Hi JayhawkWS6,
Welcome to the Mattress Forum! 
Savvy Rest certainly uses higher-quality materials, but they also tend to be in a higher budget range. Their cover is also a thicker cotton with wool quilted on the inside, and it can have a “stiff” feel in a showroom. Also, Dunlop latex (Savvy Rest offers complete selections of Talalay as well but apparently not at the store you visited) will have a different feel than Talalay, which tends to be a bit more “buoyant” feeling, especially in the upper layers.
Yes, they will offer some similar configurations to the Savvy Rest, and they also offer Talalay, and they have covers that are not as stiff feeling as the cover that Savvy Rest uses. They are also in a much more affordable price range. As you’re probably already aware, SleepEZ is a member here, which means I think highly of them and the quality of their products and expertise.
Memory foam in the upper layer of a mattress certainly has a different feel from latex, specifically Dunlop latex using a stiffer cover (any memory foam mattress you tried would more than likely have used some sort of a more flexible stretch-knit cover). You’ll tend to sleep “in” memory foam a bit more than latex, especially like the Savvy Rest you tried, which you’ll sleep a bit more “on”. The Wisdom mattress you tried uses memory foam, but in the deeper layers of the mattress.
Latex and memory foam are very different materials with very different properties and both of them come in a wide range of different versions that each have differences in their properties and a different “feel” or firmness levels. There is more about some of the general differences between memory foam and latex in post #2 here, if you’re interested. Some people tend to prefer the faster response and more resilient and “on the mattress” feel of latex and some prefer the slower response and more “in the mattress” feel of memory foam and some people may prefer some combination of both of them, which is what you had with the Wisdom mattress. That mattress is “mostly” a traditional latex mattress, with some polyfoam and memory foam thrown in. The core is a 36 ILD Talalay latex. On top of that are two 1.5" pieces of 2.1 lb. polyfoam. On top of that is a 2" piece of 3 lb. gel memory foam, the only piece of material in this mattress that doesn’t meet the durability guidelines listed here. Above that is a 2" piece of 28 ILD latex, and that is topper by a 1" piece of 19 ILD latex. I’m not sure if that latex in the upper layers is Talalay and I don’t know if the latex used is blended, synthetic or natural. I’m guessing you liked the ability to sink in a bit in the upper layers, but you also had a bit of a “denser” feel once you reached the memory foam layer in the middle of the mattress. This combination would “on the surface” seem to make a bit more sense for you based upon your earlier comments of sleeping on your side and liking to sink in a bit more.
The Wisdom uses good quality materials (except for the 3 lb. memory foam layer), although it’s also in a higher budget range than other mattresses that use similar materials, so I would make some careful “value” comparisons with other mattresses that may be just as suitable and just as durable but are in lower budget ranges, just as you’re considering.
Since you’re interested in shopping online, I would use the experience and expertise of the members listed in post #21 here who are all very experienced and knowledgeable and specialize in providing the type of help and guidance on the phone that can help you make good choices. There are a wide range of latex and memory foam options included in the choices there and I believe that all of them compete well with the best in the industry in terms of their quality, value, service, and transparency. I don’t have the ability to keep up with the complete offerings of all of these companies, as it is constantly in flux, but many do offer dedicated memory foam mattresses, and the company you mentioned earlier, SleepEZ, even offers you the ability to create a latex mattress with a memory foam layer in the middle, similar to what you tested in person earlier.
These online companies have detailed knowledge of their mattresses and how they fit with different body types and sleeping positions, and combined with your feedback from local testing, a customer base of many people that they can use as reference points, and any exchange, return, or any options they have available to customize a mattress after a purchase, they can help lower the risk of an online purchase. These online retailers or manufacturers can also be a good “value reference” for local purchases to make sure that if you are paying a “premium” for a local purchase (in exchange for the kind of “in person” guidance, service, and value that comes with dealing with a local retailer that can help you make more “accurate” choices that you have tested in person) is not too high.
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’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).
In its simplest form … choosing the “best possible” mattress for any particular person really comes down to FIRST finding a few knowledgeable and transparent retailers and/or manufacturers (either locally or online) that sell the types of mattresses that you are most interested in that are in a budget range you are comfortable with and that you have confirmed will provide you with the all the information you need about the materials and components inside the mattresses they sell so you will be able to make informed choices and meaningful comparisons between mattresses and then …
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Careful testing (hopefully using the testing guidelines in the tutorial) to make sure that a mattress is a good match for you in terms of “comfort”, firmness, and PPP … and/or that you are comfortable with the options you have available to return, exchange, or “fine tune” the mattress and any costs involved if you can’t test a mattress in person or aren’t confident that your mattress is a suitable choice.
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Checking to make sure that there are no lower quality materials or weak links in a mattress you are considering relative to your weight/BMI range that could compromise the durability and useful life of the mattress.
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Comparing your finalists for “value” based on #1 and #2 and all the other parts of your personal value equation that are most important to you.
I look forward to learning about your progress.
Phoenix