Especially since it is only a V2, it will be very apparent that it is a too shiny fake because it has a low variation. You will get the same pattern over and over. I hope you are not planning to use it on a floor.

No, I am not planning to use it on the floor. And since I don't want a big, splashy design all over the walls, it should work perfectly for me.

I'm using it in a shower personally not the floor. Good luck @Sewingladydi

picture would speak volume - hard to give opinion without seeing the subject

There's a picture of a floor of the tile on the Tesoro website, but it's not very good. I like it because it is a very subtle design. The person who told me it was a "cheap" tile was speaking to the quality of the tile itself, not the design variation.

I considered a similar tile, but when I saw a picture of it installed it was too dramatic and busy for my taste.

Will post pic when completed, but that's not till this fall.

Quality wise you should consider how often the tiled area would be used - for high traffic area consider getting better quality material with similar pattern to avoid regrets down the road. Personally I would stay away from thin ceramic tile on the floor, but for wall tile it's all about the look.

It is for the walls so I don't anticipate any problems