We in Massachusetts, are moving locally at the end of May and have decided to upgrade to a King bed. Our current bed is a five year old Tempurpedic Classic, which I like but my husband finds too hard. We went to Sleepy’s and he fell in love with the Simmons Beautyrest Legends Luxury Plush Pillow top. It was overpriced and I am nervous about the pillow top sagging after a while. (I won’t get into the cost and the discount they offered when I called to cancel…yikes!)
So, I have been researching mattresses to the point of utter confusion. I want my husband to be happy, but I really like the feel of memory foam. I have considered buying at Costco for the return policy, but wonder about the quality. I have looked at the Stearns & Foster Portofino to try and make hubby happy and the Sleep Science memory foam for me. I have spoken with Bed-in-a-box and Saatva, both of which do a great job selling their product and have good return policies. I just want to pay a fair price for a quality product with an option to return/exchange if we hate it and not feel like I am buying a used car. Where can I begin? Thanks!
Kim
Hi Superwy,
The first suggestion I would have is to read the guidelines here which should help you avoid most of the traps and pitfalls of buying a mattress and the major brands and chain stores that sell mattresses with lower quality or “unknown” foam at prices that represent poor value (Such as the “S” brands like Sealy, Simmons, Serta, Stearns and Foster) and many other major brands that don’t want people to know what is in their mattress or make meaningful value comparisons with other brands. Your best quality and value is almost always with smaller local or regional or alternative manufacturers that sell either factory direct or through smaller more specialized sleep shops.
There are many of these options in Massachusetts and if you let me know which city you are in (or moving to) I’d be happy to look and see if I know of any that are within reasonable driving distance.
Some comments about Saatva are here.
Some comments about bedinabox are here (results of a forum search on bedinabox).
In the meantime … a few threads that may help (depending on where in Massachusetts you are) include here and here and here and here and here and here and here.
It’s quite likely that you have some very good choices near you that can give you both the value that is important and also have the knowledge and willingness to help you make the best possible choices.
Phoenix
Thank you so much. I did a bit of searching on your site today and saw your recommendation for Gardner Mattress. (I am just southwest of Boston.) I’ll try to stop by there tomorrow, if possible. I’d also like to visit Worley in New Bedford. My husband is not the best shopper, so I am going to try to recreate the feel of the Simmons Legend that he liked, then force him to go try it! I think a combination of innerspring and latex could be a good feel, but I need to check. This is a great site and I appreciate it. I think I am finally headed in the right direction.
Hi Superwy,
You’ve probably seen this but post #2 here (one of the previous links) includes the manufacturers that are near Boston. You may want to call them first if you are looking for memory foam though because some of them may not manufacture memory foam mattresses (there are lots of local manufacturers around the country who don’t think much of memory foam and don’t want to be responsible for the issues that are connected with it). Jordans mattress carries it but they use the Serta memory foam (iGel) and their base foam is only 1.5 - 1.6 lbs which is low quality for a base foam. They would probably be my least favorite choice on the list.
Some of the other threads I linked to in the previous posts includes some of the members experiences with some of these manufacturers.
Hopefully your husband and you can find something you both like but at least you have some very good manufacturers to choose from.
Phoenix
I went to Gardner Mattress today. What a difference from our experience at Sleepy’s. First, he knew what I wanted. We have a Tempurpedic Classic and we (well, my husband, really) wanted a change. He put me on their to selling coil mattress with 2" latex and the softer 3" latex bed. I liked both. I might opt for the firmer mattress, but I think my husband will prefer the softness of the other. I love the fact that it is made when we order it and delivered. The mattresses are very high quality and there was no pressure to buy. I imagine the service will be excellent on this product that has been around since the 1930’s from a company that does little to no advertising that I can find. I’ll try to get my husband out for sleep test next week and am happy to spend less money for a mattress here that supports the local commmunity. Thanks so much for your referral!
Hi Superwy,
From needing serious help to being seriously helped by Gardner … that’s what I like to see 
I think you’re making a great choice and I hope you let us know what you and your husband end up deciding on.
You did well!
Phoenix