I’m in the process of trying to find a latex or memory foam bed. I’m a big guy so I need a mattress on the firmer side so I don’t sink in too far. I went to a few places from the list Phoenix posted for the area. Many of the locations listed are not close to me, as I am in Mentor on the East side of Cleveland. I’ve been pretty disappointed with what I have found so far and the lack of knowledge these people/places have. I went to Mattress Warehouse who basically only have a few memory foam Temperpedics and no specs on them and a manager who said “what’s that” when I asked about ILD. Mattress Showcase who had a memory foam Englander and a Temperpedic again no specs and no info about the beds. And I went to Original Mattress Factory who had 1 foam and ILD of only 10, and two with talalay cores and unknown foam support materials with the guy wanting to know which competitor I work for because I was taking notes.
Is this common to go to places with only 2 or 3 choices and nearly no information? It’s seems basically a “lay on the bed and if you like it, buy it” proposition.
I’l try a couple more places, but does anyone have any better options around Mentor, Willoughby, Painesville, Chardon areas? Or will I have to end up driving an hour away to keep looking?
I really just want to find a place where I can lay on a bed and see how it feels, then get the specs of what it is made from so I can figure out what I need to buy, which will probably from someone online.
This varies widely from store to store. This is why I always suggest talking to any retailer you plan to visit first on the phone to make sure they have mattresses on the floor that you want to test and to make sure they are able to provide you with the information you need about their mattresses. If they don’t appear to be able to provide you with the information you need, I wouldn’t visit them.
The many lists around the forum are preliminary research that are designed to eliminate retailers or manufacturers that either can’t or won’t provide information about what is in their mattresses. Many manufacturers (such as the major brands) don’t provide meaningful specs even to their retailers so if a store only carries major brands then these are usually eliminated from any lists as well. The goal is always to help the members here identify the stores or manufacturers where the odds are higher of finding out the information you need to make an informed decision. As members here provide feedback about some of them (or identify new ones that may be worthwhile including) they are updated.
Generally I try to include retailers or manufacturers that are in a 50 - 100 mile radius because there are generally so few retailers or manufacturers worth visiting it’s usually worth a drive to visit a good retailer or manufacturer that is an hour or so away. They will save you a great deal of time compared to going from store to store only to find there is nothing there worth buying or that the time you spend there is wasted (if quality is an important part of a buying decision) because they don’t provide meaningful information about their mattresses.
I wouldn’t visit Mattress Warehouse because they carry mainly major brands (unless someone wants to test the Octaspring) and you won’t be able to find out anything about the quality/durability of their mattresses … even if you like them … so any time spent there would be wasted.
After an hour or two on this site you will have more meaningful information about mattresses than 90% of the salespeople that sell mattresses in the mainstream market. In all fairness though ILD is a “comfort spec” and isn’t really necessary to know when you are making a local purchase and with memory foam it’s not relevant anyway because the ILD changes with temperature and humidity and the amount of time the foam is compressed. The “quality” specs that are important with foam are density for memory foam and polyfoam and the type and blend of any latex.
They carry Therapedic, Englander, and Solstice Sleep but unfortunately they don’t provide any meaningful information about their mattresses in terms of quality specs so customers there would be forced to find out on their own based on calls to the manufacturer or online research which is a huge time waster (and is what a retailer should be doing for their customers). I talked with a couple of their stores today (along the lines of this article) and confirmed that they don’t provide the information a consumer would need to make meaningful choices and I have taken them off the list.
The support materials in both Mattreses are Talalay latex and both of their latex mattresses are high quality, good value, and have no obvious weak links (although quality and value have nothing to do with whether they may be suitable for your body type and sleeping style). Most of their stores will provide you with any specs you want although you may come across some salespeople who are less knowledgeable in some of their stores.
there are certainly some better options in the area within an hours drive or so but I would always make sure that you talk with any retailer or manufacturer you plan to visit on the phone first to make sure you can get the information you need before going to see them.
Unfortunately there is little “value” in finding a mattress you really like and works well for you if it uses low quality materials and the foams will soften or break down in just a few years. You can’t “feel” the quality of the materials in a mattress so the ability to find out what is in a mattress and dealing with people who are comfortable talking about materials is one of the most important parts of a successful purchase. This is why it’s usually a good idea to find out a little more about the knowledge, experience, and level of transparency of a retailer or manufacturer before you end up spending time including them in your local or online research.
I see that you mentioned you didn’t want to drive an hour, but if you want to test all latex beds in person there is a store in Copley (about an hour maybe?) called The Natural Bed Co.
He carries Savvy Rest and his own Botanical lines. He has a bunch of twin foundations set up so you can try any firmness/softness combo you want, talalay or dunlop. He can change the layers for you right there to find the one you like. Pretty cool.
The Natural Bed company is a good option and has good value (and they are on the list for Cleveland/Akron) but unfortunately the owner has just died suddenly and I’m not sure what their plans are for the future so I would call them first before going there to make sure they are still doing business.
That’s terrible to hear. My experience dealing with Jerry was nothing but good. The ability to try every combination of layering was a real plus. Hope the company keeps it going.
I stopped by there today and they are out of business. I should have called first. When I did call it was forwarded to another number and the mailbox was full. I don’t know why they still have their website up, but they are not at the address that is listed on the site.
It would be unfortunate if they were out of business. I’ve added a note to the list that says “call first since they may be out of business” and a link to this thread. I’ll try to reach them after the weekend to see if they have a new number or location and if it’s clear they are no longer in business I’ll remove them from the list.
I know this is an older thread, but I’m in the same area in Ohio and am currently searching for a good memory foam mattress. It does appear that Natural Bed is out of business – this is what the BBB has for them on their site:
According to information in the BBB files, it appears that the company is no longer in business. The phone numbers the BBB had for this company are disconnected, and directory assistance does not have a listing for this company. The BBB’s mail to this company has been returned as undeliverable. If you have an unresolved dispute with this company you may wish to seek legal advice.
I probably should have updated this topic (so I’m glad you did) but I removed them from the Cleveland list several months ago (see post #26 here). I had been in contact with them just after Jerry died and at first some of the family members wanted to keep it going but unfortunately they didn’t have the experience or knowledge to make it successful and they decided to close it down.