Rectangle floor tile laying direction?

Any opinions please?
Getting new 600x300mm porcelian floor tiles laid in the entrance hall & continuing into the kitchen. Our entrance hall is a rectangular shape with the door on one of the narrow sides.
The other half wants the tile to be laid in the direction of the long walls, but the tiler insists that rectangular tiles are always laid going across the hall, he was adamant about this. Does anyone know what is correct and why, is it just down to personal preferences or is it easier for the tiler to lay them across the hall, perhaps the the walls are'nt square? i.e. does tiles going across make the hall smaller, narrow, longer? Can't figure it out!
Thanks for any comments.

In my own opinion, laying them across the hall would look a million times better, and would actually lead to more work for the tiler...just lay about half the hall down 'dry' in both options and decide which looks better.

tufty1 said:

perhaps the the walls are'nt square? i.e. does tiles going across make the hall smaller, narrow, longer?

Click to expand...

If the tiles were laid running the length of the hall (rather than the width), it would emphasise any errors with the walls not being square (and look terrible if the walls were anything but perfect). The lines of the tiles will (or should) be running parallel to the wall, so any slight differences will be clearly shown.

Technically, tiles across the hall will/should make the hall appear wider (and as a result potentially feel a little shorter - so in effect you emphasise the smallest dimension and reduce the longest). How much of an impact this will have in practise will depend on the hall and the tiles being used.

It is standard for tiles to be laid in this way (and as mentioned above is potentially more work for the tiler), though everyone has their own preference, as it helps to reduce the risks with how the finish will look.

[There are also other logisticial issues associated with the choice. If laid along the length of the hall you can end up with slivers of tiles on either side of the hall (running the full length of the hall), which is again removed by laying the tiles across the width (providing staggered finishes at the edges which is far more appealing to the eye)]