Hi san08844,
I’m glad you found us in time to realize that a Simmons mattress isn’t a good quality/value choice 
[quote]However I was also looking into the Ernest Hemingway Mattress which I saw in a Thomasville Store and it was so incredibly comfortable but pricey. It is manufactured by Mattress Development Corp in North Brunswick, NJ. They also manufacture Therapedic. I am attaching a picture of the label that was next to the bed indicationg what components make up the mattress. I was wondering if you knew anything about this collection and the manufacturer and could offer any insight. Thanks so much.[/quote].
Ernest Hemingway is one of a stable of brands that are under the umbrella of Mattress Development Co. owned by Stuart Carlitz which includes Eclipse, Eastman House, and Hemingway (see this article). Hemingway and Eastman House are their more premium brands. He also owns Bedding Industries of America which is one of the factories that makes their mattresses and which is also a Therapedic licensee.
The materials that are listed in your description (pocket coils, micro coils, Talalay latex, Pima cotton) are all good quality materials and the tufting in the construction is a feature that is usually found in higher budget more premium mattresses that will help the mattress keep its shape and adds to durability and the useful life of a mattress. The description isn’t complete however and I would want some additional information about all the layers in the mattress to make sure there are no weak links in the design (see this article).
Stuart Carlitz is certainly passionate about mattresses and the industry and one of the things I like about the Mattress Development Co and Bedding Industry of America Brands is that they are transparent about the materials they use and you will generally be able to find out the specifics of all the materials and components in the mattress so you can make more meaningful comparisons with other mattresses. They are the 16th largest manufacturer in the country and were just outside of the “top 15 here” but when I talked with him last he told me that the numbers he submitted for the rankings were audited and accurate while the numbers for #15 were only an estimate and were only a million dollars more than his so I told him I would add him to the “top 15” list on the site as #16.
Once you know all the specifics of the materials inside your mattress and have confirmed that there are no weak links in its design … then you will be able to make meaningful comparisons with other mattresses.
The most important part of the value of a mattress is how well it matches your unique needs and preferences in terms of PPP and careful and objective testing using the testing guidelines in the tutorial post is the best way to assess this (keeping in mind that the “showroom comfort” is subjective and doesn’t always translate into how well you sleep on a mattress and it’s important to make sure that subjective comfort alone isn’t all you test for).
If your testing indicates that the mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP then the quality and durability of the materials and identifying any weak links in the design are the next most important part of the “value” of a mattress purchase.
After this … the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you are the other parts of the value of a mattress purchase that may also be important to you that can help you compare one mattress purchase to another.
Once you have confirmed that the mattress is a good match for you in terms of PPP and the other parts of your personal value equation that are important to you and you have confirmed that there are no weak links in the mattress, then you will be in a much better position to compare the mattress to any other “finalists” that you are considering.
If there are no cautions or weak links … then you can decide whether there is enough of a difference in PPP and “value” between the Ernest Hemingway mattress and any other finalists you are considering that use similar materials or are in a lower budget ranges to justify the more premium price.
Phoenix