Mattresses - Introduction

Hi 4RASM.

Welcome to our Mattress Forum! :slight_smile:

I certainly understand your “dismay” in putting too much stock in reviews and attempting to discriminate between fake and legitimate ones. While legitimate reviews can offer some useful insights, as with many things, the process has been hijacked to a large extent by those with vested interests which are manipulating and using it as a marketing tool. Generally, other people’s experiences won’t tell you much if anything about the suitability, quality, durability, or “value” of a mattress for any particular person (see post #13 here ), and I recommend you avoid considering reviews as any sort of a reliable indicator of the appropriateness of any particular product for your needs.

Beauty Rest Recharge is a Euro Top Firm Mattress manufactured by Simmonds using 8" of Pocket Coils and Memory Foams. Simmons doesn’t disclose meaningful information about the quality of their materials except in generic terms so you couldn’t make quality or value comparisons even if you find something that “feels” similar. With lower quality materials that soften or break down more quickly, the similarity in how they feel would also not be consistent over time. You can read a little more about trying to “match” another mattress in post #4 here but generally speaking you

“Hotel mattresses” tend to be lower quality and value than the consumer mattresses made by the same manufacturer in the same price range and more basic versions of the retails products that many mattress companies offer (which isn’t a good thing). One of the “secrets” to many hotel mattress is that they usually use a bedding package that includes a mattress pad or topper that is a big part of how the mattress feels and can also add to the durability of the mattress (replacing a mattress pad or topper can be less costly than replacing a whole mattress because a mattress or sleeping system will usually soften or break down from the top down). In many cases, the more subjective short-term experience of sleeping at a hotel is an improvement over the mattress that people sleep on regularly and this often “translates” into the perception that hotel mattresses are better than they are. They are a frequent source of buyer’s remorse. They tend to be firmer products using softer “top-of-bed” materials to create extra plushness. There’s more good information about hotel mattresses in post #3 here.

I generally advise against the major brands such as Sealy/Stearns & Foster, Simmons, and Serta, as they all tend to use lower quality and less durable materials in their mattresses than most of their smaller competitors. This lower quality material will tend to soften or break down prematurely relative to the price you pay, which is why I would generally suggest avoiding all of them completely (along with the major retailers that focus on them as well) regardless of how they may feel in a showroom along with any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the type and quality/durability of the materials inside it (see the guidelines here along with post #3 here and post #12 here and post #404 here ).

The first suggestion I would have is to make sure you have read Mattress Shopping Tutorial here and the posts it links to which have all the basic information, steps, and guidelines you will need to make the best possible choices. It will also (hopefully) help you avoid most of the worst choices such as the chain stores who generally know little about the mattresses they sell (except the marketing stories and techniques they are trained to use) and major brands who either don’t disclose the quality of the materials in their mattresses or have poor value compared to mattresses that use similar or higher quality materials made by smaller local or regional manufacturers that are either sold factory direct or through better sleep shops.

Going through the information provided will most likely help with the “reset” process in looking for a mattress that is suitable. Please feel free to get back with any questions you may have.

Phoenix