What about checking with area stone fabricators for any granite or quartz remnants? I imagine you could get one templated and installed fairly quickly and inexpensively if one has a stone on hand that you like. They'd need your undermount sink to do the proper cut out. I was pleasantly surprised at how inexpensive for the quality our Toto Rendevouz sinks were. Our local plumbing supply store stocked them. The big box stores would also stock a selection of undermount sinks of course. We paid about $85 each for our Toto Rendevouz sinks, with Sanagloss (Love!) The price without our contractors' discount would have been about $115, as I recall. We're going with a quartz remnant from a fabricator who said he could get it to us within a week of templating. He's charging $900 for an 85" vanity with two sink cut-outs and backsplash.

Hansgrohe is good overall (and they always look great!), but if you ever need to replace anything, their parts can be a bit expensive compared to some other brands, though this is not as much of an issue for handhelds. Also, Hansgrohe's changed their distribution recently, so make sure that if you're ordering it online, they have it on hand, otherwise they might have difficulty getting it. I've really not noticed much difference between water pressure without a handheld and with, but then again, all of my showerheads have that 2.5 gpm rating. If your old handheld wasn't 2.5, or had the restrictor removed, that might have been the difference. Some current showerheads/handhelds have removeable restrictors (just a little gaskety thing shoved in there somewhere) while some have it really well built in and just cannot be removed without destroying something. The sellers, unfortunately, can't encourage you to remove it, and so won't (or don't know) what kind of restrictor a given showerhead has. Best bet? Make sure you can return it if it doesn't work out... Personally, I had a Delta/Alsons In2Ition for years and loved it. I currently have a Sprite filtered handshower and while not the prettiest thing, it does exactly what we wanted it to - filter water and be a handheld! FYI: Some of the home-store staple brands (Moen, Kohler, Price Pfister) have been transitioning to "rust free" plastics from things that were previously brass (thanks CA low lead laws and rising metal prices)... but what that often means is that connections are plastic, and therefore easier to crack on accident. I saw one recently that came with a plastic shower arm! Plastic has it's place, I just think supporting weight in my shower is not one of them... You'll find most handhelds to be plastic-bodied regardless of brand, which is usually fine as who really wants to wave around a huge chunk of brass? Not me - I'll do my bicep curls outside of the shower, thank you. Where I've found the things I like to pay attention to: I want a massage function, a medium sort of spray function, and a trickle function. So that's all I look for as far as spray patterns. Different manufacturers call their spray patterns different things. You'll have to find out what Hansgrohe means by their names - there might be reviews or even images on the Hansgrohe site that shows the spray pattern to help you get a good idea. Another biggie when I'm looking: The quality of mounting brackets varies wildly and so do the hoses. I would suggest to try to make sure the mounting bracket (the bit that screws onto the shower arm) is brass or stainless steel if at all possible, otherwise you're almost certainly looking at replacing it yearly. Vinyl hoses will have to be replaced after a few years in most homes, too. Double spiral hoses (they look like these http://www.plumbingsupply.com/images/delta-shower-hose-ultraflex-u490-494-series-lg.jpg) have a high end look and last longer. However, if you love everything else about the handheld, both the bracket and hose are easy to replace - most handhelds have 1/2" ips connections on both ends, so you can get a replacement hose or bracket pretty much anywhere you like. Last thing - if you have hard water and no softener, definitely look for easy-clean nibs on the head, or even reviews by people with hard water to see if it'll just clog up on you after a month (another reason for the Sprite). So, that's my 2cents, hope it helps!

I would steer clear of both Delta and Moen if you want to "ensure that I get a firm spray that will easily rinse soap/shampoo from the body and hair." For that you will have to dig out the flow restrictor from the handheld and when we did this with my Moen, it cracked the handheld because the integrity of the handheld was so poor that it couldn't withstand the extra volume. And now after about 15 years, the replacement handheld is not keeping its fixed position on the slide bar. I cannot wait to scrap it when we redo the master bath. I'm a huge Grohe fan because as I've posted countless times, the flow restrictors are a piece of cake to remove. I have the Relaxa handheld system in my main bath and they are amazing. They are 15 years old and look as good as day one. I have the metal hose in there and no issues. The problem is that you want a mount like we had when he had Water Pik Shower Massage (adding handheld to existing plumbing). I'm not sure it will be easy to find that type of setup with higher end brands. I would take a look at the WP Shower Massage. THey've come a long way since we installed on in the 80s with different finishes and styles. I cannot speak to their water flow however, but I suspect you might have the same issue with low water flow. I would contact them and ask if it is possible to remove the restrictor.

Call customer support at American Standard and see if the hose part number below can be spliced so you have the length you need. Part number-051343-0070A 1-800-442-1902 Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. EST Technical Customer Service Monday through Friday 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. EST 8:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. EST Saturday