"The contractor took the room down to the studs and now the floor has a slight slope"

Was it taken down to the joists? Studs are in walls.

Subfloor and underlayment may have been replaced. Unless leveling the floor is specified it would not be considered part of a flooring installation. It is normal in a old house and leveling could cause other issues to arise.

Because you wanted tight grout joints does not mean you can have them. The consistency of the tile itself determines the smallest allowable joint size. Trying to get a small joint with slightly irregular tiles could cause the exact problem you have. It's up to the contractor to tell the client what the smallest joint can be. Not the other way around.

Grout job is terrible. Appears washed out. As long as it is not powdery there are grout stains available.

Main problem - A general contractor is not a tile setter.

if the grout is uneven, then that means he didn't use spacers & didn't let it set or dry long enough. I'd have him redo it or have someone else do it..

Spacers are not needed. Can they be used? Sure but that has zero to do with the ability of a tile setter. Some of us never use them. Depending on the tile. Spacers can cause problems.

Unless something has been done to level the floors in an old house then they will nearly always be unlevel.

Did you choose the grout color from a sample, or just ask for dark grout?

Is this tile on the bathroom floor or in the shower?

Thanks, all! This is the bathroom floor.

To clarify, the contractor didn’t tile the room himself but his subcontractor did. When I asked about small grout lines, neither one communicated it wasn’t possible or would be more difficult to achieve with a hex tile. I chose the grout (the darkest gray bc black was unavailable) from Home Depot’s options. The floor is still pretty dusty despite my best efforts to clean it this weekend. They’ve offered to re-stain the grout to see if that helps mask the unevenness.

And, no - I guess the floor wasn’t taken down to the joists as I live in an apartment building. The old tile was removed and they added new cement as a subfloor(?). All I know, is that the new floor is more elevated than the floor I had and it slopes in places.

I guess I’m just curious at this point what my options are. Is this so bad that I should have it re-done, should I try to negotiate the final payment down to compensate? I really appreciate the comment that a real life reno can’t live up to what we see here or on Instagram - but this is still my home and I’ve spent a lot to love where I live. So I’m trying to find some kind of balance in a resolution.

Have them use the grout colorant. Then reevaluate. That extra time spent on the job is a $600+ value right there. You still haven’t paid them in full, so you have power in the situation. Use it wisely, and be fair. It’s a floor, not the showplace fireplace in the middle of a family room.