I had Caesarstone Honed Pebble installed in my kitchen (and a bathroom too) over three years ago and I love it. I did not want a polished counter in my kitchen, it was too shiny for me. The matte is so soft and calm looking imo. I also love how my counters feel. The matte finish is so silky and smooth compared to the polished. I did a lot of research before I got them, like alerievay1, and my advice would be to read the info from your specific manufacturer as to how to clean your counters, since it will likely differ from their polished counter recommendation. And get samples to test. Big ones if possible. It's so much easier to clean a larger sample than a smaller one. I was able to borrow some large samples from a nearby counter shop and the ease of cleaning of these samples compared to the smaller ones I had already gotten was surprising to me. I'd get samples of both honed and polished in the color you like, along with samples of other colors you're not interested in but can use to compare in general. I do see fingerprints and smudges, but not that often. Mainly on one side of my island where people tend to lean on it a lot. Those easily wipe away with a wet sponge or dishrag. They aren't glaringly obvious though. They are subtle and only noticeable at certain angles or when the light is just right. I do not have an issue with water spots. I have CS raven (polished) in one of my bathrooms and water spots show a lot more than on the honed pebble. As for staining, I have no real issues with stains. I was concerned at first since I'd read how honed quartz stained so much more than polished quartz, but relaxed pretty quickly once I realized my counters were super easy to care for. To clarify the staining, I should say that on occasion I've had "stains" not come off right away. We cook a lot of Indian food and sometimes turmeric stains the counters and leaves a bit of color behind. I'll wipe the counters down and all the color doesn't come off right then. It'll be subtle but still there. But by the next day it's gone or goes away the next time I wipe the counters. So I now know not to worry, all "stains" are not permanent. I've seen this a few times w/red wine too but it's rare. And again, the "stain" is never permanent. And I don't use some fancy cleaning method. Usually just a wet sponge. On occasion I spray method cleaner on my sponge or dishrag and wipe with that too. Here's an older picture of my kitchen. Still looks the same :-)

We went through Home Depot and picked out an Antigua Quartzite slab from Daltile. I tried to scratch the sample with a razor knife and it I honestly couldn't see a mark. The sample was able to score glass quite deeply. I tested it for stains and the only thing that left an almost undetectable stain in the veining was red wine left to soak for 24 hours. I believe sealing will stop that from happening. I also left lemon juice on it as well and it did not etch. Our installer (Home Depot outsourced) was shocked that we paid $68 a sq. ft. Less than the fancy quartz that I was easily able to scratch when I tested the sample. It's absolutely beautiful installed. I love it. I can't stop looking at it. Originally I wanted corian but changed my mind when I saw this. Now I'm not sure about what to do about the backsplash.

I did not see the original posting, but neither photo looks like what is called Mont Blanc in my area. I purchased three slabs of Mont Blanc quartzite in Anaheim, southern California. This is a stone that is quarried in Brazil and looks similar to Perla Veneta. I had considered White Macaubus, which is more white, but decided I wanted to go with a warmer color. .

@S C - I was the OP for this thread. We ended up getting Fantasy Macaubas because it was less expensive. Its been almost 2 years since it was installed and it is wonderful. We had a ring of something on the lighter part that I thought was oil, but it went away after a few months, and I don't see anything there anymore. I was very careful for the first 6 months, then kind of careful for the next 6, and now anything goes. Grease, oil, butter, red wine, saffron: its all been spilled on the countertop. I don't worry about cleaning it up right away (after dinner is good enough as it gets wiped down then). Looks perfect. We got one chip in it from someone banging a pot down. One of these days I'll get the fabriator out to fill it in again. Do it you won't regret it. I posted photos somewhere above in the thread.