"Looks nicer" = wood (for today's design aesthetics). The question of "looks" is in the eye of the beholder. A 'perfectionist' has a hard time living with a floor that will age, dent, scratch and "patina" like wood. A laid back soul does well with the same wood floor.

It is more about appropriate floor than "looks". Looks work well in design books...but if it doesn't fit the owner's expectations, then the looks turn "crappy".

The "looks" of the rest of the space will also dictate which "looks" better. If you live in a log cabin with 5 different woods inside of 900sf of living space, a tile or stone floor might be rather refreshing. A stone castle in Germany with 900 year old stone/plaster walls looks nicer with wood floors - because it adds warmth to the space.

....eye of the beholder.

If you are looking to put a hardwood flooring product in your kitchen, then I suggest you get a wood specie that can be distressed. A wirebrushed wood flooring will hide scratches better in the long run and depending on the level of distressing that is done to it will actually get pretties as it ages. Also because it is not a smooth finish to begin with you won't be worried about dropping things and denting or scratching the floor.

To protect your floors from water spots, place a small mat under feet at your sink and your dishwasher. These days most pre-finished hardwood flooring products are designed to go into the kitchens anyway. If you are getting a prefinished wood flooring, you won't be able to add a layer of finish on top. If you are doing a site finish floor, then you should put an extra coat of finish on it since site finished flooring will have less finish on top than the prefinished varieties to begin with.

Hope this helps.