I can't do memory foam of any kind it makes me hot and I feel mired down in it. I bought the cuddlebed mattress cover with topper and we love it . I bought one for the rest mattress too. I got mine from Amazon it's the Hollander cuddlebed , I know there's another one on amazon that cost more . I buy all my mattresses directly from the local mattress manufacturers , they will build them exactly how you want them and they are much cheaper than the big stores and the ones in the big stores are usually made by them with different name tags . My double pillow top was over 20 years old and still looked good but it was starting to bunch in areas.

Cuddlebed

I just posted on the Leesa thread that a few months ago we replaced our old queen mattress with a Novaform Serafina Pearl Gel mattress from Costco.

Our previous mattress, a Sealy bamboo or some such, was just three or four years old but it was awful and we hated it, and that was after considerable testing in the store. Our mattress before that was wonderful but it was more than 20 years old. I figured we couldn't do worse this time than the last mattress going the "mattress in a box" route, and like you said, the whole idea of mattress shopping left my head spinning. We're not Costco members, but I read some good reviews, on the website and I think at Consumer Reports.

I will say I'm dealing with menopause and all the fun symptoms, including night sweats, hot flashes, and just generally running warm, and that was my first concern with the new mattress. But it's been wonderful. My husband likes it a lot and so do I. It's available as a topper as well, for not a lot of money, so if you like the topper you could always upgrade to the mattress.

Our guest beds both have memory foam mattress toppers and guests frequently tell us it's the most comfortable bed they've slept in. But there is a difference in memory foams -- some are far too soft, and I think they are the ones that seem too hot and "grabby."

With a mattress 14 yrs old I'd start off with a new mattress. If you want a built-in topper then consider one with latex, both for comfort and no worries about off-gassing.

Find a store that carries several brands, narrow your choice down to 2-3 mattresses, then take a book/magazine/mobile phone and spend time on each mattress. Visit the store at least 2-3 times before making your decision. Hopefully your salesperson is as good as the ones I've dealt with!

On a 14 yr old mattress, any improvement with a topper is likely to be short lived. It will wind up conforming to the mattress below and the bodies above. If you must put off buying a new mattress, it might give you 6 months to a year with some imporvement, but it won't fix what is underneath. I would put the money into a new mattress. We bought ours from a local maker and recently looked for someone else -- even they offer zero percent financing for 12 months (of course the penalty for not paying it off in 12 months is usually pretty steep on those deals, so don't bite off more that you can really handle). The big name stores have those offers frequently -- and many folks are happy with the mattress in a box options -- and some of those cost little more than a decent topper.

My mattress is even older than yours and still very firm but a bit lumpy. We added a 3" memory foam topper covered by a quilted, padded 100% cotton cover and our sleep is blissful. I'm always hot, but the cotton cover keeps me away from the memory foam and makes the bed sleep cool.

We topped our almost 20 year old mattress with a thick feather bed. The feather bed was about $150 on sale, king sized. We were moving and did not want to replace the mattress before we moved.

I loved the feather bed, It was covered with a cotton removable cover which did not allow feathers to poke through and was washable. Feather beds do require 'fluffing'.

We did get 2 years out of it. By the end, the feather bed wasn't so fluffy anymore and we had to toss it along with the mattress when we moved.

I bought a memory foam topper for the bed in my guest room which I always felt was too firm. After I had it on that bed, it was just so heavenly to lie on, I moved the topper onto my bed. I love it. That said, I do find it gets too warm for the warmer months, so it spends June through September on the guest bed. If your mattress is 14 years old, it is probably time to replace it. I am afraid to buy a memory foam mattress because of the heat issue and also Raven's apt description of feeling mired down.

I, too, put a 3 inch topper on an old king size mattress and love it sooo much. As a matter of fact, I think I will go upstairs now and relax on it. Mine has a little downside. On one side, it laps over the side a bit. I just kind of jump in? Our bedroom is a real crowded mess, anyway, but the bed is comfy.

Be aware that the topper mattresses can never be turned over.

I put a topper on my rather "bony" mattress and I love it. I do flip it over from time to time. My married daughter came to visit and after flopping on my bed asked if she could sleep in my room! lol

14 years old? I'd say it's well spent and time to dump it.

Your body has changed in 14 years and needs a new mattress.

Always visit a qualified sleep shop prior to purchasing a mattress.

We bought our mattresses at Design Sleep, after a two hour experience.

Heaven.

which mattress toppers did people buy? are they all $200?

I got a 3" memory foam topper from Sam's. I think it was around $125. When I got a larger bed frame I purchase a full memory foam mattress. LOVE IT. Purchased it straight from manufacturer who claims it is new technology with gel that stops the heat issue.

I just bought a new cuddlebed topper since mine was lost in the flood. I have one on the rv bed too. I posted the link way up there on my first post. Here's a link to my post with pictures of the new one on the bed.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4338909/the-cuddlebed-topper-on-the-bed

I put a memory foam topper on a mattress that was about 20 years old- huge improvement. We recently replaced the mattress and used the 4 year old topper on the new one.

i didn't care for a memory foam pillow either, but the topper was great.

thank you all, I ordered one! we have guests coming and one bed is pretty old and just not all that comfy by todays standards. It is not lumpy or slanty and has not been used much, just seems rather cheapish and uncomfortable. I think a foam topper will hopefully make it tolerable for a night or two. then I can put that topper on another bed if we get rid of that mattress after christmas.

I am interested in this because I have a guestroom mattress that is too firm, and I am embarrassed for guests to sleep on it and be uncomfortable. I tried a memory foam topper on it, but didn't like the way it formed around my body and retained my body impression - I guess that is why they call it memory foam.

Then I tried a wool-filled topper. Heaven...at first. Very quickly it flattened in the middle, so that if you slept on one side you felt like you were going to roll downhill toward the middle.

Ravencajun - does the cuddlebed topper do either of those things?

No it doesn't do either of those things. It's just a very soft comfortable bed and not hot at all. I sleep hot so I won't have anything that makes me hot. It stays fluffy. Each compartment holds its fill fluffy. You can see the pictures of it on the link above I posted on the KT forum.

We bought an organic latex mattress @ 4 yrs ago. Wanted the feel of memory foam, but without some of the cons (ie heat retention) ago.

Liked it initially, but then I started to waking up with sore hips again. This past May, what did we buy?? Yup, a 4" memory foam topper from Costco. My husband hates it...says too soft. I no longer wake up sore, but it does make for a 'warm' sleep.

I'm at that age too where I want to avoid being too warm if it can be helped.

I'm very interested in the look of that cuddlebed topper...I'll be checking that one out:)

well my topper just got here. it is on its way to plumping up. I am wondering if I should put a cuddlebed on top of it or maybe a feather bed. then I think it might actually be amazing! it is definitely better already then just the old firm mattress was.

Boopadaboo - how is your topper working out? Which one did you buy? Would you recommend it, or not? TIA.

Hi Friedajune - this is the one I ordered. My guests said it was very comfortable. mattress topper