Hello!
Long-time reader and first-time poster. Wanted to know everyone’s opinion on W-Hotel mattresses since it’s on sale on a deal site (http://www.gilt.com/home/sale/the-w-hotels-bed-828/82295122-w-hotels-plush-top-mattress-30-day-guarantee)
I’m based in NYC and also got turned on to Keetsa from this forum which I want to visit later today as well. Anywhere else I should look?
Thanks!
Adam
Hi Adam,
The Simmons W Hotels is basically a Simmons Beautyrest with pocket coils padded with unknown quality polyfoam with a thin layer of unknown quality memory foam added to the mix. This is the very type of construction that I would avoid at all costs and IMO has poor value, especially at the prices charged by major brands. If I was to purchase a mattress that included more than an inch of polyfoam … it would only be from a local manufacturer who was an expert in the different types of polyfoam, who used higher quality and more durable foams, good construction methods, and could give you an accurate indication of how long it would last.
Keetsa is one of many Zinus / Sleep Revolution brands that are made in China and their pocket coils and mattresses are designed to be compressed for shipping and storage. I would be cautious about the long term durability of a mattress that was compressed over long periods of time on its journey from China, stored in a warehouse, and then shipped to a customer before being decompressed (see post #6 here).
Keetsa lists the different layering of their mattresses on their sites but they don’t list the quality/density of the polyfoam or the memory foam they use and since most Zinus mattresses tend to use lower quality and less durable materials (particularly memory foam) I would make sure that you find out the information listed in this article before purchasing any Keetsa mattress. Without knowing the specific quality/density of all the layers in any of their mattresses you are considering so you can confirm that there aren’t any lower quality materials or weak links in the mattress (see the foam quality/density guidelines here) I would avoid them.
While Keetsa is “factory direct” … the factory is in China and I believe there is better quality and value and less risk and uncertainty in factory direct manufacturers who are privately or family owned and are based in North America.
While I also recognize that many manufacturers are anxious to be perceived as being part of the green movement and that some foam pourers are making some small incremental steps in this direction, Keetsa’s emphasis on this when it uses mostly polyfoam and memory foam in its mattresses which is anything but green is questionable and exaggerated at best … even if a small percentage of the petrochemicals in their foams are replaced with plant oils. There is more about so called “plant based foams” in post #2 here. There is also more about “green” mattresses and claims in post #4 here.
Overall I would be very cautious about purchasing a Keetsa mattress unless you have confirmed that the specific mattress you are purchasing doesn’t contain any lower quality materials that would be a weak link in the mattress and I certainly wouldn’t purchase them based on the fact that they are a “green” manufacturer when most of their mattresses use polyfoam and memory foam in their design.
There is a list of independent factory direct outlets in your area in post #2 here (which I’m guessing you have seen). While I don’t know your budget range … if I was to narrow these down I would probably focus on the 4 I listed in post #166 here.
Phoenix
Thanks Phoenix,
I stopped by DixieFoam on your list of four options and liked their Dreambed Deluxe and their Latex bed.
I’m a side/belly sleeper so was thinking that maybe the dreambed, which is very firm, could be good for support reasons. What do you think?
Also: Do you have any recommendations on pillows? I’ve been having neck pain lately and need a new one.
Thanks again for your help,
Adam
Hi Adam,
Because you are both a side sleeper and a stomach sleeper, you will need both support (especially for stomach sleeping to prevent sleeping in a swayback position) and pressure relief (side sleeping has the most “pressure points”). If you go for support at the “expense” of pressure relief, then it can be just as uncomfortable as the other way around.
In cases like this, your own personal testing becomes especially important. What is best in cases like this is the thinnest and firmest comfort zone that provides good pressure relief on your side so that you also have the best possible support when you are sleeping on your stomach. This means that is is really important to spend at least 15 minutes on the mattress (preferably more) to test specifically for pressure points (especially on your side) and to test for alignment in all your sleeping positions. Side/stomach sleeping is the most challenging combination of all and personal testing becomes even more important than usual. It is important to test a mattress for long enough that you are completely relaxed without any muscle tension as how a mattress feels when your muscles are tense will be different than how it feels when your muscles are completely relaxed (like when you’re sleeping) and it takes some time for the muscles to relax when you are testing.
Different materials can also make a difference here in their ability to adapt to different sleeping positions. More than any other material … latex can be both soft (in the lower ILD’s) and supportive (because of its ability to get firmer with deeper compression than other materials) but of course to get this better “adaptability” to different sleeping positions you are also using a material that costs more.
The Dreambed deluxe would be “in the ballpark” with the soft layer on top of a firmer support core. I would want to know however what the density of the super soft foam was and what their experience was with it in terms of its durability. I would also make sure that the combination you choose (your choice of softness/firmness of the comfort layer and support layer) was the best for your circumstances.
With the latex mattress … my tendency would be to add a topper (of about 2") to it so that you have a softer layer on top for pressure relief on your side (like the Dreambed) … but your own experience in combination with their help would be more accurate than what I call “theory at a distance”. Because it is zoned … and I’m guessing Dunlop … if you chose a soft enough ILD of latex it can also be very supportive … but make sure it is soft enough to relieve your pressure points.
The Cloudrest" may also be worth testing because it is a good combination of a higher quality material on top (the weak link in most mattresses) with a firm support core.
So the “bottom line” is that they will have the experience to give you good advice with the relative durability of the specific materials they use in each mattress and will also have the expertise to give you good advice and guidance in terms of the best combination of pressure relief and support that will “translate” into the best long term experience when you are sleeping on the mattress at home rather than the more limited experience of the showroom.
Any of these would be good “value” choices … but the trick with stomach/side sleeping especially is to make sure your testing leads to the best choices of the type of material and the best thickness and firmness of the layers.
Phoenix