Hi EnFuego,
I’m sorry you’ve had some tough times finding a mattress that’s comfortable. Perhaps I can offer some new advice for you.
When you’re sleeping better at a hotel, it’s more often than not an indicator that your current mattress is in poor condition, as opposed to the appropriateness for you of the specific mattress you tried at the hotel. Some people certainly do prefer a firmer innerspring product, which is commonly what is found at hotels.
Per the guidance you received about the foam, true high density foam is 1.8 lb and I would be extremely doubtful that the mattress you purchased had anything approaching that quality of foam. And the fact that you are already impressing quite deeply within your comfort layers would tend to bear this out.
The major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors that will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here).
Generally speaking, the innerspring unit within the mattress is not the weak link, even a more basic LFK spring like what your mattress is represented as having. Additionally, it would be difficult to tell if the sinking feeling was truly due to the spring unit in a completed mattress, as most of the “sinking” you’re feeling is from the surface materials. If there was zoning on this unit, it would more than likely be just a little extra in the middle third and generally not something you’d fell too much in a finished mattress. And on your side, sinking in a bit more with the hips is generally normal. Which all leads me back to the quality of the comfort materials in this mattress. (And all of this is assuming you are placing these mattresses upon a firm and flat surface.)
There is more about primary or “deep” support and secondary or “surface” support and their relationship to firmness and pressure relief and the “roles” of different layers in a mattress in post #2 here and in post #4 here that may also be helpful in clarifying the difference between “support” and “pressure relief” and “feel”. Post #16 also talks about different innerspring designs how they work.
Having a good and strong spring unit is desirable for good support and alignment, especially when you sleep prone at times. But most of your actual “comfort” is derived from the surface materials placed on top of the spring unit.
The best advice I can offer you is to tap “pause” for a moment and start by reading 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.
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”, firmness, 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 (including the price of course and the options you have available after a purchase if your choice doesn’t turn out as well as you hoped for).
While nobody can speak to how any specific mattress will “feel” for someone else or whether it will be a good “match” in terms of comfort, firmness, and PPP because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances and you are the only one that can feel what you feel on a mattress … outside of PPP (which is the most important part of “value”), the next most important part of the value of a mattress purchase is durability which is all about how long you will sleep well on a mattress. This is the part of your research that you can’t see or “feel” and assessing the durability and useful life of a mattress depends on knowing the specifics of its construction and the type and quality of the materials inside it regardless of the name of the manufacturer on the label or how a mattress feels in a showroom or when it is relatively new so I would always make sure that you find out information listed here so you can compare the quality of the materials and components to the durability guidelines here to make sure there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress that would be a cause for concern relative to the durability and useful life of a mattress before making any purchase.
I can only offer with the “how” to choose, and the references I listed above will assist you with that. The spring unit you listed can certainly be a durable unit, but I would be most interested in the amounts and quality of the padding materials in the two mattresses you mentioned. You mentioned that the data sheets online aren’t accurate for the spring unit, so I can’t assume they are accurate for the foam layers as well. Even if they were, there was little meaningful information about the density of the foams used within the mattress, so I’d recommend a visit to their showroom after you’ve read through the mattress shopping guide. As you do sleep on your stomach at times, I would be cautious about choosing a product that is too soft on top, as this will accentuate your lordotic lumbar curvature and be quite uncomfortable and result in more frequent repositioning.
I’ll be interested in learning how you proceed.
Phoenix