I personally prefer sand. I like the natural look and like my axolotls to have something to grip to rather than bare glass. I have very fine play sand in my tank and I also love how I can see the little foot prints and trails my axolotls leave in the sand
. I don't like big rocks as it makes it more difficult to clean and maintain as debris gets trapped between the rocks. Gravel is a heated topic and the general consensus is to avoid gravel due to high risk of impaction. If you are after the easiest to maintain substrate then bare bottom would be the way to go.
I use a canister filter with a spray bar at the moment and I quite like it. Another advantage of the canister filter is that it would be easy to attach a chiller if needed to keep temperature down. I prefer to have some sort of filtration. Whilst a filterless aquarium is possible to maintain, it is far more simple to maintain a cycled aquarium with filtration. I would recommend having a filter to people who have not a lot of experience maintaining tanks.
I am not sure I have a favourite type of hide. At the moment I have a pirate ship my axolotls can go in and out of (the edges have been filed down so they are not too sharp) and some driftwood with anubias. I would like to add more plants as well which is something I am going to do sometime in the near future.
I mostly hand feed my axolotls earthworms but occasionally will vary it up a little and give them bloodworm or pellets on food dishes. The food dishes I use are just ceramic plates. They are a green colour so they don't look so out of place.
I recommend reading through threads on this forum and attached websites. There is loads of ideas and information that may help. Also, if you are not familiar with cycling aquariums and the nitrogen cycle, the following links would be useful to read. I recommend doing a fishless cycle method. I personally believe it is a more humane method that will not risk harming aquatic life whether it be fish or axolotls.
Scales Tails Wings and Things, What is Aquarium Cycling? How to Cycle your Tank
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community