Hi Phoenix,
Okay, so my partner and I did our mattress tests today at two retailers, Verlo Mattress and WG&R. These two stores alone took up almost all of our morning so we opted to be done with our tests at that point. :blink: I had both a positive and less than positive experience at each of these places; these experiences were differentiated by one thing: I had done my research compliments of this site and really felt equipped and knowledgeable about what I was being shown to be able to ask good questions and could clearly tell which of our salespeople knew mattresses and which one didn’t have a clue other than basics. So, before I go into specifics, here’s the specifics of my partner and I: he is 6’1" and 170 lbs; I am 5’6" and 145 lbs. We are both side and back sleepers predominately and he will sleep on his stomach occasionally. We’ve been on a brand S pillowtop for 15 years…ARGH!
Verlo was our first destination. The salesman that assisted us, Keith, was was very knowledgeable and helpful. He clearly knew a lot about mattress make-up and could answer my questions about the type of latex; lbs/cu. foot of memory foam, etc. He did not seemed “threatened” by my questions, and at one point even called someone to verify the memory foam material. The store actually had samples of their varying mattresses, cut open, so the customer could see the makeup of the mattress. We looked at the Gradeur and Grandeur Elite as well as the Wellington. The memory foam is certified at Certi-Pur and the coils are actually Wisconsin made at a factory called Spiller Springs 
He said all of their latex is Dunlop. Their handouts list Talalay latex, so I’m thinking there must have been a change at some point, not sure why. Here’s the specifics of these:
Grandeur—
Total 14 inches high
Top layer with cashmere (and cashmere ticking) and silk topper…guessing this was 1.5-2" high
1" Dunlop latex
1" HD foam
1" 5.0 lbs/cu. ft. memory foam
1" of cotton felt layers
5 zone tempered coil innerspring system with more compact innersprings in the middle third of the mattress to support the hip area and this had a 6 gauge border rod running through the coils. These were the steel coils, not wrapped in any material, and around the perimeter of the mattress, it looked like a firmer type of styrofoam material with in which the coils were placed. I know that is a tough description, I’m just going off what I can recall about what he showed us.
All steel wire foundation
2 sided mattress option
The only question my salesperson could not answer was the ILD rating on the materials…
Grandeur Elite–
14" total height
1.5-2" cashmere and silk topper
3" Dunlop latex
1" HD foam
cotton felt layers
713 coils- side support coil with border rods- coils closer in middle third of mattress
All steel wire foundation
2 sided mattress option
Again, could not find specifics about the ILD’s
Wellington—
Total 17 inches high
Wool and latex cover- 1.5-2"
1" HD foam
1/2" Dunop latex
1" Dunlop latex
Individually pocketed coils
Foam encased edging (4" HD foam around entire perimeter of the mattress; instead of the border rods)
Support layer- individually pocketed coils)
Only one sided mattress option
Of these, we liked all three, with the Wellington the best as it had the least amount of noticeable motion movement when turning. This, however, was the most costly mattress and was $700 more than the other two. Plus, this is only a one sided mattress, so we’d have to figure out whether the extra money was worth it when we may get more duration out of either of the other choices. They also have the ability to custom design a mattress or to “fix” a mattress that might be too soft or hard. This is free for the first year, and then after there is a slight cost, but they cover that for a lifetime. I will say, that in most of the mattresses I tested today, I noticed some soreness in all of the mattresses when sleeping on my side of my hip being sore(?) (the hip pressing into the mattress)…not sure if that is the best description, but definitely noticed it just didn’t feel completely good. We did try a “firmer” mattress, but discounted it as it was too firm for both of us.
On to our second stop…WG&R which carries the Pure Latex Bliss line. Fortunately, I had copied the prior link which was posted on this site to get a breakdown of the mattress components, as this was not available in the store. We tested three, the Beautiful, Nature, and Pamper, which were the only three they had in their storeroom. Overall, these were OK, but none of these had the topper, which was the plus from the other selections at Verlo. This was actually helpful information, though, because then we recognized we wanted to have a plush topper on the mattress and that this was going to be a must for our upcoming purchase.
WG&R does sell their own brand of mattresses, memory foam based, however, the memory foam is not certified (when I asked the salesperson if the foam was certified, he said, “What do you mean, certified?” When I told him the two companies that provided the certification, he said he didn’t think any of the mattresses were because, “I’ve never heard of them before.”). Anyways,
their memory foam was only 4.0lbs/cu ft. and both my partner and I did not like the firmness of the memory foam, even though we did give it enough laying time to allow it to warm under our bodies.
So, here’s where I am at this point. We are leaning towards one of the mattresses at Verlo. The piece about cost comes in in terms of wondering, if I were to look online at one of the 15 retailers that are listed on this website, I’m wondering how accurately they could “replicate” one of the mattresses when I don’t have the ILD ratings on the latex or foam, and may not have all the specifics necessary that a mattress manufacturer would need to specifically duplicate a mattress… what would you recommend, then, in terms of doing some comparison shopping? Are there any other questions I could ask the salesperson at Verlo that would be helpful?
Maybe it’s just as simple as saying we’re happy and good to go with Verlo and that’s the end of our search…yet, I think I would have some lingering unanswered questions about the other options available to us online…
Let me know your thoughts, and let me say this. I truly am grateful as a consumer for a site like this. I went in fully prepared with my notes and questions, and felt confident about approaching this as a somewhat educated consumer rather than just gravitating to the “safe” choices. It was also very helpful to do the mattress testing, as we found out what we liked and what we would steer away from (all memory foam comfort layer).
Thanks ,
Sheri