Background: I am 6’2", 208 lbs and my wife is 5’2" and 125 lbs and we’re in our late 50’s. We have been sleeping on a queen size, soft side, waterbed for the last 20 years and replaced the mattress around 10 years ago. The mattress sprung a leak and the 20 year old liner didn’t contain the water so the foam side and foundation got wet and we threw the whole thing out.
My wife was complaining about some back pain so along with getting rid of the occasional leak problem we decided to look for a traditional mattress. I thought we’d get a decent mattress for around 6 or 7 hundred dollars but ended up spending over 3 times that. My wife is not frugal.
I am a back sleeper and my wife is a side sleeper. She is a light sleeper and gets up often to go to the bathroom. Generally I’m a sound sleeper and rarely get up during the night.
Shopping: While doing research I discovered that the “latest” thing in mattresses was latex so we included that in our search for a new mattress. We stopped at a local mattress store and tried a few of their brand. Checked on line reviews and their mattress sagged badly most likely because of the padding on the top. They also had a model with one inch of latex that added $700 to the cost of the same model without latex. I thought that was ridiculous. The second place we went to had Nature’s Rest Euro-Latex mattresses made by Spring Air. These came in soft, medium and firm and the price tag was $3800 but they’d sell one “tonight only” for $2400. But the $2400 was still good when we returned and they’d throw in a latex mattress cover to make the sale. It’s very difficult to get the ILD of the Nature’s Rest and the web site offers nothing. The store had another store fax over the ILD’s of the 3 layers and the soft model was a bit firmer than the Jamestown we ended up buying. The Nature’s Rest was 13" compared to the 11" Jamestown. Not sure why they have to be so thick but my wife likes the “colonial” feel of a high bed so it works for us. I did consult with Phoenix about both mattresses and he did approve of both. While Nature’s Rest mattresses get very poor reviews on line I believe this is because they used to have a lot of padding on top and it would sag badly. Also I believe Nature’s Rest makes very similar models but gives them different names for different retailers so I couldn’t find a single review of the mattress we were looking at.
I also didn’t find a review of the Jamestown Nature’s Cloud but went on Phoenix’s recommendation of Jamestown in general and the fact that we liked it the best after a couple of 10 to 15 minute trials. Phoenix did say that this was a very soft bed, and it is, and to make sure about our alignment but to be honest I paid little attention to alignment. Coming from a waterbed I am used to a bed conforming to my shape, not the other way around but feel that this new mattress offers the correct amount of support.
Bottom line: We’ve have our JamesTown Nature’s Cloud for about two months now. My wife has said a few times that she loves our new mattress and I sleep like a rock on it so we’re very happy with our purchase. I have not noticed any sagging yet and even unzipped it to look directly at the latex before doing this review.
I am sensitive to smells and have noticed a very slight latex odor but I think it’s disappearing. My wife has not noticed it.
Jamestownmattress.com has all the details on their mattresses. There is some leeway in the pricing on their top of the line mattresses so you can haggle a bit.
Other reasons I purchased the Jamestown:
1.) Plush or Euro top – again, we like the softness and give of this mattress.
2.) Zipper top – easy to adjust the latex if necessary and also replace the top one or two layers several years down the line if necessary. This also gives the option for an early change in ILD if you don’t like the softness or firmness of your new mattress. Jamestown will work with you on this but you’ll have to pay for the replacement. This would be much cheaper than buying a whole new mattress. They will also make to order if you want a change in ILD upfront.
3.) Zero movement of the mattress when one person leaves and returns. (this is a dream come true!)
4.) The factory is in my state, about 3 hours away, but they have local stores. I called the factory to ask where they got their latex and I spoke with the owner!
5.) On another mattress help site the number one complaint of latex mattresses was that they were too firm so this helped our decision to go with a softer mattress.
OK, so there must be something wrong with it, right?
1.) Because this thing is 11" high you have to buy all new sheets and a mattress cover! More $$$.
2.) OVER TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR A MATTRESS???
3.) This thing is heavy! It is recommended to rotate every 3 weeks for the first few months and then every couple of months afterwards. I don’t think I could do this with my wife so my son helps me do it. If you’re an elderly couple living alone you might have to get some neighbors to help out.
4.) When delivered the latex has settled a bit to one side meaning the bed appeared higher on one side. This is because the mattress was stored on its side. Unzip and carefully put your extended arms under the upper layers of latex, lift up, and move a bit to the center. Then repeat with the upper layer. If necessary do the other side but move towards the edge instead of towards the center.
Final word – if you’re in a similar situation of having an old waterbed and need to replace and you’re not experiencing any body aches from the bed I’d get another waterbed. I loved it and miss it. (but the zero movement is a huge plus with the latex)
