We used ipe for the deck and railings. Like you said it's not cheap, but we wanted something with low maintaince.
It's been four years since installation and is a nice silver grey. The wood is very stable with little if any shinkage and no warpage. We have good ventilaztion under the deck which I think is very important. So far we are very pleased with our decision

Thanks for the input. Do you have to do anything to maintain it? I assume you have to keep it clean somehow and I read that power washing ipe was not a good idea. What do you do with yours? Thanks.

Our deck is off the first floor with a walk out basement below. The only access to it now is from inside the house. Made provisions to for exterior strairway, but debating whether to install it. The rain cleans what little bit of dirt gets on it. We use a leaf blower or sweep it ocassionally. I would mop it using a mild detergant and rinse it with a hose if it needed a deeper cleaning.

We let our deck go grey at our last home, but it was red wood. At my new home the wood grain is rising and it is rough. I need to replace all of it but the posts. I have had an estimate of $3,000. for composite.