"We're Indian and cook with very strong spices, so it is imperative that we have a system that can suck up all the smells and blow them out of the house."

And how. Indian food has a horrible stench! I can smell it on your clothes and breath on the Metro.

I've lived in two houses that had the hoods that raised up from behind the cooktop. I wouldn't recommend them. First, they're not very effective in drawing out the smoke, fumes, etc. from cooking. Second, they sucked up the flame from the gas stove most of the time!

We now have a Thermador range hood that is above the cooktop - but our cooktop is not in an island so it works. We're Indian and cook with very strong spices, so it is imperative that we have a system that can suck up all the smells and blow them out of the house! The Thermador is great for that.

Good luck!

we need to do a range replacement in our new house too. Have the same question.

one thing we noticed in a different open house was that the "hoods" that slide up in the island middle, get stuck in the 'up' position.

We're also considering leaving it w/o a hood, like the previous owner did, in a highly upgraded large kitchen.

What kind of hood are you using for your island cooktop? I'm thinking about the small one that is installed on the side of the cooktop, but wondered about its effectiveness. Any feedback?
The hood that hangs from ceiling is not really appealing to us as we will be seating around the island (bar height) and do not want to stare at the hood.
Thanks!