You have pushed a hot button with me and my family! I'm here to agree with you, probably not help you.

We have been on a bed search for years, buying them, then unhappy, switching them out to be extra beds, buying new, getting the manufacturer to warranty, on and on.

Don't like pillow top. You get a sunken place where you sleep, they seem too soft and hot. I bought a very firm bed to replace a pillow top. It was too hard. Bought a latex pad which I'm using, but I really don't like it either. Also tried memory foam pad and didn't like it. Mattresses are one-sided now, no such thing as a box spring, it's just a platform.

I know I'm not encouraging you, but it is a problem. Oh yes, and then bedding does not fit well now either.

Good luck.

My mattress buying saga is long, and I won't go into it here. But one of the things I learned in my research is that pillow tops are considered undesirable because it will likely pancake--flatten out or get an uncomfortable dip--and then you're stuck with it because it's attached to the mattress.

Much better to add your own mattress topper(s). They're removable, and you can adjust things by adding or subtracting.

I bought two toppers when I bought my mattress: an inch of latex and an inch of memory foam. It's been six years, and they're still fine.

My wife wanted the pillow top. I was not thrilled with the idea. After 3 years, I said enough. You cannot flip them. I hated it. I did lots of good sleeping on an old mattress in the guest room.

Solution? I found a local place that makes mattresses. I told them what I wanted and they created it for me. Delivered and took away that old thing. My wife was not happy with this, but she sleeps sooo much better now. I cannot say, "I told you so!" I just think it.

Check around, there is probably a local business that builds mattresses. Buy from that place and all the money stays in your community.

Jim

I agree with Alisande. From what I have read and heard, nothing beats a regular mattress and adding your own mattress topper that can be removed or added to. I recently bought an inexpensive mattress topper for my bed. It is covered by my mattress pad and isn't hot like an older one I had several years ago.

I agree with Jim that small, local manufacturers are good if available. We used to buy from such a company years ago and still have one of those mattresses which is old but still comfy. This is back in the day when quality products were made.

For any So. CA people, there is a company which looks interesting to me: Custom Comfort, which is family owned. They have a mattress buying guide online which you can get. I don't know if the guide is any good and have never bought from them. Just sharing the info.

PS There is another smaller manufacturer in the L.A. area--Diamond Mattress. They have a buying guide available online too. I have bought a Diamond but it's a little too firm. Can't fault them for that.

This post was edited by socks12345 on Tue, Sep 3, 13 at 12:51

I bought a nice pillow top about 4 years ago and it's badly sunken. It's too heavy for me to rotate by myself as often as I should, so I don't and I've probably damaged it. I hate the crater feel.

My boyfriend and I are in the market for a new King mattress and actually just bought one last night from Macy's. It's not a traditional pillow-top in my opinion (though it says it is) but it's extremely plush and comfortable. The sales rep said it's less likely to sink since it's hand-sewn but I have no idea how accurate that is or if she was just telling me what I wanted to hear. :) It was really comfortable and most importantly I could barely feel someone else on it. Since I'm a light sleeper that's important to me.

It was a little pricy (I think $3,300 for the King with the Labor Day sale this week) but it felt much cooler and less enveloping than the other pillow tops that I tried. I really hate spending so much on something I can't really try till it's delivered!

Here is a link that might be useful: Macy's Hotel Collection

Hubby and I bought a pillow top mattress about 10 years ago. It didn't start to 'crater' until about a year ago. Like many others, I hate the fact that you cannot flip it. Hubby still loves it though, so it'll be an uphill battle to get a new one. Especially after reading all these responses, I want a plain mattress with a removable pillow top next time.

I will probably die on the old mattress I have. I just don't know what I want! I am becoming more and more convinced that a pillow top is to be avoided. A good mattress topper is a better choice. I suppose I could even buy the topper first and see how I like it.

I was looking at Shifman mattresses at Bloomies. They have a sale through the end of the month. Even then, I'd have to spend $2800.

We do have a local-ish mattress place. I see they have franchises elsewhere. Verlo -- anyone had any experience with them?

Here is a link that might be useful: Verlo

We had a pillow top...but it was a double, so could be flipped...heavy as hell though...

I prefered it..hubby did not...he picked out the Costco brand of memory foam..and I didn't like it at first..to firm for me...but I'm used to it now..and he's happy...BTW this one is only one sided..so we just rotate it..

We had a foam topper on the pillow top....So we were used to sleeping on memory foam..

We bought a new mattress about a year ago. The first one was way too hard so back it went. We bought a second one which is a pillow top and I hate it. I think my DH hates it as well but neither of us will tell the other! However I don't think it's the pillowtop but rather it's just too firm. As soon as I think we have enough extra money sitting around I'll suggest we go and buy another mattress.

We've had Verlo mattresses all of our married life except for an aborted try at one of the 'brands' -- which started to crater while we were only *looking* at it! LOL (Well, after two weeks.)

We've always had a pair of extra-long twins -- easier to flip and rotate. Most have lasted eight to ten years. We stepped down a grade four years ago and I regret it. I could feel the difference in weight between the grades and gambled on the lighter one. Mistake.

I'd thought we'd just replace it sooner -- but not THIS soon. I was thinking about dust mite dirt. We now plan to get another, better grade set and *encase* them.

I would never buy a pillow top or a single-sided mattress here. Single-side was the only choice on Maui, and that 4-yr-old 'brand' king is still good.

I also question the 'air mattresses'. I don't understand why they are so expensive. Seems to me they are little different from the typical 'guest mattress in a box', plus electric pumps with guages and some padding. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

not a whole lot of help from me either....I have a 2 year old Sleep Number with adjustable head and leg.

I think I could have done with almost any mattress, but the adjustable legs have saved my back!

It is also wonderfull when I have a headache....raising my head a little seems to help.

I absolutely LOVE our pillow top but I have a double pillow top so I CAN flip it and do. I also swap it from side to side as well as top to bottom. It has NOT sagged at all and is still the most comfortable bed we have ever had. I did not want one with just one side pillow top just for that reason. I have a hard time now sleeping on a bed that is not a pillow top. I had to get a cuddle bed cover for our RV bed so it is more like a pillow top and it did help.
I bought mine directly from the place they were made, watched them making them in fact. They also make them for Serta and other name brands but the exact same mattress they put their labels on also and sell for half the price. My sister bought the same exact mattress a Serta, same fabric same everything as mine, I bought the no name version of the same one and paid much less. The factory/place was in Oklahoma city and I would seriously consider going back there for a new one but it is just too far away now.

I don't think I could do the memory foam because just using the pillow makes my head sweat like crazy and the ones I laid on and tried I felt like I was mired down into the mattress and could not turn.

I like a firm mattress ..can't sleep on those pillow top things.
I do have mattress covers that have a thin quilted top....that's enough for me.

like the softness but again can't flip. dh is a big guy and we really needed to have something you could change...we now have a foam top, also...

Many years ago I spent four days/three nights at the Hyatt on Embarcadero in San Francisco, while on a business trip. The morning of the third day it finally occurred to me that I had been sleeping on the most comfortable bed! So, I pulled the sheets off so I could write down all the info from the label on the mattress, because I wanted to buy one just like it. Turned out that the Hyatt had "made to order" beds that weren't available to the public, even though the manufacturer was a well-known, highly respected name brand. I even tried to buy that bed from the hotel, but they wouldn't go for it.

It wasn't long after that when hotels finally realized that they could make a fortune selling the beds and bedding that their guests loved.

So, take some short vacations in hotels that do this, and maybe you'll find a bed that you love.

I've had my foam mattress for about nine months now. When I got it I vowed I was not going to get one because of them being so hot to sleep on, but when I was told about the ones with the 'cooling' thingys in it, I decided to give it a go.

It is not hot to sleep on. Believe me, if it were, it would be out the door. I do like that aspect of it.

Yes, I'm glad to hear someone agrees that it is hard to turn over on it, and I toss and turn a lot. You learn to deal with it though.

The salesman told me that it would help with my aches and pains at night, but this has not been the case.

I do not sleep with a hot, foam pillow either. Just because you have a memory foam mattress, doesn't mean you have to use that as a pillow.

Something I wonder about: I've heard that the foam mattresses do not attract bedbugs. It would be reasonable to think that, but is it true?

We have a pillowtop and I sleep like a rock-very comfy, however it has the craters. Not sure what I would get next time. The Sleep Numbers look interesting, I've always wondered about the mattresses in the club stores. All the ones I have seen are stcked on their sides. How can you buy a mattress without knowing how it feels?? Maybe they lay one on the floor and try it?

One of the conventions I was the event planner for was at a really beautiful hotel. Everyone was commenting on how wonderful the bed was and how well they slept on those mattresses. They asked me if I could ask the manager about the mattress. I knew her well from doing business together so I talked to her about it. She said they had so many guests asking about the mattresses and could they buy them that they had in fact made a deal with the mattress manufacturer to sell their same mattress to the public but you did have to go through the hotel.
That is one mattress I would have bought if I were looking at the time.
So yes if you love the mattress at the hotel you are at ASK!!

Socks, we also like Acme Mattress Company. I taught with a guy whose best friend's mother worked there, and he was happy with the service and product. So I have bought every mattress there for the past 40 years. They used to be in Garden Grove and Long Beach, but now I think they are in Corona.

Acme Mattress Company sounds like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon!

All your comments are very helpful. I was so uncomfortable in my own bed last night, I have just got to buy a new one soon.

I came home from a stay in the hospital. To my surprise my son had taken my box springs and mattress and replaced it with a new one. It was time. lol. But the problem I had with the new mattress was I could not climb into the high bed. I said I would learn how to get in the bed but could not, So back to the mattress store he went to exchange it. They would not take back the brand new box springs so he had to buy a thinner box springs which works fine now. I also have a problem if we stay in hotels climbing in the beds. Buyer beware. I'm not a short person. Check them out before you buy a new bed. I have no knowledge of the pillow top mattress. Good luck in your search.

I've heard of people having that problem. I do not want to have to run and jump to get in bed.

I have a bed with wood sides that go all the way around. I am concerned that if I get a thin foundation (box spring), the bottom edge of the mattress will be below the wood side, making it difficult to change the fitted sheet.

Oh so much to think about.

Here is a link that might be useful: my bed -- see what I mean?

We bought a new bed last year, and I purposely got the 1/2 size box spring. Our previous bed was high and I didn't like not having my feet touch the floor when I sat on the bed. I'm 5'7". It felt like I was going to fall on my head when I reached for my slippers. It was only going to get worse as I get older.

Now the bed itself I'm not at all happy with. It has lumps and the filling seems like it's shifting. It's all from us sleeping on it. It's a Simmons Beautyrest.

My sister for some unknown reason had bought those risers to put under the bed legs to raise the bed up about 3 inches. Well the beds were just fine as they were, she said it was the new instyle look to have the super high beds. Oh great it looks nice but now no one can get in the beds. I definitely could not get in the bed and once I did when I had to go to the bathroom during the night I would nearly kill myself getting off the bed then trying to get back on. I actually had to try to climb up on a chair then into the bed. For me with my physical limitations that was a real challenge. Now that we have the RV I can stay in my bed and not have to deal with the beds on stilts lol.

I can flip my pillow top? Pillows on both sides. It makes for a really TALL bed, but I like it. I think it did fine the first 10 years. I guess I should get a new one. What I remember doing is, look for a firm mattress with a pillow top. You can't correlate it to buying a typical mattress. The firmer, the better when it comes to pillow top. That way, you get the best of both worlds. It's worked. I'd do it again.

I have back problems with my RA, and a high bed means no bending to get into or out of bed..

About 10 years ago we purchased a flipable pillowtop, a Sealy posturpedic. LOVE IT! It's still holding it's shape. Will probably go another 10 years.....

When I was in the market for a new mattress, I went to Macy's and found one I liked. It is a pillowtop. The saleslady asked if I wanted a full size box spring or half. I had never seen such a thing, but told her a full size. When it was delivered it was so high I couldn't get up on it. I made them take it back. I also wrote a letter of complaint because I felt the saleswoman should have pointed out that none of the mattresses on the showroom floor had the full size box spring. I had never seen one before and I thought she should have pointed out the fact that I would need a ladder just to get into bed. There was no difference in price between the full and half box spring.

My mattress does have a crater in it and is too heavy for me to turn. I don't like it, but I can't just go out and buy another one so soon. :(