Buying a Serta Suite Dreams from Hilton: a cautionary tale

My wife & I stayed at a Doubletree Inn (Hilton-owned) and were so impressed with the comfortable sleep we’d had that we tore off the bedding to learn the mattress make & model: a “Suite Dreams” by Serta. When we got home, we found out you can buy them on-line from Hilton to Home, so we ordered one with no hesitation to replace our 10-year-old Stearns & Foster.

We slept fine and flipped and rotated it regularly; but after about a year we noticed it had started to sag, and after a year-and-a-half it had become unbearable. Getting to sleep wasn’t the problem; after settling in, I would wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to find any spot on the bed that didn’t make my hips and legs ache. We tried placing anti-sag inserts between the mattress and boxspring with limited success, and finally filed a warranty claim.

As expected, Serta gave us a runaround. They sent a mattress inspector who measured sag at upper-back level, not where it was occurring, and on that basis our claim was denied. I protested, and their customer service rep flat-out told me that conformity to a sleeper’s body is to be expected and that the warranty covers defects in workmanship, not comfort issues. (I pointed out that diminished comfort must be related to workmanship, but he failed to see the logic in this.) Undeterred, I took our case to Hilton and they went to bat for us; within hours of sending an email, I received an automated call from Serta advising me that a new mattress was in the works. (Way to go, Hilton!)

The replacement mattress finally arrived, and I have to say it was a letdown. I wish I had some way of retaining the memory of how comfortable that hotel mattress had been – and how comfortable the first one we received must have been when it arrived – but my initial impression was that I could feel several of the mattress’s inner coils pressing against me, producing an uneven sleeping surface. I still woke up in the middle of the night with aching hips, although not to the previous extent that I was unable to find a comfortable position from which to get back to sleep. Perhaps some break-in is required, but I don’t remember that this was the case with the earlier one.

Having spent $1500+ (including shipping) for what we’d assumed would be a top-of-the-line mattress, I’m relieved to have at least gotten a free replacement rather than have to shop for a new one. But given our initial disappointment with the replacement, we bought a memory-foam topper. Despite the somewhat disquieting sensation of trying to get to sleep while lying on a large marshmallow, we found it gave us the comfortable sleep we’d been looking for. (I even slept through for 8 hours one night, something I don’t think I’ve done in years.) After using it for a couple of weeks, I wanted to try sleeping on just the mattress again, thinking surely it must be broken in by now and couldn’t be all that bad; we’d even visited friends recently and found their mattress perfectly comfortable, so it’s not as if we’d been spoiled by the memory foam; but the un-topped Serta was as disappointing as we’d remembered.

A final note to this cautionary tale: When you place your order, you’re told that a mattress is going to be custom-built for you. This is a clever sales gimmick (I for one would have been happy to have had them pull one from some existing inventory), but it does make me wonder whether the mattresses assembled for individuals are perhaps made to slightly different (and inferior?) specifications than the ones built for hotels. Is this an unfair suspicion? Even so, I can’t help but wonder. All I can advise is, if you’re ordering a mattress based on a favorable experience at a Hilton, don’t assume that experience will necessarily be replicated at home.

Hi wvk,

Thanks for taking the time to share your “hotel mattress” experience … I appreciate it :slight_smile:

Unfortunately your experience is not unusual for those that buy a hotel mattress which are normally just a lower quality and less durable version of similar major brand mattresses made for consumers (which I would avoid as well because they also tend to use lower quality and less durable materials than many of their smaller competitors). You can read more about hotel mattresses in post #3 here.

While a warranty is important to guard against manufacturing defects in the materials or components inside a mattress that can happen on rare occasions … as you discovered mattress warranties only cover manufacturing defects and they don’t cover the gradual (or more rapid in the case of lower quality comfort layers) loss of comfort and support that comes from foam softening that is the main reason that most people will need to replace their mattress. In other words warranties have little to do with the durability or useful life of a mattress or how long it may be until you need to replace a mattress. If there is an actual defect in the materials it will usually show up early in the life of the mattress but knowing the quality and durability of the materials in your mattress is always a much more reliable way to assess the durability and useful life of a mattress than the length of a warranty. There is more about mattress warranties in post #174 here.

I’m glad to see that your topper has helped.

While there is always some risk and uncertainty involved in adding a topper if you haven’t tested the combination in person because the specifics of the mattress itself along with your own body type, sleeping position, and preferences can affect which specific topper would be a suitable choice on any specific mattress … if a mattress/topper combination is a good “match” for you in terms of "comfort and PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) then it also has the advantage of being able to replace just the topper without replacing the entire mattress if it softens or breaks down before the upper foam layers in the mattress (which is very common because the upper layers of a sleeping system tend to soften or break down before the deeper layers) or if your needs or preferences change over time and a topper can also help extend the useful life of the mattress underneath it as well.

Phoenix

wvk wrote:

I hear versions of this story frequently at my store. What I tell people who sleep better at a hotel than at home is that this isn’t necessarily a vote in favor of purchasing the exact mattress you tried at the hotel, but instead an indictment on the current state of your mattress at home and should serve as an impetus for you to visit a quality sleep shop and evaluate new mattresses. While the initial comfort of the mattress you might like at a hotel could be proper, you certainly can’t feel the quality, durability or construction of the product at the hotel. The experience you had would apply to almost any visit to any hotel, as the materials used in contract bedding generally are quite basic. Hopefully your post will assist others in a similar situation.

HI, I just took delivery of my " Hilton Suite Dreams" mattress after staying at a Hilton with the best nights sleep I’ve had in years. My unease started when my " custom made-4 to 6 weeks" mattress was ready for delivery in 10 days. They told me that someone had canceled their order, however when it arrived on Saturday it looked like a kids mattress and with no permanent tag to identify what the heck it is except for the “law tag” where someone typed Hilton Suite Dreams II PS ?!? . It’s light, 33 lbs of fill, it skimpy, the fabric is as seen on all cheap Serta mattresses online with the variegated welting and they sewed it with yellow thread, not custom. It was made 7 days after I ordered it according to the tag. Hilton to Home says yes, that’s the real thing but they’‘’ refund my money, never mind I don’t have my old substantial but sleepbale Simmons Beauty Rest that they took away…obviously they know this is a cheap Serta and don’t want to admit it, I just want exactly what I paid for, if in fact that is still a good mattress, I paid the 30% off price and if that’s a reflection of quality or they’re going out of business they need to say so. I had planned on contacting Hilton today too after this morning’s conversation with a supervisor… I’ve never purchased a mattress without a sewn on tag that states what it is.

Hi valhutch,

I’m sorry to hear about your experience but as you can see in the previous replies in this topic (and in post #3 here) a hotel mattress made by one of the major manufacturers would be a very risky choice.

It’s good to hear that you were able to receive a refund so you can start over again and purchase a better quality/value mattress.

Now that you are starting over again 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 most 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 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).

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

Phoenix

What they didn’t tell you is that the fabric and the welting are those of the $600 retail, buy anywhere serta perfect sleeper mattresses and NOT the Hilton Suite Dreams t;hat along with no Decal on the mattress that identifies it and the fact that my mattress was removed because I relied on there promise makes there refund not good enough. Give me what I purchase Hilton to Home and stop shoving it under the rug,

Just had to echo your sentiments & those of the others. We also had a full night of luxury sleep at Denver Airport in 2015 & decided to order same when we got home. Bottom Line… Not the same mattress by any stretch. Can’t believe a reputable hotel like Hilton would pull a bait/switch on their customers like that. Problem w/buying mattresses in mattress stores is you don’t have opportunity to actually “sleep” on them before deciding; but we’ll never again get suckered into buying a hotel mattress. Never Again!

Hi Disappointed2,

Welcome to the Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I’m sorry about your experience :frowning: and that you hadn’t found our forum and the advice presented here in this thread and the posts it links to about “hotel mattresses” before you made you purchase.

If you are starting your mattress shopping process over again, the best advice I can provide is start by reading through the mattress shopping tutorial here.

Phoenix

I will ditto your complete statement because thats exactly the same thing that happened to us exactly like you said it. It was like reading my own statement.
I cannot even sleep on my bed anymore it hurts my back so much. Also, I was again going to call the company , but now that you said what you said, forget it. I would probably be better off just going to buy a new mattress. I could see that I am not the only one with this problem.

By the way I only had my mattress 8 months and its was sinking. Now it is 1 year 2 months old, and It sinks in so much, I feel like I am in a hole and I can’t even move.

I would advise persistence in requesting a complete refund on the “Hilton” mattress. After going up the chain in a series of phone calls they did refund my money, finally, and also admitted that it wasn’t the mattress I slept on at the Hilton in Cincinnati as promised. When I called Hilton Home initially, they actually pretended to look up the hotel and the room I stayed in to get me the exact mattress, and I believed them ( embarrassing ) I weight 110lbs and within 6 months there was a depression in the middle despite flipping and turning. What a racket! what I can’t understand is how they continue to sell these inferior cots, I can’t believe that anyone accepts these as real.

I was so startled to get email that there was a new post to this thread I started 2 years ago that I thought I’d update my story….

The replacement mattress from Serta did not stand the test of time, even with a topper. We decided to take the loss and bought a new mattress from Costco (a Sealy Charter Pointe), moving up to king size, knowing that they’d take it back if we didn’t like it. Sure enough, after a few months there was a noticeable hill and two valleys so we got our money back and decided to stay away from inner-spring mattresses.

We were impressed with the reviews of Novaform from Costco but were reluctant to buy anything without first being able to try it. Since we live in northern Arizona we figured it would behoove us to take a drive down to Phoenix, which seems to have become a bit of a mattress mecca. We sampled the memory foam at Amerisleep and Tuft & Needle, which were quite comfy, but when we got to SleepEZ, we knew we’d found what we were after. Their layer-it-yourself latex mattress immediately impressed us, and we’ve been sleeping on it for 8 months now in total comfort and no backaches. Happy campers, happy sleepers.

Hi wvk.

Welcome back to our Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I am glad that we startled you … and very happy to hear how well you are “camping” on your mattress from SleepEZ our Trusted Members.

It’s always great “watching” our forum members share their “learning process” as you did, but you startled me by returning here and taking the time to share with us … Thank you! I am sure that I am speaking for many others that may benefit from your update and feedback as well … I appreciate it!

Phoenix

Found this site and read this too late. We bought and encouraged our friends to buy in Jan 2018. Within 3 mos. ours was sagging with peak and valleys. Finally had an evaluation done by Serta, who deemed our mattress within their parameters of “good”; however, the issue was when you lie down, it sinks very deep, UNLIKE ANY of the 6 Hilton hotels at which we had stayed over the course of a couple of years and whose beds we loved causing us to purchase the “same” mattress.
We kept trying with Serta and Hilton both to no avail between Oct 2018 and Jan 2019, but no luck. Neither did anything. We are very disappointed at having just spent over $1.5K on a mattress on which neither of us can sleep, and in fact causes us great pain. My 21yo just bought her first mattres, a firm K for >$500. She was going budget and understands the possibilities and was ok with it. Honestly, I have a feeling she will be happier with her purchase in the long run than we were.
I am now researching on this site and hope to be a more informed shopper in the future…

We recently purchased a mattress from Jordan’s Furniture in the Boston area that my daughter loves. It is SKU 19201520 a Jordan’s Diamond Chill Touch. I have been told that it is similar in feel to a hid density foam/mattress with foam core. We need to find a bed for her for her last year of college in St. Louis, MO. Ideally we would like to try beds here and then purchase there. Both Macy’s and Mattress Firm are in both locations. I am looking for advice on how to find a similar feeling mattress for her.

Hi atananbaum,

Welcome to our mattress forum :). Thanks for the post.

Although this question comes up a lot, it is not easy to “match” a mattress from one brand with another brand mattress. Even sometimes when a consumer can get the exact specifications of the layers of the mattress, two different manufacturers can make the mattress feel different.

How did you learn this was similar to a high-density foam mattress?This mattress is ahybrid innerspring.

The specifications of the Titan Chill from Jorands, according to their site is as follows. You could take these specifications into one of the stores closer to STL, or maybe you can talk to Jordan’s about shipping a mattress to your daughter? If the mattress is not compressed, this would probably be too expensive.

Jordans Diamond Chill Touch Specs

Name: Diamond Chill Touch Mattress
SKU: JMFB-20152
Collection: Jordan’s Mattress Factory® iGel
Vendor: Jordan’s Mattress Factory®
Mattress:75"L x 13.5"H x 39"W
Foundation:75"L x 13.5"H x 39"W
Quilt: Knit Cover with Chill Touch
FR Fibers
Comfort Layers: 2" Copper Memory foam 3.5LB
1 3/4" 1.5LB Poly Foam Topper
3/4" Eco Fiber Pad
Below Innerspring
3/4" Eco Fiber Pad
Support System: Single Sided Sleep Surface
Cloth Encased Coil
13.75 gauge steel
T: 536, F: 681, Q: 789, K: 975
Quantum Edge Perimeter Support 16 gauge
Power Base Compatible
Mattress Type: Hybrid Innerspring, Temperature Regulating, Power Base Compatible
Origin: Made in New England

Thanks let us know if you have other questions.

Sensei

Hi DisappointedShopper,

Welcome to our mattress forum :).

So sorry to hear about your Serta mattress issue, and I a not surprised they said it was “good”. This is part of the scam of mattress warranties. So many people try to match the hotel bed, and it is never as easy as people think.

Please post again if you have any more questions.

Thanks
Sensei