I owned a Tempurpedic Celebrity for 10 years when it began to break down and I was experiencing a lot of back pain. Our mattress was still under warranty and I submitted a claim request and they agreed to replace our old bed with a new mattress. Unfortunately the Celebrity model has been discontinued and they recommended the Rhapsody Luxe as being the most comparable. We agreed and they delivered a brand new Rhapsody Luxe to us earlier this summer.
We loved our Celebrity for 9.5 years before it began to have issues. After months of back pain, we were eagerly anticipating a good night of sleep on the Rhapsody. Unfortunately, I hate it. For me, it is everything that people dislike about memory foam: sleeps hot, quicksand type feeling, can not roll over or get out of bed easily. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. We experienced none of those issues with our Celebrity.
We are open to getting another bed, although I’d like to explore trying to make the Rhapsody work for us. I have done a lot of research about the specs of the Celebrity and wondered if adding a mattress topper that is similar to the top layer of the Celebrity to our Rhapsody model might approximate the feel of the Celebrity? I have laid on many, many mattresses and can not find anything else that seems similar.
I have figured out that I have a “princess and the pea” back that needs a good amount of support, though I think I need a decent amount of a soft upper layer (the Celebrity was considered a pillow top mattress). We have tried various other beds at hotels and even bought a Tuft & Needle but it does not have enough support for me at all. When laying on mattresses at stores, I liked the feel of a firm mattress, but I think it’s because it feels like a lot of support instead of “bottoming out” like I feel in the Tuft & Needle. I imagine the Rhapsody could feel like it is supportive and firm if I have a topper on it to soften things up, but I’m not quite sure.
After that length of time, with a mattress using quite a bit of memory foam, that wouldn’t be unexpected.
Off the top of my head I don’t recall the exact specifications of “The Celebrity” (Tempurpedic is not known for sharing exact details), but I do believe it used around 5" of their 5.3 lb memory foam. It was tailored as a pillowtop.
The Tempur-Contour Rhapsody Luxe contains:
Comfort Layers:
2" TEMPUR-HD 7.1LB
2" TEMPUR Material 5.3LB
Polyfoam support core:
Dual Airflow Base
4 3/4" Airflow Base layer 2.0LB
4 3/4" Airflow Base Layer 2.0LB
Without knowing the complete specifications of your old mattress, I wouldn’t be able to provide much commentary on how adding extra memory foam to the top of your current mattress might approximate your old mattress, as all of the layers of a mattress work together to achieve overall comfort. Adding extra memory foam on top of your current configuration would tend to create a more plush surface, and as the viscous nature of the memory foam was “activated”, you’d tend to sink in more deeply.
At this point, that’s about the best information I can offer. If you have more complete details, feel free to provide them here.
Comfort Layer:
2" TEMPUR Top Foam 5.3 or 4.1 LB (It’s hard to find accurate info since it was discontinued so long ago; one website showed 5.3, the other showed 4.1)
Support Layer:
2.8" TEMPUR Material 5.3LB
Base Layer:
Two layers of 4.3" 2.1LB density (for a total of 8.6" base layer)
Adding the 5.3 on top of your current mattress will put your surface sensation “closer” to the old model, and get you away from the dense “quicksand” feeling you are experiencing from the 7.1 lb layer, but I don’t know if that will be enough for it to feel as close to your old mattress as you desire. The polyfoam bases are also different, and this will also have an impact on the overall comfort, but not as much as the change in the uppermost layer.
In the end, you’re moving closer to your old configuration, but only you will be able to determine if it is “close enough”.