My mattress has a built-in memory foam topper which is about two or three inches deep. I wouldn't change it for anything. I've had it about six or seven years I believe.

I put a separate memory foan topper on the guest bed mattress and it improved it drastically.

Beverly

I whole-heartedly recommend the memory foam toppers. I have the Canopy brand that is 1.5 inches thick.... though if I had to do it again, I'd go for the 4 inch one. They were out of in in my size (queen) when I bought mine. It did not have any weird smells at all, and I was shocked... I was worried about that.! I've had it for about a year now. I bought a new mattress a few weeks ago that has memory foam and latex foam toppers built on top (no springs at all), but it was still too firm, so I put the old memory foam on it and it is perfect now. I think latex foam is too new to know much about, but I think they are firmer than memory foam. If you visit Wal-mart.com, you can read reviews of the Canopy brand, most of them are really good.

Sue, I may be in the minority, but I hate foam! It doesn't breathe at all, no matter if its' a blanket or mattress, it's hot and just doesn't work for my DH or me!
Gina

We have a featherbed on top of our king size mattress. Have had it for about 12 yers. Fell in love with featherbeds the first time I slept on one. Immediately went out and bought ours.

I still have my old waterbed and I'm not giving it up, I even bought a new mattress for it. Ashley's bed, though, has a featherbed topper and she loves it. The only problem is that occasionally some feathers make their way out...

Annie

I have an older mattress and my 3" memory foam makes it wonderfully comfy. I got it when I had sciatica and it made it possible for me to sleep. I don't have any problem with it being too hot, though I've heard others complain.

I can't sleep with feathers, they make my nose bleed, and I've tried latex foam, and while I like it as a pillow, it doesn't work as a mattress topper for me - it's too soft and doesn't "push back" like memory foam.

Good luck.

Speaking of "pushing back," that's exactly what I like about my mattress with built-in memory foam. I have a back problem, and the foam fills in the space under my spine when I lie on my back, giving me excellent support. It's very comfortable when I lie in other positions, too. There's no odor at all. However, I do agree that it can get a bit warm; I sometimes need to kick off a blanket during the night.

Sue

I have to ask 2 dumb questions about featherbed toppers. Do you sleep on top of the featherbed, or do you put it under the fitted bottom sheet? Also, do you wash yours, or dry clean it? It seems as though you'd need to clean it frequently if you sleep directly on top of it. I used to use one that was alternative down - and I chose alternative down because it's machine washable - but it got lumpy after I washed. I still used it, but the lumpiness just bugged me.

We love our off brand Temperpeutic mattress. I was worried about the heat but so far so good and we've had it about 3 years. On occasion I throw the covers off of me but I don't think it has anything to do with the mattress :-)
We were at a B&B last month and they had a feather topper on the bed! I loved it! It's a different kind of feel but nice!!!

Do the featherbeds get very warm? It sounds tempting in our nippy fall weather, but sleeping on or under down in the summer sounds too hot.

Heat is something I forgot to ask about, so I'm glad some of you mentioned! DH tends to sleep warm, as do I.

Virginia, I put the sheet over the featherbed topper, it helps hold it in place and keep it from sliding too.

I have Ashley's cleaned, and between cleanings I sometimes remove it, give it a good shake and turn it over.

Annie

Thanks everyone. I decided to try a latex topper (which I found fairly cheap online) because it's supposedly cooler than the other options. But, I'm sure it's a personal preference thing. If I don't like it, I'll cut it up for dog beds :) and try one of the other two options. Bobby - thanks for the brand recommendation; I've bookmarked the site.

Sue