I don't have laminate, but my daughter does and I don't like the "clickety" sound of the laminate.
I have the new engineered hard wood and I absolutely love it. I don't see any scratches - but my wood is heavily grained with lots of different waves and colors of wood grains. I'm not sure that I could see any scratches, I guess I'm saying, they might be there, but I can't see them with the color and type of wood that I have.
I'd have to agree that hardwood will add value to the house, and laminate may not.
I looked and looked and looked and looked. Finally, I went with the engineered wood because I liked the way it looked and sounded (when walked on) the best.
Oh, and I have a little boy who likes to sprinkle things
and if it often dried before I find it and it has caused no problems at all, so far. We've had the floor for 5 years.
Good luck!