Confused by mattress possibilities - BB versus Dreamland vs local (Boston area)

I have spent all week getting a crash course in mattresses, and while I’m leaning in a certain direction, I’m still feeling unsure.

My situation. My fiance and I live together but often sleep apart, even if we start the night together. We share a king but one of us often ends up on a full we have in another room. There seem to be two reasons. One is snoring and the other is motion on the bed. The mattresses we have are both spring mattresses. We were just on a vacation for two weeks where we had to sleep together. Amazingly, we had little trouble doing so. A major reason is that the beds we slept on had no motion transfer. The bed we found most comfortable and on which we slept for 6 nights was a Sealy PP queen-size 68 lb with 64% polyurethane and 26% polyethelene. From that experience, we knew we had to get new beds. “Beds” because the snoring means we’ll probably always need two beds, though the 2nd should be used more sparingly.

I’ve been to two stores. One had just name brands. I tried some Sealys and Tempurpedics. The first thing that surprised me was that few if any of the mattresses felt as good as the Sealy we had on the vacation. The only ones I could even imagine buying were a Tempurpedic cloud supreme or cloud luxe, but these are both far more in price than we wanted to pay. I also learned that they were among the softest of the Tempurpedic line. I clearly found most mattresses too firm.

I’ve been reading everything I could on this website, and it has given me insight but not yet closure on what to do. I think if I describe where I’m at maybe I can get some good advice on what to do. So here goes.

At first I was looking on Amazon, and came upon Dreamfoam products. I was especially taken by the fact that both the 13 inch Gel Memory Foam and the Eurotop mattresses had no 1 or 2-star reviews, indeed few that are not 5-stars. I further liked the fact that the Gel has been described as like a cross between the cloud supreme and the cloud luxe. After further study, however, I’ve been leaning more towards buying a mattress on Brooklyn Bedding’s website. I like the fact that there is a 120 day guarantee that allows me to replace the upper layers for free during that period (or even return the bed for a fee if necessary). I can also get a comfort layer replacement at any time in the future for the cost of it, possibly allowing one to increase the life of the mattress. And the materials used, I’ve learned, are better quality than their Dreamfoam line, again allowing the bed to potentially last longer.

There is also the question of memory foam versus latex. From experience I’ve had at the 2nd store, I’m kind of leaning towards mostly memory foam, but I’m unsure. More on that below.

I’ve come to realize that I don’t need the best mattress for the full, just something adequate. So I think I can settle on the Ultimate Dreams Gel one for that. It’s the least expensive of all mattresses I’ve considered seriously and will probably be great. Also, as it will be used less frequently, the mattress should last quite a bit longer than one would usually expect it to last.

But the king bed needs to be the highest quality we can afford. We are willing to pay significantly more for it. At first I was thinking of the 12 inch Bamboo Bella, but now I’m leaning more towards the 14 inch Aloe Adele, even though it is more than we wish to spend, $300 is not a deal breaker. (Yes, I’d love the Cool Luxe, but I think price really is a deal breaker with that one.)

There is one further thing that has made things a bit more complex. I went to the Boston Bed Company, a local factory outlet of the Massachusetts manufacturer of Therapedic mattresses. I was the only one there so I had lots of time to speak with the person running the store, who has 44 years experience in the business. They sell high-quality mattresses. He explained to me about all the layers of their mattresses and I had time to try them. All the materials used in their mattresses are made in the US. The foam, other than latex layers, are soy-based, some with gel to keep them cooler. (I have problems with heat, often feeling quite warm in bed.) Out of about 8 mattresses he had, I found two that I kind of liked at a price of, I think, $1300 for the king mattresses. At the time, I was thinking that that was too much (and add on sales tax), but now that I’m going up in price, that is not an issue. I’m not sure that I can say that I was in love with any of his mattresses. I’d need to check again. He did impress me with the high quality of the materials they used. He seemed to know about all the stuff I’ve been reading about on this website. He seemed completely honest and knowledgeable. But I have concerns, besides just that I’m not sure I found any to fall in love with. If I end up deciding after I have the mattress that I am not happy with it, my only recourse is, at a small cost, to trade it in for credit on another model they sell. I intend to go back and check more carefully about what they have, the density of the foam as well, and if they will customize it for me, and let me trade a comfort level (like BB will do) if needed. This option feels more complicated than just ordering from BB, but maybe it is better.

At this store, they had some mattresses (or maybe just one) with a comfort layer of latex. It felt springy, not at all like the Sealy with the 64% polyurethane that I had found so comfortable. Now maybe this mattress was just too firm for me, but it made me think that maybe latex is not for me. I realize that the Aloe Adele has a latex layer, but it is an intermediate one. That experience has led me away from a mainly latex mattress, even though I realize that latex has some qualities that are unmatched by anything else, and many people swear by it.

Just a few more notes about me and my partner, to round out the picture. She can sleep on any mattress. I have aches and pains. I sometimes sleep on my side, but it often results in pain in my shoulder and/or hip. I’ve been told I have bursitis in my hip, so I usually end up on my stomach, leaning to one side. I have lower back problems. Sometimes when I wake in either of our current beds, I can barely walk at first. Finally, we are both in our early 60s.

Right now my inclination is to go ahead and get the Ultimate Dreams Gel foam mattress for the full size. I can try that, and it might give me some experience to help me decide on the king. I’d really like some feedback on whether that plan makes sense, and if leaning towards the Aloe Adele makes sense given what I’ve learned about my likes and dislikes. I think the fact that I did not find myself falling in love with almost any memory or latex foam mattress I tried (contrary to what I expected), has made me rather concerned.

Hi jim1952,

The best “suggestion” I can give you would be to start with post #1 here which has the basic information, steps, and guidelines that you will need to make the best possible choices. In other words … my role is to help you with how to choose rather than what to choose.

I would normally suggest local testing on similar materials and designs even if you are considering an online choice so you are comfortable and familiar with the materials in a mattress you are thinking about.

Most of your questions though are really about personal preferences (such as the choice between memory foam and latex which are very much apples to oranges comparisons) and which like any preference issue can only be answered by the person themselves.

I’m happy to help connect you to good retailers and manufacturers and speak to the quality and value of a mattress or help you identify any potential “weak links” (and like all the members here … Brooklyn Bedding is among the best quality and value in the country) but your own local testing and/or more detailed conversations with each retailer or manufacturer you are considering is the only way to decide on which of the mattresses they offer is best for you in terms of PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) and which one is the best match for what I call your personal value equation.

I also agree with you that an online mattress purchase that has options available for comfort changes after a purchase is much less risky and is part of its value although I would still make sure you are familiar with the general feel and performance of the materials that it uses.

Quality is something else completely because you can’t “feel” the quality of a mattress and it primarily determines how long a mattress will stay close to its original properties with less softening and breakdown of materials. This is why it’s important to know what is inside any mattress you are considering so you know the quality of the materials (of any type) are appropriate for your budget and can make meaningful quality and value comparisons with other mattresses.

I’m assuming you are in the Boston are if you are looking at Boston Bed Company so the list of better options I’m aware of in the Boston area (and they are one of them) are in post #2 here and post #2 here has some links to posts that have some feedback about some of them aw well.

So I would always start with local testing of materials and different mattresses so you are clear on your preferences regardless of whether you end up buying locally or online.

Phoenix

Thanks for the link on Boston-area mattress companies. Earlier this week, before I became a member, I had done a keyword search for Boston and it came up with nothing, now it comes up with many messages. Was the search mechanism broken at some point? Anyway, this helps a lot - or maybe leaves me with too many choices.

Hi jim1952,

There are two search boxes. The one at the top right of the page only searches the site … not the forum.

The Search Forum tab at the top of the forum searches the forum.

When you use it … it’s a good idea to make sure that the “Find posts from” setting is set to “any date” because the default only goes back a year and there are many posts (including the Boston post) that are older than a year … although they have been edited and updated since.

So it’s been working … but the setting may have been on the default “a year ago”.

Phoenix

I’m less confused. I have narrowed down my choices. I am going to buy a full Ultimate Dreams 13in gel memory bed. That leaves the king. I went to Gardner mattress and discovered that I don’t care for latex. I’m sure it would give me a good night’s sleep, but I don’t find the comfort I feel from memory foam. I’ve narrowed myself to two choices, the Brooklyn Bedding Aloe Adelle and the Therapedic Blue Essence. The Blue Essence is the one I had tried at Boston Bed before, and I went back and tried it again. I like it a lot and they have a good price, $1300 for the mattress alone and can deliver for free. Taking everything into account the difference in price is just about $50, favoring the Therapedic, but in fact is not important. I’m having trouble figuring out how to decide between these two. Brooklyn Bedding will let you replace the upper layers for free for the first 120 days and, for the price of the layer, years later. I like that, but I don’t know if that is important, especially as I’ve been able to try out the Blue Essence. But will I still like the Blue Essence a lot after 90 days or feel the need to change the firmness? I don’t know. How likely is that? Can you tell me? I saw in another forum topic that the materials of the Blue Essence are all good quality with no weak link. How does the durability of the Adelle layers compare to the Blue Essence? There are some differences, but do they matter - and which bed do they favor? They both have gel on the top layer. Are they similar gels, or are they pretty similar? The Adelle has a 3inch latex layer under a 3 inch gel layer? Would the fact that I wasn’t crazy about latex as a comfort layer make a difference here? I asked the guy at Boston Bed if it would be possible years later to replace a comfort layer for whatever it cost them, and he wasn’t sure - that no one had ever asked the question. I think he said maybe, but essentially he had no idea. But does it matter? Is there some reason to think that one would feel firmer or softer than the other, cooler or warmer than the other? I’m not sure if there are any other questions to consider, but I don’t know exactly what the answers to these questions are. If you could help me with them, I’d appreciate it. I’m kind of thinking that I’m not likely to go wrong with either, so maybe I should favor the local company.

Maybe you don’t have to answer all these questions, just the ones that you think might make a difference for my purchase.

Just to save you trouble looking it up, here are the specs for each:

Blue Essence
Our Blue Essence 11" mattress includes an additional layer of high support memory foam;
•2" layer of Eco-based Gel Memory Foam
•2"-5# Hi Support Memory Foam
•1" Latex Enhanced Support Layer
•6"-1.8 High Density Foam

Adelle (from Brooklyn Bedding’s website)
The14" Aloe Adelle hybrid mattress consists of multiple layers (top->bottom): 100% Aloe Vera & Cotton Mattress Cover, 1" Chemical Free Wool & Soft Reflex Foam, (1) 3" of 4 LB. Gel-Infused Memory Foam, (1) 3" of Talalay Latex and a 7" of 2.17 lb HD Omalon Foam Core.

The aloe vera cover is quilted and built with the Perfect-Top zipper. Inside the quilted cover is all chemical free & soft reflex foam - designed to help the mattress breath efficiently. The Perfect-Top integration allows you to customize your mattress at any time by quickly and easily unzipping the cover and exchanging your comfort layers.

The base layer consists of a 7" of 2.17 lb HD Omalon Foam Core. One of the highest quality base foams on the market, we will not cut corners by using lower quality base foams. Many of our competitors will use much lower grade foams resulting in a mattress that will break down in a matter of a year or two. Our foam core will outlast the mattress and will not sag.

Hi jim1952,

It’s good to see that you have narrowed down your final options to a choice between “good and good”.

This will depend on how carefully and objectively you tested the Blue Essence. If you tested it specifically for PPP (Pressure relief, posture and alignment, and Personal preferences) following the testing guidelines then your odds are much higher that your testing will reflect your long term experience than if you tested it for a shorter period of time, less carefully, or subjectively. While nothing is guaranteed (which of course means that your options if you do need to make any fine tuning adjustments after a purchase may also be part your personal value equation) … good testing will give you much higher odds of predicting how you will feel with the mattress in the long term.

Perhaps it will help if I can suggest some of the things I would be looking at if I was choosing between them.

First is the quality/value of the foam and components. Both of them use higher quality materials but the Blue Essence includes 5" of premium foam in the comfort layers while the Aloe Adelle has 6" of premium foam … and also includes more latex which is a more costly material than memory foam. The Aloe Adelle also has a higher quality base layer and has a more premium cover/quilting which includes wool (which helps with temperature regulation). The Aloe Adelle has a slightly thicker layer of 4 lb memory foam so foam softening may have a slightly larger effect than a thinner 2" 4 lb memory foam layer (both gel foams would be similar in durability). Overall … while its a somewhat subjective evaluation because they are not the same mattresses … I would give the quality/value edge to the Aloe Adelle.

Second is the suitability of the mattress. You have personally tested the Blue Essence but not the Aloe Adelle. BB may be able to tell you a similar mattress that you can test for suitability in terms of PPP so you can “test” how it will feel and perform for you but without this it would be somewhat of an unknown to you. This means I would give the suitability edge (of an initial purchase at least) to the Blue Essence.

Third is the ability to make changes after a purchase. This would also be relate to point #2 because in effect your actual sleeping experience will become an even more accurate “test” than your in store testing. In this case … the Aloe Adelle has good options after the fact (both initially and in the long term) to make comfort changes in the both the comfort layer and the middle transition layer based on your actual sleeping experience. In addition to this … you would also be able to replace the top layer down the road if it softens or degrades before the rest of the mattress (and comfort layers are the “weak link” of most mattresses) or if your needs and preferences change. I don’t know the exchange possibilities of the Blue Essence either initially or in the long term (which they don’t seem to know either but would normally involve changing or replacing the whole mattress). If either of them are too firm in the comfort layers … then the “regular” solution of adding a topper is available with both. The “fine tuning” edge here clearly goes to the Aloe Adelle.

Finally are all the other “value” factors involved in any mattress purchase that are listed in the previous link about your personal value equation. Some of these may be more objective, some more subjective, and some of them may be intangible but I would factor in the “value” of the ones that are most important to you as well including any of the benefits that go with making a purchase from each manufacturer.

As you mentioned as well … both of these would make better choices than the mattresses that most people end up buying and neither would make a bad choice in terms of quality and value but hopefully by the time you have gone through the different pros and cons of each you will find yourself leaning in one direction or the other strongly enough that you will know which is the best choice for your personal criteria.

Hope this helps.

Phoenix

I’ve spoken to Brooklyn Bedding about the Aloe Adelle and they say the feel is quite different from a Tempurpedic cloud supreme or luxe. They say that it is all because of the 1" Chemical Free Wool & Soft Reflex Foam, which they say gives it a plush, pillow-top feel. I have little idea what that means. They have said that it will not having a sinking in feeling, but it will have the feel of a memory foam bed - which I associate with the sinking in feeling. I probably won’t dislike the mattress, but I’m not sure I’ll love it. I could splurge and change my order to a cool supreme. If I’ll be happy with the Adelle, I’d rather not. Is there any way to better describe what it will feel like. What is “reflex foam”? Can I stick it below the memory foam if I so choose?

Hi jim1952,

Yes ,… they have two mattresses that are “in the range” of the Cloud Series but as you are saying this one would be different because it is a different design.

Yes … the mattress ticking (cover) and the quilting layers will modify the feel of the memory foam underneath it and add a little more surface resilience to the mattress so it has more of a combination of the feel and properties of the quilting materials and the memory foam below it… While “feel” is very subjective … you can read a little more about how a quilting layer can affect a memory foam mattress in this post and you can read a bit more about wool quilting in this post.

Reflex foam is the polyfoam that is quilted to the cover (along with the wool). You won’t be able to remove it without taking apart the cover itself. You can however rearrange or exchange the two top layers of the mattress (the latex layer or the memory foam layer)

Phoenix