My in-laws converted to the gas option, other than the smell it's hard to distinguish from the real thing, to the point of double-take.
Probably depends on what you're cueing off of. I recently stayed in a bed and breakfast with a gas fireplace, and while it was visually pretty close to the wood fires of my childhood (especially if you're using it as background scenery rather than actually looking at it) it smelled and sounded very different. I actually felt a bit of Uncanny Valley-style dissonance for the first couple of hours, although I got over it pretty quickly once I realized that it was my only option for heating.
Sam Harris, in his recent article called The Fireplace Delusion, tries to make you feel what it's like to react to a cached belief being irreparably destroyed. Just incase you forgot what your apostasy (if you had one, of course) was like in its early stages.
What are some of the Fireplace Delusions you've come across in your days?
EDIT: WOODSMOKE HEALTH EFFECTS