Hi Fabphilly,
I would always keep in mind that the first “rule” of mattress shopping is to 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 or which type of mattress would be the best “match” for you in terms of “comfort” or PPP or how a mattress will “feel” to you or compare to another mattress based on specs (either yours or a mattress) or “theory at a distance” that can possibly be more accurate than your own careful testing (hopefully 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).
Unfortunately there is no specific type of mattress that is best for any specific health issues in general because each person is unique. In other words a mattress that is perfect for one person with hip pain may be completely unsuitable for someone else with similar hip pain to sleep on. In very general terms a mattress that is “best for you” would need to have comfort layers that are soft and thick enough to contour to the shape of your body and redistribute the concentration of weight away from your hips to relieve pressure and would also need to have firm enough support layers to prevent your hips from sinking in too much to keep your hip joint in neutral alignment.
Most people that don’t have specific health issues and are reasonably flexible would have a fairly wide range of mattresses that they will sleep well on so finding a mattress that is inside the range that is suitable for them in terms of PPP is generally a little easier but for those that have various health issues or circumstances to deal with that are more challenging and that put them closer to the “princess and the pea” end of the range than the “I can sleep on anything” end of the range then finding a mattresses that works well for them may be more difficult because there would be fewer mattresses that they sleep well on and finding a mattress that is inside their narrower range can be a little more difficult. The basic functions of a mattress that are necessary would be the same as for anyone else … it can just take a little bit more time and effort to find a mattress that is “just right” for you.
SallyS’s suggestions are also great ones. A pillow in between your knees if you sleep on your side or a pillow under your knees if you sleep on your back can also help keep your hips inside their neutral range of motion and alignment and relieve tension in your hips and a body pillow can also help prevent “twisting” when you sleep and can also be very helpful to keep your hips inside their neutral range where muscles and ligaments are more relaxed.
There is also 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”.
While other people’s comments about the knowledge and service of a particular business can certainly be helpful … I would be very cautious about about using other people’s experiences or reviews on a mattress (either positive or negative) as a reliable source of information or guidance about how you will feel on the same mattress or how suitable or how durable a mattress may be for you and in many if not most cases they can be more misleading than helpful because a mattress that would be a perfect choice for one person or even a larger group of people may be completely unsuitable for someone else to sleep on (see post #13 here).
I’m assuming that you’ve read the mattress shopping tutorial here but two of the most important links in the tutorial that I would especially make sure you 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).
While I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else because this is too subjective and relative to different body types, sleeping positions, and individual preferences, sensitivities, and circumstances … outside of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and your Personal preferences) the 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 “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 materials and components to the quality/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.
If you can find out the specifics of the layers and components in the Elite Hospitality and post them on the forum then I’d certainly be happy to make some comments about the quality and durability of the materials and the mattress as a whole.
There are also no “standard” definitions or consensus of opinions for firmness ratings and different manufacturers can rate their mattresses very differently than others so a mattress that one manufacturer rates as being a specific firmness could be rated very differently by another manufacturer. Different people can also have very different perceptions of firmness and softness compared to others as well and a mattress that feels firm for one person can feel like “medium” for someone else or even “soft” for someone else (or vice versa) depending on their body type, sleeping style, physiology, their frame of reference based on what they are used to, and their individual sensitivity and perceptions. There are also different types of firmness and softness that different people may be sensitive to that can affect how they “rate” a mattress as well (see post #15 here) so different people can also have very different opinions on how two mattresses compare in terms of firmness as well and some people may rate one mattress as being firmer than another and someone else may rate them the other way around. This is all relative and very subjective and is as much an art as a science.
There is a lot 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” and that can help you decide on the type of materials and components you are most comfortable having in your mattress or on the certifications for harmful substances and VOC’s 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.
While it’s not possible to quantify the sleeping temperature of a mattress for any particular person with any real accuracy because there are so many variables involved including the type of mattress protector and the sheets and bedding that you use (which in many cases can have just as significant an effect on temperature as the type of foam in a mattress) and on where you are in the “oven to iceberg” range and because there is no standardized testing for temperature regulation with different combinations of materials … there is more about the many variables that can affect the sleeping temperature of a mattress or sleeping system in post #2 here that can help you choose the types of materials and components that are most likely to keep you in a comfortable temperature range.
I can’t speak to how any mattress will “feel” for someone else or whether it will be a good match in terms of PPP … you can see my comments about the quality of the materials in the Saatva and Winkbed and some of the other “simplified choice” mattresses in post #2 here and forum searches on Saatva and on Winkbed (you can just click both links) will bring up more about them as well.
The Alexander Signature Select is memory foam mattress which is in a completely different category from either the Saatva or the Winkbeds which are coil on coil mattresses (see this article about the different types of mattresses). There are some comments about the Alexander in post #2 here and in post #2 here and a forum search on Alexander (you can just click the link) will bring up more comments about it as well.
Phoenix