Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress - First Impressions

Can anyone tell me the layers in this mattress?

hi bwomp,

The layers are listed on their Amazon site description here.

Phoenix

I see it now. I was looking down in the description before. Thanks!

I looked again and didnā€™t see this on the Amazon Site (sorry for asking if it does), but is there a washable cover?

Hi bwomp,

No ā€¦ the cover is sewn on and not removable.

Phoenix

Hey guys, looks like a good conversation on this mattress. Iā€™ve had the same mattress that my parents bought me when I was in grade school like 12 years ago, iā€™ve just never bought a new mattress. Canā€™t say that I wake up with pains but I want something new and comfortable. I live alone in an apartment and Iā€™m wondering if I can get this thing up to my 3rd floor place alone. I am thinking I could just maneuver it around push it up my back stairs going end over end if necessary. Is this doable?

I was in a mattress store tonight and from reading sleeplikethedead.com it seems like everything they have in the store just gets terrible satisfaction rates unless I spend thousands. I really like being able to read reviews on things before I buy them and donā€™t trust sales people.

Any tips on handling this box? Iā€™m a 26 year old runner, I would consider myself fairly physically fit.

Hi jonfish,

This video is quite funny but it should also give you a sense of how difficult it may be to take the mattress up your stairs. Itā€™s would probably be fine for most people (especially if they were in good shape) and would be easy for two.

There are good quality and value mattresses in every budget range and I would be very careful about putting too much faith in reviews when they are written by most consumers who donā€™t know how to tell the quality of a mattress. You can read more of my thoughts about reviews in post #4 here.

The first thing I would do is read post #1 here and the information it links to which will guide you towards finding the most suitable mattress with the best possible quality and value in your budget range. I think this post is essential reading for anyone who is buying a new mattress. It will also help confirm the quality and value of the Ultimate Dreams you are looking at. A mattress is only as good as the materials in it and there are better and worse quality materials in every budget range. The Ultimate Dreams mattress you are looking at has the quality of materials for example that is usually found in major brand mattresses or at mainstream outlets that sell for significantly higher prices (perhaps twice as much or more).

Hope this helps

Phoenix

I wish there was more feedback on this mattress, it seems everyone who buys one never returns. I suppose that means they are satisfied and still havenā€™t gotten out of bed. I am wondering if the 4lb top later would hold up against my constant night-time ā€œbarrel rollingā€ Iā€™m 200lbs with broad shoulders / narrow waist and I tend to rotate between side, stomach, and back frequently.

Can any owners offer insight on what sleep style suits them best with this mattress.

Dozer,

I can tell you that I have been sleeping on this mattress for 2 weeks, so while my comments are not coming from a long term relationship with this mattress, I can tell you what I have experienced. First off, as far as being able to move the box around (for Jonfish), the box was delivered on my front porch. It weighs about 95 lbs. and stands about 4 1/2 feet. I was able to move the box into my house, and by ā€œbear huggingā€ it, was able to get it into my bedroom which is located on the first floor. Once I unpacked it, I moved it onto my frame. At this point, you should be able to tell how this is going to unroll and you can start taking the plastic off so that you can get it positioned for the expansion process. Again, not the lightest thing out there, but I was able to do this by myself. For Dozer, I am also 200 lbs and 5ā€™9" and have decent strength. As far as moving this up flights of stairsā€¦I would think that if you have a very solid 2 wheeler, you could probably pull this off alone by strapping the box to the 2 wheeler and basically dead lifting it step by step, but my advice would be to get a friend to help.

Regarding the sleeping aspect. I was able to sleep on it 8 hours after I set it up. There is a smell. I will just tell you that right now. It did not smell horrible right out of the box, but as the mattress started to get some use, there was some off gassing. It was not so offensive that it made it uncomfortable, but there was a smell. That took a few days to get worked out and currently, I have no issues whatsoever. The first night, I think I slept on my back for the majority of the night and it was great. As a frame of reference, I went from a 15 year old coil spring bed that was like a rack of pain to this, so take that for what you will. During the past few weeks, I have noticed that I have gotten back to a sleeping pattern of side and stomach sleeping as well as back. I have not experienced any issues with being uncomfortable in any of these positions. I would say that the most comfortable is on my back. You will sink into this mattress, but it doesnā€™t feel to me that it is encasing or confining. It is more of a plush feeling. As far as the temperature question, I have had warm nights and cool nights. It seems to be very dependent on various factors. By that I mean, if it is cold outside and your furnace is kicking out some heat, you may need to take a blanket off the bed. Again, as a frame of reference, I use a goose down comforter plus a blanket because my previous bed was always extremely cold. I do not need as many blankets to stay comfortable on this bed. Another factor, and this is going to sound very strange, is diet. If I go out and have a big meal with lots of wine or beer and then hop into bed, I have noticed that I am sleeping pretty warm probably due to my stomach and digestion tract working overtime. Again, if I take a blanket off, it seems to regulate just fine. So, it is warmer than my previous bed, BUT by modifying the amount of layers on top, I have begun to get to a very comfortable temperature.

I hope this helps. Dozer, I think the best way for me to handle the return question is like this - IF there was a return policy on this mattress (which there isnā€™t), would I return it? My answer to that would be NO. That being said, you have to understand that it is head and shoulders above what I came from, so my answer might not be the same as someone coming from a bed that they loved. The no return policy did scare me. My theory was that I was so desperate for something that would be better AND I just did not want to spend $3000 on a mattress which I knew was attainable for $700 that I was willing to take a shot. For those out there who are looking for a comparison, it has been stated before, this mattress is a bit firmer than the Cloud Luxe. That is about the best comparison that I can give. If you get on the Luxe and you donā€™t like the plush feel, you probably wonā€™t like this even realizing that it is a bit firmer.

Oh, finally, I will reiterate that Chuck is very reachable via email and will answer any questions you might have. I can say that I am fully satisfied. My wife would say that while she is satisfied with the mattress, she feels that the concept of a foam mattress completely masking your partnerā€™s movements is a bit overrated. That has nothing to do with this particular mattress, but more of a comment about all foam mattresses. While you may not feel that bounce when your sleeping partner rolls over, you still have the covers to deal with. When your sleeping partner rolls over, you do get a tug from those which will still be there with whatever mattress you select. She has noticed a significant decrease in the amount of tossing and turning, which in the end relates more to the comfort of the sleeping position as I am not constantly turning trying to get situated. One last note on pillows. I used to have three pillows. Through out the night, I would use these as support more than anything. I find that I donā€™t need that many pillows with this mattress. One, maybe two under my head if I am watching television or reading, but more often than not, I am down to one pillow during sleep.

Good luck.

I appreciate the feedback, I am in the same boat with the old ā€œrack of painā€ so I imagine that in the short term, anything will feel like heaven. Iā€™m still torn between this and the 10 inch latex/foam mattress. Thanks for the info.

Dozer,

I am in the same position as you between this bed and a latex. Ive been debating for about a month, but still unsure exactly which way to go I realized that at some point, I will just make a leap of confidence. They both seem like great choices. Let me know if/when you make a decision, and what you choose.

As the op iā€™ve had this bed for quite a while now. It took about 3 months for us to get comfortable with it, but now we are overall happy. I still wake up on occasion with shoulder pain, which I think is related to pillow height as I feel i need just a bit more height then our previous mattress. I didnt realized how accustomed we got to the feel of the latex, but overall prefer the memory foam. sinking in versus the latex sleeping on top The gel is much cooler then our traditional tempur but not as cool as the previous latex. Overall I think the mattress is an exceptional value for the price, I would have no problems recommending it to someone provided the soft memory foam is what they were looking for.

Chuck was awesome to deal with, he even contacted me after my post with concerns about not adjusting with some ideas and suggestions. I still find the mattress to be very temperamental to the sheets we use (possibly the cover is a tad too thick?) I would also prefer a removable cover to be able to wash but over all this is a VERY HIGH value proposition.

I think we will be upgrading to a king later this year and not sure if we will go this mattress again or the latex, but dreamfoam will definitely on our short list of manufacturers.

Hi back357,

Thanks for taking the time to post such an informative, detailed, and helpful review. I appreciate it and the value it adds to the forum :slight_smile:

Phoenix

I have been sleeping on this mattress for about a week and my comments confirm exactly what back357 stated. I do not feel hot at all, but it depends on many factors, especially out and about on the town. I will say this, sleeping on your stomach with this bed and weighing 200lbs, might be an issue. I will also say having had some neck issues when I was younger you should not really be sleeping on your stomach. That coming from my doctor. I domthough, but only for a short while, as I too love it. You are on the edge weight wise for 4lb foam. I would definitely try out the cloud luxe in store for a good 10-15 min. I have been sleeping on a full size Dreamfoam. My king comes tomorrow and that puppy has to get upstairs. This will be a challenge which I will need someone to help me out.i might be able to do it my self, but who needs the hernia. Good luck

Thanks for all the info everyone. I went to the store today and hopped on a cloud luxe for a while. I can tell right of the bat that my future wife would definately not approve of that sinking feeling, Itā€™s unfortunate since I found it quite cozy. Guess that I will have to go for the talalay plush model.

Hello.

I started my search looking for a mattress topper for my sagging 10 year old traditional bed, hoping to eek out few more years of use. I soon discovered that getting a new mattress would be a better idea. One research led to another, and i eventually found this forum. Info in this forum has been invaluable and I have narrowed my search to ultimate dreams 13" gel memory foam mattress. I went to a local mattress store and found cloud luxe to be most comfortable to me. I just wanted to drop a note to say ā€œthank youā€ to the posters who have helped quiet my concerns about purchasing a mattress without trying it out.

Hi blackhole,

Thanks for the kind words ā€¦ itā€™s great that so many people have shared their experiences because I know how nerve wracking it can be before you ā€œpull the triggerā€ on a new mattress.

Iā€™m looking forward to your feedback when you receive it ā€¦ and congratulations on your new mattress :slight_smile:

Phoenix

Hello everyone,

In my not-so-extensive web searches, I managed to come across this thread. Given the informative posts and the overall praise of the product, my wife and I are going to save up for Ultimate Dreams Gel mattress. I sure hope it turns out to be all that its cracked out to be. Thanks for all the information and Iā€™ll be sure to post back here with my assessment once we get the bed and have slept in it for a while.

Hi pnguyen,

Iā€™m looking forward to your feedback :slight_smile:

There are two parts to every mattress purchase. One of these is the quality and value of a mattress. To know this ā€¦ itā€™s only a matter of looking at the quality of the materials inside the mattress ā€¦ but this has little to do with how well a mattress ā€œsleepsā€ for any particular person. Even the best quality/value mattress may be completely unsuitable for some people even though they may be perfect for others because you canā€™t ā€œfeelā€ the quality of the materials.

The second part of of every mattress purchase is the suitability of a mattress. This is the part where you find out whether a mattress matches your needs and preferences or what I call PPP (Pressure relief, Posture and alignment, and Personal preferences). Even the best quality and most durable materials may not have the design that makes it suitable for the body type and sleeping positions of certain people. On the other hand ā€¦ even the lowest quality and least durable mattress can feel great in a showroom. The problem is that lower quality materials donā€™t keep their comfort and support for very long so what you feel in a showroom or when itā€™s still new wonā€™t feel the same in a year or more down the road as lower quality materials will soften and degrade faster. Unfortunately the loss of comfort and support that comes from foam softening is not covered by mattress warranties.

In the case of the Ultimate Dreams you have one advantage because in addition to being able to know the quality (they list all the materials in the mattress) ā€¦ you can also find out ahead of time whether it may be suitable for you. They have indicated that it has a similar feel and performance to the Tempurpedic Cloud Luxe except a little bit firmer. This means that while you are waiting you could go to any showroom that carries the Cloud Luxe and test a similar mattress to make sure that it is suitable for your needs and preferences. Post #1 here includes some links to some guidelines that can help you test a mattress for PPP so you will have a much better idea of how well the mattress may work for you. If it does ā€¦ then the quality of the materials means that it will stay that way for much longer than a mattress that felt the same but used lower quality materials where the comfort and support wouldnā€™t last nearly as long.

Phoenix

Thanks for the info everyone! I usually obsessively search for all my big (and small :lol: ) purchases and love that this site has such detailed info. I think Iā€™m going to order this one. My last mattress was a cheapie from Costco that I kept for way longer than I should have, but I still considered it better than any of my previous mattresses. So, hopefully this one is way better.

I too am considering purchasing an Ultimate Dreams 13" Gel Memory Foam Mattress - king size. Iā€™m wondering what type of foundation everyone is using and if anyone has sought out the manufacturers recommendations? I have the old split king box springs from my current Serta king and am considering the option of using them. Also Iā€™m thinking about purchasing 2 twin XL and getting an adjustable foundation. Should I be concerned about the 2 twins slipping or shifting in this configuration? Any other concerns with this ā€œsplitā€ king configuration?

Thanks so much

Livergrrl