I’m back in this forum again The last year or so has been hunting for a perfect mattress time and it is still work in progress apparently.
I started with one of the Tempur-Pedic Contour Signature but had to return it because of hot sleeping and excessive mattress height (12"). Next I got a latex mattress from Tranquility Mattress. I’ll be returning it soon - did not find it comfortable. I guess it’s hard to explain what it means but seems latex is just not for me. While Tempur-Pedic had this luxurious feel and I could see what I paid for, I don’t get this feeling with latex at all.
I intentionally avoided innerspring mattresses so far considering them outdated but maybe I shouldn’t have. On my recent trip to Europe we spent a couple of days at Sheraton in Paris and as soon as I sat on that bed I felt very comfortable. I figured I should find one like that, no matter what technology it uses. The only label I could find on that mattress was Simmons. Any idea what Simmons mattress it could be? I did some googling and it seems it could be one of the Beautyrests but hard to say which one. They seem to come up in a huge number of comfort levels and premium foams. There’re also suggestions that hotel chains buy the cheapest option available and the models retail stores carry might even be better. I will go to the stores to try some but wanted to see if I can get some general guidance.
Also I’ve eyed the sales of W beds for a while and was thinking about buying one but seems that they go pretty bad after 2-3 years, at least I’ve seen many negative reports. Are they Simmons Beautyrest as well?
Innersprings are just as valid a choice for a support system as any other support material or component. Regardless of which support system you choose or prefer … it’s usually the materials in the comfort layers above them that are the weak link of a mattress. I would also keep in mind that any mattress category has a huge variety of different mattresses that have a very different feel and performance so sometimes assessing an entire category of mattresses based on a single mattress can be misleading and could result in bypassing the specific mattress that may work best for you.
Unfortunately neither Simmons or the Sheraton discloses the specifics of the materials in their mattresses so it really isn’t possible to approximate it except based on your own personal testing and your subjective memory of what it felt like when you slept on it (which like most subjective comparisons over time isn’t usually particularly accurate). In most cases … hotel mattresses use lower quality materials in their comfort layers than many other choices most people have available and are not particularly good value. They are a purchase that many people regret making (see post #3 here).
As you can see in the mattress shopping guidelines linked in post #1 here, I would also avoid the major brands or any mattress where you aren’t able to find out the quality of the materials inside it.
I’ve tried a whole bunch of Simmons mattresses today along with a few other brands to the point I got overwhelmed with mattresses It almost seems that a mattress is one of the most difficult purchases to make I don’t think I spend that much effort even picking a new car
Anyways, the one I liked the most was Simmons Beautyrest Black “Kelyn”. It is apparently top of the line for Simmons and I like the combination of the firm base and the nice luxurious top. The mattress is expensive ($5K at the SleepStore although looks like it can be had for less than $4K at online stores in king size). My ideal price would be within $2K but I can go up to $4K. However, my biggest concern is the height - the total height of this mattress is 16". I’m really looking for a low-profile from the aesthetic point of view and ideally no more than 10". Right now I have 8" and it fits perfectly. I had a 12" mattress before and it looked weird, can’t imagine how 16" will look like.
So my question is if you might think of something similar feel but lower profile. Does it exist?
Unfortunately … most of the time you spend testing mainstream mattresses (or any mattress for that matter where you can’t find out the specific quality of the materials inside it) would be wasted unless you actually intend to purchase the mattress and I certainly don’t recommend buying a mattress where you would be making a blind purchase and the odds are high that it either uses lower quality materials inside the mattress or that it has poor value.
Without knowing what is inside a mattress there is no way to make an informed buying decision or have any idea about its relative quality or value and you will end up becoming more and more frustrated trying to make comparisons that aren’t possible.
You can read a bit more about trying to “match” or “approximate” another mattress in post #2 here but since you don’t know the specifics of the materials and there isn’t another manufacturer I’m aware of that uses any of the Simmons mattresses as a design “target” or would try to approximate it … you would only be able to match it in terms of its subjective “feel” in side by side testing. If there is too much time in between two mattresses you are comparing then even this wouldn’t be very accurate, is only subjective at best, and isn’t likely to translate into what you feel when you sleep on the mattress at home. Most people have had the experience of testing mattresses over he course of a day and going back to re-test some of the ones they started with only to discover that they now “feel” very different because of the perceptual “influence” of the other mattress that we’ve tested.
Matching by “feel” also doesn’t tell you anything about the relative quality or value of two mattresses because you can’t “feel” the quality of a material in a showroom. Without knowing the quality of the materials in the mattress … you will only find out that a mattress used lower quality materials when it softens or breaks down much too quickly and you lose the comfort and support that was the reason you purchased it in the first place (and the loss of comfort and support that leads to the need to replace a mattress isn’t covered by warranty).
I personally wouldn’t spend any time even testing mattresses where you aren’t able to find out what is inside it unless it is directly comparable to another mattress you are considering purchasing and a manufacturer you are dealing with is familiar enough with the mattress that they can confirm that they are close approximations in terms of “feel” and performance.
In almost all cases there would be many alternatives that would be just as suitable in terms of PPP (Posture and alignment, Pressure relief, and Personal preferences) where you can validate that the mattress uses good quality materials without any “weak links” and has good value.
The last year or so has been hunting for a perfect mattress time and it is still work in progress apparently.