BeautyRest World Class Questions

My girlfriend and I (mostly her) have narrowed down our mattress search to the world class model. The problem is that every retailer calls this mattress a different name (which seems to be par for the course). This isn’t my problem though. What I have found is the mattresses may be made out of different materials. Shakespeare/Naila/etc etc… Does anyone have any insight on which specific retailer/model is the highest quality and contains all the proper materials? I don’t want to get a better price on the mattress if it is a stripped down version.

Thanks!

Hi SkyP,

I think that the best advice I could provide would be to completely “reset” how you are looking for a mattress.

The best place to start your research is the mattress shopping tutorial here which includes all the basic information, steps, and guidelines that can help you make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones including all the major brands such as Sealy, Simmons, and Serta or any mattress that uses low quality materials that are likely to soften or break down much too quickly or where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here).

Two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you’ve read are post #2 here which has more about the different ways to choose a suitable mattress (either locally or online) that is the best “match” for you in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) that can help you assess and minimize the risks of making a choice that doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for and post #13 here which has more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase which can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses in terms of suitability, durability, and value.

Outside of PPP (which is all about how well you will sleep on a mattress) … the most important part of the value of a mattress is it’s durability and a mattress is only as good as its construction and the quality and durability of the materials inside it (which is all about how long you will sleep well) regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label. If you can find out the information listed here about any mattress you are considering and post it on the forum then I’d certainly be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials and help you identify any potential weak links in the mattress. Without this information though it’s not possible to make any meaningful comments about the quality or durability of any mattress and if a manufacturer or retailer either isn’t able or willing to provide it to you then I would pass the mattress by because you won’t be able to make an informed choice and any purchase you make would be very risky and would have a very high chance of buyers remorse much too quickly after a purchase.

Again … I wouldn’t buy any major brand mattress whether it was a “deluxe” version or a “stripped down” version or anything in between because none of them would be a good quality/value choice compared to many other options that are available in the industry.

Once you get to step 3 in the tutorial if you let me know your city or zip code I’d be happy to let you know about any of the better options or possibilities I’m aware of in your area.

Phoenix

I bought the BR WC Recharge Shakespeare Collection Luxury Plush from Sleepy’s in NYC. Be warned that the mattress that was delivered to me was not the same as in the store. Even though they have the same name, the components are different (particularly the % of viscoelastic). In fact, they sent a replacement and the 2nd one was equally wrong, which means the retailer has not updated floor inventory to match what is in their warehouse, or Simmons’ warehouse… The one currently in my bedroom is much much firmer than the one they carry in the store and I had the worst backpain of my life the first night I slept on that thing. I would highly recommend that you take a photograph of the legal tag of whatever model you are looking at in the store (where it has the %s of each component). Then, when the delivery men come - before they bring it into your home - check that what is on the truck is what you ordered. If it isn’t, refuse the delivery. Because otherwise, you end up with a bad mattress and they will have already hauled away your old one, and you will not get a refund…

Hey Phoenix, my zip is 07621.

We are looking for a conventional innerspring mattress that is plush and has a pillowtop. Our budget is right around $1,000.

I appreciate the reading material and help! Thanks.

Hi SkyP,

The better options or possibilities I’m aware of in and around the New York City area (subject to the quality/value guidelines I linked in my last reply) are listed in post #2 here.

I would be especially cautious about knowing the quality/density and durability of the materials in any pillowtop mattress because if the pillowtop uses lower quality/density and less durable materials (which is very common in the industry) they are especially likely to soften or break down much more quickly than most other types of mattresses. This would be much less of an an issue if the materials in the pillowtop are higher quality/density and more durable materials. The weakest link in a mattress that is most subject to softening and foam breakdown is almost always in the top layers of the mattress.

I would also be aware that there are some mattresses that don’t have a pillowtop that may be just as soft as a pillowtop mattress (the softer layers are inside the main cover instead of being attached to the mattress as a pillowtop) and there are also pillowtop mattresses that are firmer than non pillowtop mattresses because they use firmer materials in the pillowtop so it’s always important to make sure you do good testing for PPP to make sure a mattress is a good “match” for you.

Adding a softer topper to a firmer mattress can also have a similar effect to a pillowtop and also has the advantage that you can replace just the topper if it softens or breaks down before the deeper layers in the mattress or if your needs and preferences change over time without having to replace the entire mattress.

Phoenix

So, we went to Urban Natural today in Paramus NJ. I cannot say I wasn’t impressed with the mattresses, but the price was considerably more than your S-branded mattresses. I understand the quality is higher etc, but they don’t really move much on price do they?..

Hi SkyP,

Higher quality and more durable materials such as latex that will last for a decade or longer are certainly more costly than cheaper materials that will only maintain their comfort and support for a few years (and in some of the worst cases only a few months). They would certainly be better “value” than the major brands even if the costs are higher. Most of the major brands aren’t really worth the price you pay if durability and the useful life of a mattress is an important consideration.

There are also many other mattresses that use higher quality and more durable versions of the same type of materials as you would find in the major brands (such as polyfoam and innersprings) that would be more of an “apples to apples” comparison (except they use higher quality and more durable materials) that are in the similar or lower budget ranges than their major brand competitors.

There is more about the most important parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase in post #13 here that also includes a link to the foam quality/density guidelines here that can help you make more meaningful quality/value comparisons between mattresses and help you avoid mattresses that use low quality materials that would be a significant weak link in the mattress in terms of durability.

Most of the better retailers don’t have “fake sales” or “negotiated prices” because they sell their mattresses at their best price every day of the year. You can read more about fake sales in post #5 here and about negotiated prices post #6 here and for the most part I would treat both of these as warning signs that you will likely be overpaying for a mattress.

The Beautyrest Recharge mattresses in particular use some exceptionally low quality foams such as 1.2 lb polyfoam, 2 lb memory foam, and even .7 lb polyfoam in the quilting layers which is the type and quality of foam that you will generally find in cheap “throwaway” mattresses or mattresses that would only be suitable for occasional use that should be in a much lower budget range than they are. These are among the lowest quality materials you will find in the industry and they aren’t mattresses that I would consider even at half the price.

You can see an example of a 14" Beautyrest World Class plush mattress that shows the quality/density of the materials here (click overview).

Phoenix

Hey Phoenix,

I totally agree with everything you’ve said. I think we are going go for the Madison model at Urban Natural. I was just trying to get a feel for what a reasonable price would be. I understand they don’t negotiate because they’re priced properly lol. We still have a month or so until we are going to purchase a mattress, but she fell in love with it so that’s probably the choice. The latex was very impressive, thanks again.

Hi SkyP,

I tend to encourage “value” comparisons rather than just “price” comparisons because the price of a mattress is only one part of its value and in many cases it’s not the most important part (as long as it’s inside the budget range that you are comfortable with).

The post I linked in my earlier reply has more about the most important parts of the value of a mattress purchase but it really comes down to the three parts of the “value” of a mattress purchase …

  1. How well the mattress matches your specific needs and preferences in terms of PPP which is all about how well you will sleep on the mattress.

  2. The quality and durability of the materials which is all about how long you will sleep well.

  3. How a mattress compares to your other finalists based on all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you (including price of course).

The BE mattresses are reasonably priced IMO but I would keep in mind that the value of a mattress purchase is always relative to the other mattresses you are considering or that are available in your area (or online for those that are also including online options in their research) so if you only have one “finalist” or don’t have other mattresses that you are using as a reference to compare them with then there really isn’t any way to make meaningful comparisons in terms of suitability, durability, or “value” regardless of the price you would be paying for the mattress.

In other words there isn’t a “formula” that you can use to assess the value of a mattress based on the cost of the raw materials inside it because it wouldn’t include the specifics of your own personal experience and preferences. When you look back on a mattress purchase many years from now you will remember much more about how well you slept on it and how long you slept well than you will about differences in prices that are relatively small in terms of the cost per year of ownership when you consider the length of time you will be sleeping on it.

Phoenix