We went through this, briefly considered buying a custom designed mattress like our good friends did (about $1500 3 years ago) and finally, I found one at Sam's Club and loaded it up--brought it home. It was just under $400 for a Queen. When the guy told me that if I hated it even a year or so down the road, I could return it---well, can't beat that for satisfaction. It's good. Maybe not great, but as I said, we've been sleeping on it for over 3 years and both sleep soundly at night.

Red

I think you get what you pay for to a degree. We bought a King Beautyrest 10 years ago and it still is a great mattress. I think with "sales" (whatever) it was around a thousand. we bought it from Riches -now Macy's- although I have no idea if Macy's sells mattresses or thier quality. This is our second beautyrest and I would buy another.

It was extremely important to us to have a 30 day no questions asked type of return policy. With our first beautyrest we bought a too soft mattress and hauled it back one evening right at 30 days. We had no problem getting another mattress.

We've had good luck with mattresses too. First was a Sterns & Foster, second I can't remember, current is a Sealy Posturpedic. Most important thing is getting a feel for the fit. Don't just lay on it, but act like you're actually going to bed. Get comfortable ... both of you!

How long do mattresses last? I'm guessing that depends on what you buy. I'll have to do some digging later. Thanks for the link Terriks!

We recently bought a Sealy Posturpedic. It's just a regular mattress, not a pillow top. We have a memory foam and pillowtop cover that we got at Costco laid on top.

DH and I have never, ever slept better. No more achy backs or hips.

We have a Hollywood frame and we replaced the weird screw/bolts on the frame with regular galvanized bolts and 2 nuts per bolt. This ensures that the center support (king size bed) won't shift. Also DH drilled a hole and inserted a cotter pin in each of the casters so they wouldn't come out if we shifted the bed around.

A word of advice...buy new, deep pocket sheets no matter what brand mattress you get. Regular sheets are just not deep enough any more, ESPECIALLY if you have a mattress topper of any kind.

We have a tempurpedic (spelling?) that we have grown to love so much that we dread nights away from home, even. They have a long warranty but can't remember how long. We've had ours for about 9 years and it is still wonderful.

You have to get used to them. The first week or so can be different but after that, there is no going back. I know several people who have and love them. So far I haven't met anyone who regretted their purchase. Of course I am sure there must be some.

Terriks I just read through everything on that link. Wow, I never realized there was so much to know about mattresses. So many to pick from. Geeez, I thought finding the headboard was going to be tough!

Keep em coming guys!

We have the mid-line Tempurpedic. Best mattress ever. No aches, no pains, just comfort. Wouldn't ever go back.

We also love Beautyrest mattresses but I had wanted to try the sleep number beds. Anyone try those?

We have a Tempurpedic too and boy do we love it. It does not radiate heat at night like some people complained about...but here in the bay area our nights always cool down not matter how hot it was during the day so that may have something to do with it.

DH wanted a soft mattress so we had to step up to their more expensive lines, their lower priced mattresses felt too hard. Recently I've noticed his body has created a slight "body impression" into the mattress. That's what happened when we had a coiled spring mattress, however this is not as bad. I suspect that wouldn't happen if we had opted for one of their other mattresses without the cushy pillow top.

Buying sheets was difficult, so don't assume you'll be able to keep your existing sheets. I had to replace all of mine. It took a lot of shopping to find sheets that fit. Martha Stewart at Macys is what I use now and I'm very pleased with them.

My friend has a sleep number bed and she regrets it. She thought the adjusting the number would be the perfect solution for her because she likes soft and her DH likes a hard mattress. What she discovered was that by dialing down the number it didn't make the bed softer it just made a sink hole, "letting air out" didn't produce the effect she had hoped for.

The other thing she doesn't like about sleep number (and this is what made me rule it out immediately) is that there is a hump donw the middle of the mattress that you will feel if you try to sleep over it...I'm referring to a Cal King. If there is a disparity between the two sides of the mattress (DH sets it to firm and she sets it a lower number) then you will feel the difference down the middle. The reason I didn't like that was because I tend to snuggle up to DH when it's cold so I'm lying in the middle of the mattress while he's still on his side. If it weren't for her having this mattress first I might have bought a sleep number myself since you hear nothing but praise from people for this bed. I am surprised no one mentions this annoying bump down the middle.

She bought a memory foam topper to lay on top of the sleep number mattress and now she likes her bed. Why go through all that trouble when you can buy a tempurpedic to begin with? I'll never buy another coiled spring mattress again, memory foam is the way to go IMO.

We have had a Sleep Number mattress about 3 or 4 years. Ours has some type of memory-foam top that was part of the package. It pretty much eliminates the middle hump ff referred to. DH and I love, love, love our SN mattress. At first I thought it was a gimmicky device, but I never have any shoulder pain when I sleep on my side now. The only thing that truly drove me crazy when we got it was DH playing with his controller every 10 seconds....it was like having another remote at his disposal, LOL. Luckily, the novelity wore off for him. One question for those with Tempurpedic mattresses....do they trap your body heat in summer? One salesman mentioned that to us when we were mattress shopping. Not sure if that is true or not.

We have a Stearns and Foster that has a pillow top. Hate the pillow top. One thing that we did like about it was the fabric it is covered in is wonderful and I can tell the difference through the sheets. We have had it for about 5 years and hope to get something different once we can. What concerns me on a tempurpedic is I heard it is great to sleep on but other bed...uh...activities are not as comfy. I have not had the opportunity to see for myself and that is not something you can test in the store.

One thing that we do love is the low profile box spring. I have a large headboard and I knew I wanted Euroshams on my bed and I did not want to cover up the heardboard. The steel is supposedly stronger.

We also have a Tempurpedic mattress. We love ours. We've never really noticed that it's any warmer to sleep on than any other mattress we've had. We also don't have any trouble with "other bed...uh...activities." ;-)

Tishtoshnm - Box springs. There's normally one that goes with the mattress you purchase right? I mean you pay for that as well but one usually goes with the mattress? I'm all about a low profile box spring. I don't want my mattress covering up much of my headboard.

LOL I'm confused about the other bed activities on the Tempurpedic. How can it be comfy to sleep on but not the other? Interesting. DH is always hot so that would be bad if the mattress did tend to be warm.

So out of curiosity, (everyone) how thick are you mattresses? How about your box spring?

Never noticed any problems with the 'other than sleeping part' on our mattress. LOL! It is no hotter than other mattresses. One large benefit to Tempurpedics is one doesn't notice when the partner is tossing and turning in bed. (That is usually me tossing and turning.)

Our mattress isn't one of those huge thick ones and I've never had to purchase special sheets. I'm a Costco sheet lover.

We paid about $600.00 (Canadian) for a 12 inch memory foam mattress at Costco. The very first night we got it, I was in heaven. For the first time in 7 years, I woke up without a lower back ache and have not had one since the day we brought it home 3 years ago!

I must be missing something. We tried out the temperpurpedic mattress on a whim, when we were shopping for a mattress for our RV. To me it felt like a big piece of foam. I like a firm mattress, not hard, but firm, no pillow top. We do use a feather bed usually in the winter on top of our mattress.

One thing I will mention Shee is when we bought the mattress for the RV, we had one custom made because the platform in an RV (queen size) is (I believe) 4 inches shorter than the regular queen size mattress. You might check these out. Ours was not as expensive as I thought it would be. When we need a new mattress for our bed at home, I will definitely consider the custom route again. We have a springs/coil mattress now and it has been very comfortable for us. Doesn't sag or have impressions, has held up well. I can't think of the brand off the top of my head. I will look. We'll probably be going through this same thing in a couple of years.

Also, there is one of the hotel chains that I have heard many people rave about their beds - anyone know which one?

tina

I had the best sleep ever at a Marriott. I checked the bed while I was there and it was a foam bed - not memory foam, but plain old polyurethane foam. That excellent night's sleep was one of the reasons I decided on a latex mattress. I didn't want to get polyurethane, because it tends to break down much faster than latex. But I was convinced that I wanted a foam mattress of some kind. I don't like the feeling of memory foam and had a memory foam topper for several years that made me sleep really hot.

Doesn't latex smell? I have a latex foam pillow and it has a foam odor to it. I remember the same odor on a foam pillow when I was a child. I do know there are lots of people are allergic to latex. Our local hospital banned it.

We have a Tempur-Pedic, and I'm not thrilled with it. In fact, I think I was more comforable on the four-inch memory foam topper we had on our old mattress before buying this one. It's too firm for me, although I do like that it conforms to the curves in my back when I'm sleeping on my back. Our old one didn't do that, and it bothered my back. It's a bit warmer than a normal mattress, but not bad.

My husband says it's fine, but he falls asleep in about 10 seconds no matter where he is. :-)

Jboling, our Tempurpedic was a bit too firm for me, as well, when we first brought it home. I found that the addition of a cheap egg crate type topper (less than $100 from WalMart, etc.) made it perfect for me. Now I love it.

DH thought it was wonderful before, and doesn't really seem to notice the extra layer of cushioning from the egg crate. I needed that extra bit of softness.

That's because you bought the wrong Tempurpedic model. The Deluxe and Classic models were too hard for us. The Rhapsody, Celebrity and the Grand are all much softer....and pricier. This is why you really should idently which Tempurpedic model you bought when you're giving a review...because they're as different as night and day. So don't rule out a Tempurpedic just because someone said it was too hard for them, not till you ask which model they bought. Goldilocks needs to test out these beds before finding just the right one for her.

When we bought our mattress, there was only one kind so it doesn't have any other name. I guess it is the original, old school tempurpedic.

Initially, I threw a feather mattress on top because it was a bit too firm. Then I got used to it and now we love it.

The salesman warned us that these mattresses do soften up with use. When you're testing out Tempurpedic mattresses in the stores ask how long that model has been on the floor. If s/he says they just put it out then you're not getting an accurate assesment of how it will feel after it's been in use for awhile. We initially bought one model down from the one we have now. DH complained that is was too hard, I thought it was just right. So we exchanged it for the next model and he was much happier. I liked it too but I worried he was judging it based on how it felt in the store. Now that we've owned it for a year or it is showing some body impressions (only on his side, not mine). I attribute that to the pillow top, I assume what makes it soft is also what is giving less support.

It's not a bad idea now that I think about it...buy the lesser model, save money on that and then add your own topper to it. That way when it gives out you can easily replace it with another top without having to buy a whole new mattress.

Yes, I should have mentioned that we bought the Deluxe Tempur-Pedic model, which is one of the less expensive. But, even the "less expensive" models are pretty expensive, so I wouldn't advocate buying them with the thought of adding your own topper. You can get a topper for the mattress you already have, and you'll feel the difference. Give it a try before committing to a new one. Our 4-inch memory foam topper was about $125 from the Overstock site.

For those of you using the Tempur-PedicÂs do you notice that it quickly leaves a permanent body indentation where you normally sleep like with a regular mattress? Or have you noticed that it does not create the indentation or it takes years? Any thoughts as that is the problem we have will all the mattresses we have purchased. I know to stay away from pillow tops too.
We are mattress shopping this weekend and are going to look at the Tempur-pedic.