I love having the built-in soap dispenser. We buy the really big bottles of Dawn and use it with the Never MT so hardly ever have to refill anything.

I had one once that never worked properly and I love my nice refillable counter top soap dispenser always works , easy to refill and looks good.

No to built in dispensers for me. I don't like having all of the going on around the faucet. I use decorative bottles for soap so that I can have it on the counter if I want out and I can put it under the sink when I want to have a clean, no clutter look. I like having the faucet as the star of that little show standing on it's own.

I just keep a bottle of washing up liquid in the sink !

Yes- mine has worked great for years. Never clogs, top fill. I had four holes drilled- soap, disposal button, faucet, instant hot dispenser. No issues. I would recommend it!

I never had a built-in soap dispenser until building a new house last year, and I love having the convenience!! If doing it over, I would definitely want one again, even though I must fill it from underneath (sink is so wide, it does not allow enough room to rotate the dispenser to remove it). I have the Moen S3946C Transitional Deck Mounted Soap Dispenser in chrome.

Yes, love mine. Have had a soap dispenser in different kitchens for 15 years. Did not understand the comment above about "all of the going on around the faucet". Isn't having a bottle there more cluttery-looking than a small discreet built-in dispenser? Also, my experience is that the soap bottles tip over, and then start dribbling out the soap, making a mess. They also can look unsightly as the soap gets to an inch or so from the bottom.

My current soap dispenser is a Grohe. The one in my previous kitchen was an Elkay. No problems with either one. I think most of them made today fill from the top; I've never had one that filled from the bottom, only the top.

"our city code requires an air gap for the dishwasher."

You likely live in California. There are only a few places left in the entire country that require an air gap. That's because dishwashers today come with a "high loop hose", which is a better replacement for the air gap. What many people in California do is install the air gap for the inspection, and then replace it after the inspection with a soap dispenser.

"We are going to use a wall switch for the garbage disposal."

I'd not use a wall switch for your disposal. I'd install an air switch in the counter. So much better, I guarantee it. So you will have 3 holes at your sink: the single-hole faucet, the soap dispenser, and the disposal air switch. It'll look great.

Thread about Air Switches

During our reno, we wanted to simply reuse the dispenser that worked perfectly fine in our stainless, top-mount sink. However, the fabricator's proposed hole placement (in the new quartzite top) would set the dispenser ~ 1" further back from the sink than in our SS sink. The dispenser stem was already among the longest we could find at the time of purchase, and it wouldn't have cleared the sink opening enough to be practical. With the fabricator needing an immediate decision about # of holes, and my not having time for more than a cursory internet search for dispensers with longer spouts, we decided to skip the in-top dispenser. (Plus, DH tends to be very splashy/drippy when using the dispenser, and I didn't want the constant mess on the countertop. The kitchen sink is his default for washing his hands. At least with the SS, the drips/splashes were confined to/within the sink.)

For a while, we lived with a bottle of Dawn in the 'clean' side of the double sink, but that became an awkward PITA to maneuver. I snagged a tall pump syrup dispenser from the local Starbucks that I placed in the clean side, with spout overhanging into the wash-up side. But it took up too much space in the sink, and the pump stream came out too strong: still made a splashy mess that I was constantly wiping up.

We've since switched to a repurposed small SoftSoap dispenser (for now) atop a pretty, sturdy glass candleholder/plate:

Everything Shannon_WI said, especially the air switch.

I don't know how anyone can complain about how a built-in soap dispenser looks and not be bothered by a bottle of detergent (even a 'decorative' one) sitting on the counter. I had to replace ours after 15 years, but they're cheap and easy, from the home center.

Now, to add to your planning...add a 4th hole for an under-counter water filter. Our city water is good and I drink it all the time, but the filtered water removes any off-tastes.

Hm, sounds like Shannon_WI has the ticket! Since you *have* to have an air gap for inspection, you *have* to have a hole for that, right? Once inspection is over, you can choose to replace the air gap with a dispenser if your dishwasher has a high loop installed (as Shannon_WI said) or if you want to keep the air gap, you can get a combo air gap and soap dispenser.

While it's usually possible to drill holes after installation (though definitely dusty messy and not to be preferred!), it's impossible to un-drill a hole. Yes, there are little plugs that can be put in but those are sure not as attractive as your beautiful stone countertop.

I have had a Never Empty that I got a lot of exercise from because I had to pump pump pump to get any soap from it. I have had a top-fill dispenser that, no matter what I tried including long straws, would get air bubbles while filling that caused the soap to overflow onto the sink and counter. These could easily just be my personal soap deficiencies so YMMV! I currently have a soap/dish soap/ lotion triumvirate from Williams-Sonoma that I can refill as I like, doesn't fall over, and always works. Winner for my very particular (lack of soap-dispenser-filling) set of skills!

I had one with my old sink and loved it, so I got one for my current sink too. We use the NeverMT, and it has always worked great for us. No problems with the hose or anything. In my new arrangement, I do have room to use the detergent reservoir that came with the dispenser, but we hooked up the NeverMT anyway. Those Costco bottles of dish soap last forever!

The soap dispensers we had in our motorhome always worked great, but the ones we've had in our houses have been unreliable. We went through several in our last home before giving up because they would eventually stop dispensing, and just used a refillable model. I have no idea why the MH ones were any different; we used the same liquid in both.

Have soap dispenser in main sink and prep sink with Never MT for both of them. They work great. I keep hand soap in both of mine. I keep a small bottle of dawn inside the deep main sink for doing dishes. It is out of sight but in easy reach.

We have two holes drilled, one for faucet, the other for button for disposal that matches faucet finish. I had soap dispenser in my last house and hated it. It never worked right and was messy.

No. I wish I didnt have the hole in my quartz.