"Laminate floors I've seen lately are visually indistinguishible from
teh real thing unless you get down on the floor. Their thermal
coefficient and feel is different, so bare feet will tell tell you
from warmth and cush, but look wish, good quality flooring looks
better than the red oak in my house (without all the imperfections and
irregularities and stains LOL). "

I've yet to see a laminate floor that is hard to distinguish from real
wood without having to get down close to look. Laminates like Pergo
are fine and can be good choices for the right cost/benefit, but IMO
they never look like real wood.