Our thanks to the Mattress Underground and the forum for providing so much information about mattresses. Phoenix’ insights have been extremely helpfull in our efforts to make an informed decision. We recently began looking for a mattress and decided to try for a latex. There are no places to test them where we live in south TX but since we were going to So CA, we developed a list of places to stop enroute.
After our first 4 hours on the road, we stopped at Cantwell Mattress Co in San Antonio, TX. They had very limited testing; only a basic 6" Dunlop core with a 2" Talalay topper. Price was not out of line for a basic latex mattress. We found the same mattress for less at later stores but if it needed to be brought back, exchanged, modified, etc, it is worth something to be able to deal with a local business that seemed more than willing to satisfy a customer. They seemed professional and I would not have a problem buying from them. The mattress seemed a little too firm but we were impressed with our first latex trial and thought it could work for us. The latex was supportive, comfortable, and was not hot.
There were two Optirest Mattress Stores in the San Antonio area but one was closed the day we travelled through. We stopped in the other in Kerrville. We tested their three latex mattresses and were not too impressed with the selection. The soft was too soft, the firm was too firm and the medium was just ok. They had loose 2" and 3" toppers of different densities that we added and found some combinations that were pretty comfortable and worth considering; but, the toppers were a seperate item added on top of the regular mattress so you would be buying a core mattress in its cover and a topper in its cover. We did not like this idea. The showroom rep was very uninformed about mattresses or prices. We spoke to the owner, who was on vacation, by phone. He was very knowledgeable, professional and if I were interested in this type of mattress, I could buy from him. The prices were fairly high, although, I am not sure the showroom rep provided accurate info about the prices or characteristics.
The next stop was Phoenix and I will post our impressions regarding that test soon.
Hi TexMac,
That’s what I call a LONG mattress research trip 
It’s always interesting to me how wide a variety of local manufacturers there are across the country and while most of them are in the “tier” above most mass market brands … there are also many differences between them both in terms of their mattresses and their knowledge and service.
Thanks for sharing all your experiences … and I’m looking forward to your “Phoenix” report.
Phoenix