Best Mattresses under $1200

Hi,
I’ve been doing research for awhile and everytime I find a matress I find some issue with it like chemicals, mattress manufacturer not honoring warranty, etc…
I was most intererested in the Hilton Bed made by Serta, but I’ve read problems people experience with it after having it for awhile and Serta not honoring their warranty.
I also considered Ikea matresses, but I read that some are made in china and have chemical off gassing problems.
Can anyone point me to the best matresses under $1200.
I’d like something that feels like the Hilton Bed, organic/safe to sleep on with minimal chemicals so it would have to be made in USA where there are stricter regualations,
Any advices?

Hi andynov123,

There is no such thing as the “best” mattress or mattresses (if there was there would only be one or a very few mattresses being sold in the industry) … there is only a mattress that is “best for you” based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you regardless of whether the same mattress would be “best” for anyone else or whether it would even be suitable for anyone else to sleep on.

It’s not possible to make specific suggestions or recommendations for either a mattress, manufacturers/retailers, or combinations of materials because the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to always remember that you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress and there are too many unknowns, variables, and personal preferences involved that are unique to each person to use a formula or for anyone to be able to predict or make a specific suggestion or recommendation about which mattress or combination of materials and components would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (using the testing guidelines in step 4 of the tutorial) or your own personal sleeping experience (see mattress firmness/comfort levels in post #2 here).

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 with “how” to make the best possible choice … and perhaps more importantly know how and why to avoid the worst ones.

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 “comfort” and 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 (how well you will sleep), durability (how long you will sleep well), and the overall value of a mattress compared to your other finalists (based on all the parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you).

[quote]I was most intererested in the Hilton Bed made by Serta, but I’ve read problems people experience with it after having it for awhile and Serta not honoring their warranty.
I also considered Ikea matresses, but I read that some are made in china and have chemical off gassing problems.[/quote]

You can read more about hotel mattresses in post #3 here and like the major manufacturers they generally use lower quality and less durable materials and in general terms I would avoid them.

I would keep in mind that in spite of the word “chemical” being a cause for concern for some people … chemicals are not necessarily harmful or even synthetic. Anything that is not an element is a chemical and there are natural chemicals that are harmful and others that are safe and there are synthetic chemicals that are harmful and others that are safe. Even water and salt are chemical substances (see wikipedia here) and even if the individual elements of a chemical substance can be harmful (salt for example contains chloride which is a form of chlorine which can certainly be harmful in certain concentrations) the chemical itself where the individual elements are chemically bound together may not be. Even chemicals such as formaldehyde for example are natural chemicals that are abundant in the environment or in ambient air in relatively low concentrations and the formaldehyde concentrations in many homes (see here) are higher than the testing limits for formaldehyde that are used to certify different mattresses or mattress materials.

Since most people that are concerned with “chemicals” are really concerned with “safety” … there is more information in post #2 here and the more detailed posts and information it links to about safe, natural, organic, “chemical free”, and “green” mattresses and mattress materials that can help you sort through some of the marketing information and terminology that you will encounter in the industry and can help you differentiate between them and answer “how safe is safe enough for me” or “how natural is natural enough for me” so you can decide on the types of materials you are most comfortable having in your mattress or on the certifications that may be important to you. These types of issues are complex and are generally specific to each person and their individual sensitivities, circumstances, criteria, beliefs, and lifestyle choices.

There is more about the different ways that one mattress can “match” or “approximate” another one in post #9 here. While it would be relatively easy to find hundreds of mattresses that use higher quality and more durable materials than most hotel mattresses … there aren’t any manufacturers I’m aware of that specifically design their mattresses to “feel” like the Hilton mattress or that use identical materials and components in an identical design and different people can have very different opinions about how closely two mattresses with differences in their designs and components compare to each other because body type, sleeping positions, and individual sensitivities can also play a role in how they feel and compare. The only reliable way to know whether another mattress will feel similar to you in terms of “comfort” and PPP (regardless of whether it would feel similar to someone else) will be based on your own personal testing and experience.

If you are open to an online purchase the tutorial includes several links to the better online options I’m aware of (in the optional online step) includding many that are in your budget range that will be helpful.

If you let me know your city or zip code I’d also be happy to let you know about any of the better local options or possibilities I’m aware of.

Phoenix