I have been reading and enjoying the many articles and posts here, and wish I had asked advise BEFORE I made my adjustable bed and mattress purchase. I don’t think I made a terrible choice, given much of what I’ve read here, but ran into the following issues after the adjustable bed and mattress (both purchased from christeli’s) arrived:
adjustable bed did not measure the full 60x80" for queen, as advertised on manufacturer’s website, so there is some overhang of the mattress on each side. I have gotten additional information on this and have decided to live with it. SO not a current issue. I can expound on this if it will help somebody else though.
I purchased the palais grande royale mattress, which is composed of 3 layers together measuring 15.5" high. Those reading this probably already know what I’m going to post next: that is WAY too thick a mattress to put on an adjustable bed! I got the adjustable bed in the first place because I have reflux disease, and at my DR’s instruction, have for several years now needed to elevate the head of my bed approximately. 6". SO, as I elevate the head of my adjustable bed, or raise the foot, or use the massage features, the 3 layers of mattress were sliding all over, and really sliding DOWN on the adjustable base to the point that I would have to get help to push the mattress back up to the top, as the 3 layers together are quite heavy. And until I called for help, I could not even change the sheets, as the mattresses were pushed so hard against the metal rail of the base, that I couldn’t even pull the sheets out, much less be able to put on the new ones. I called and talked to christeli’s customer service manager, and he suggested taking the thinnest layer completely off the bed, which I did, and this did improve the sliding a bit, but that was all, but at least the top layer wasn’t sliding a lot further than the bottom latex support layer, which had caused it to bulge way over the bottom layer. Also the mattress wasn’t quite as heavy, and I discovered that if I raised the foot of the bed as high as it would go with the head flat, that I could push the two remaining layers back up to the head of the base by myself, no longer needing help to do so, and could change the sheets myself. I also noticed after taking that one layer off, how much better the adjustable bed operated, and how I didn’t feel sandwiched in when I have the head and the foot raised, which is how I’m enjoying sleeping in it. BUT, taking off one layer gave rise to a few issues, 1) being, which layer should I use with the latex base now, which I’d like direction on here, and then 2) once that is decided, what in the h### am I going to do with the layer I paid good money for that I can’t use on another bed (I have a twin daybed w a trundle bed underneath it, in my only other bedroom. AND, I have no garage and no family here that could take it. I thought about getting help to roll it up carefully and see if it would squeeze into a closet, but don’t think that’s healthy for the mattress - all that, not to mention, I’m very unhappy about having paid for the 3 layers, only to learn that I cannot use one of them on the bed. I sure wish my salesman (who was wonderful, I must say) had told me that the mattress I chose was too thick for putting on an adjustable bed). I now know this not just from my own experience, but had another salesman at a local mattress store I visited (after I got my bed and mattress) tell me they do not recommend that a mattress thicker than 10" be placed on an adjustable bed - max inches 12".
I have a mattress exchange form now, and have arranged to have the 3 layers of mattress I have now taken to a nearby UPS, where the manager offered himself and his staff for rolling up the mattress layers and even making a box to fit them in if necessary that would be under the box breadth number I was given by Christeli’s, IF I decide to go that route. Because I have a latex support layer and two nice memory foam layers to choose from for the top layer, I may decide after I get feedback not to do the mattress exchange, but then again, I paid a whole lot of money (more than $700 over a bed they sell which is comparable to the bed I’ll be using, not the one I paid for) !!
If someone is not familiar with the composition of the 3 layers, please tell me, as I know quite well how each was constructed according to diagrams provided on christeli’s website, with the exception of the latex layer - it is about 7-8" thick as I measure it, but the diagram for that part on the website didn’t say how many inches of that was latex, just that it was composed of latex??
Thanks so much for reading this long message. Any help or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
I would probably consider the exchange so you can choose a mattress that would be more suitable for an adjustable bed.
The Palais Grand Royal uses the Tempurpedic Grandbed as a reference point in its default configuration but also has several options to customize it after a purchase (see post #6 here). If the Grandbed is your “target” then the Luxe Estate also uses the Grandbed as a reference point but doesn’t have the same custom configuration options as the Palais Grand Royal and it may also be too thick to use on an adustable bed. In this case it may be necessary to choose a mattress that “approximates” a different Tempurpedic mattress that is thinner for use on your adjustable bed.
In most cases a foam mattress (memory foam, latex, polyfoam) is a good choice for an adjustable bed … but 12" is usually a good guideline for the maximum thickness that would work well although this will also depend on the specific materials and construction of the mattress because different types or firmness levels of foam can also be more or less flexible so the suggestion of the manufacturer who will know more about which of their mattresses will work well than anyone else is usually the best guideline to follow. It would be a good idea to ask about this specifically in your conversations with them in case it doesn’t come up specifically.
I think your own experience in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) would be the only way to decide this. There is no “theory at a distance” that can provide a better answer than your own sleeping experience.
The only options I can think of if you don’t have an alternative use for it would be selling it on Craigslist or Kijiji (and you could also list it on the forum) in the hopes that someone may be interested in buying it. It may also be worth talking with Christeli about whether you could return it for some type of credit as an exception to their policy or as an alternative to a complete mattress exchange.
Thanks so much for your reply! I found it very helpful.
Right now, I’m sleeping with the latex support layer on the bottom, and the “middle-sized” layer of the palais - the one that has 4" of 5.3lb memory foam with an additional 1" of 8lb memory foam - on top. After reading your post, I realized that this is the same configuration as the lux estate, although my latex layer with the 4 & 1 measures 12" - 12 1/2" thick which is exactly or very close to the thickness I need with the adjustable bed. The two layers I am sleeping on are a bit firmer than I expected, but I had slept on firm mattresses all my life, so still softer than what I had (my last mattress was an “Englander viscous posture support” mattress placed directly on the wood of a platform bed). I chose this particular bed for the ability to choose different configurations as you discussed, and because I sleep on my right side, no matter how hard I try not to ;-( and have a permanently injured right shoulder (a bad fall years ago that led to a break and “crush” type injury) and need a softer bed due to pain and pressure of my right shoulder and my hip to some extent. The current configuration does seem to offer enough pressure relief, IMO. I am 5’ 6" and weigh 135 lbs, so had been concerned about sleeping on 5" of memory foam over the latex after I read an article here that I believe you wrote, that said thinner layers were better for lighter people, but up to 4" of memory foam could work for thinner folks needing pressure relief. ?
Also, after reading your post about the flexibility factor of the layers with an adjustable bed, I decided to see for myself (the proof is in the pudding), so elevated the foot and the head of my adjustable bed as far as each would go to see if the mattress conformed to the base without any gaps in either layer, and it did so, beautifully.
I contacted Christeli’s to see if I could return only the layer I’m not using for a credit of an amount similar to the difference between the palais and the lux estate, and will let you know how that works out, as I have not heard back from them yet.
These are just generic guidelines that are meant to help people avoid some of the risk of a mattress purchase. Depending on their weight distribution, thinner people don’t sink into a mattress as far as heavier people and don’t need memory foam layers as thick but there are many types of memory foam that each have their own properties and in many cases higher density memory foam is firmer and more “supportive” than lower densities (although this can vary widely) so your own personal sleeping experience is always much more important than any generic guidelines.
That’s good news
I’ll be interested in hearing what they have to say but it seems that returning just a single layer would make more sense than a complete mattress exchange if the rest of the mattress works well for you.
Because the composition of the lux estate’s layers are not exactly like the two layers I planned to keep, I was unable to just return the 3" memory foam layer, to receive a credit for the difference between the lux estate and the palais.
However, after talking with christeli’s customer service this afternoon, we were able to come to an agreement that we were both happy with
Thanks again to you for your replies, and for the many articles. Thanks to those on the forum for sharing their personal experiences. I found my time here to be well spent, and know I will never buy another mattress without researching it and asking for information from mattress underground. I’m also going to tell my family and friends about this site, as I wish anyone buying a new mattress could know about this site before their mattress purchase.
