Buying a new mattress - advice please

[Julia9054]

My mattress is saggy, lumpy and old (aren’t we all!)
I wake up with a stiff neck and pain in my lower back and hip on my right side which goes quickly once I am up. It’s clearly time for a new one but where to start?
I am small and light and sleep on my stomach or on my right side. My husband is medium sized, sleeps on his back or on his side and has no issues with the current mattress.
There is a bewildering array of types of mattress and prices out there and I have no idea what I should be looking for or what I should be aiming to pay.
Any advice from someone who has recently bought a mattress would be most welcome.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Have bought quite a few in the past. First thing is to spend as much as you can afford. I have a hybrid spring/foam one which was IRO £120. I wish I'd spent a bit more. After 3 years I can now feel and hear the springs on the outside. But that might have been my laziness/forgetfullness in not flipping it as often as I should.

I had a full memory foam one in my last house, I think it was £400+ for a king size. Best mattress ever. But be warned with pure memory foam, it is very hot in the spring/summer. If you have good ventilation or are a cold sleeper then it might not be an issue, but it's certainly a "leg out the side" or even a "covers off" job when the temp is above 18 degrees

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Vi Spring. Just the very best, with differential springing each side if you need it, but not inexpensive...

 

[steveindenmark]

Get a memory foam mattress. They are excellent.

 

[vickster]

You can get zipped and linked whereby each side can be different to suit the individual. Hypnos do (and not as expensive as Vi spring). Talk to a local Indy retailer (my parents have just gone this route).
eg in Harrogate... https://www.smithstherink.co.uk/beds-mattresses-c1/mattresses-c39

I got a new mattress a year ago from Furniture village, tried at least 10. Ended up with a mid price Hypnos (about £700 for double), while none of their Vi spring options were remotely comfortable even at double the price! You have to go try them out

Memory foam is horrible to me but might suit you

 

[Fab Foodie]

We have a Mattress with different firmness for each side. There are stores where they have a special test-bed to help find which is right for you. Because of this 'separation' we can't feel each other turning-over or fidgeting in the night which is good. It did cost a fortune in super-king size so you have to be confident in your choice. DO NOT have an inbuilt topper (often lambs-wool or similar), we did this time against my better judgement and slowly 2 grooves appear where the fibres separate.
Memory foam is far too sweaty for me.
The 'Premiere Inn' mattresses are great and a reasonable price IMO.
Another tip is go Scandi and have 2 single duvets rather than 1 double. It allows each to have their own TOG and stops duvet hogging :-)

 

[Julia9054]

Get a memory foam mattress. They are excellent.

This is one of my big questions. What is the advantage of memory foam over a traditional spring mattress? I bought a memory foam pillow to try and solve my neck issues but don't really like it - it seems too firm. Also not keen on the "too hot" issue. As a menopausal woman, I can do "boiling hot at night" all by myself!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Don't go anywhere near foam in that case.

 

[vickster]

If you're a front or side sleeper, make sure you have the appropriate pillow. A physio recommended a latex pillow to me (has neck issues herself) and it's been great, Google Dunlopillo

 

[Julia9054]

If you're a front or side sleeper, make sure you have the appropriate pillow. A physio recommended a latex pillow to me (has neck issues herself) and it's been great, Google Dunlopillo

I'll definitely look into that. The neck issue is a recent thing - past few months - and as I haven't had any injury, I can only assume it is from how I sleep.

It seems you can spend as much as you want. Are the £1000 plus mattresses really that much better than the £400 - £700 price range (which was the amount I had in my head if I'm honest)

 

[vickster]

I'll definitely look into that. The neck issue is a recent thing - past few months - and as I haven't had any injury, I can only assume it is from how I sleep.

It seems you can spend as much as you want. Are the £1000 plus mattresses really that much better than the £400 - £700 price range (which was the amount I had in my head if I'm honest)

For me it didn't come down to cost, I didn't really have a budget, although 1k seemed a sensible max for a double (obviously bigger costs more). I knew I wanted pocket sprung from a known make in a medium-firm, I didn't want memory foam nor a wool/gel/foam topper, just a good quality covering. As said, I ended up with mid price (£400 is cheap for something well made), with a 10 or 20 year warranty (can't recall). I paid a bit extra for the Guardsman protection cover in case of spillages etc.

You need to go try them out, needing two different sides potentially will add cost but you actually might find something that suits you both. Spend at least an hour or two in the shop trying them

 

[Julia9054]

Our bed is king size and I'm thinking we won't need different sides.
Within reason, it doesn't really come down to cost for me either but equally, I'm keen not to be spending money I don't need to spend.
We are going to venture into a couple of shops this afternoon

 

[Tenkaykev]

Pleasantly surprised with the new Mattress we purchased from IKEA, not too expensive and extremely comfortable.
We also purchased a " Small Double " for the guest bedroom last year. It was John Lewis own brand. We slept on it for several nights while decorating the main bedroom and found it really very good.

 

[vickster]

I got this as an example, but I'm not light It was certainly by far the most comfortable for me
https://www.furniturevillage.co.uk/...2983.html?dwvar_ZFRSP000000000002983_size=5ft
Dreams another retailer, but I bought in the middle of lockdown and only FV had stores open so that's where I went! (my 8 year old mattress was knackered).
One thing to note, which may have changed, they weren't taking old ones away due to Covid so I organised (paid) for the council to remove the old on same day the new one was delivered

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Our bed is king size and I'm thinking we won't need different sides.
Within reason, it doesn't really come down to cost for me either but equally, I'm keen not to be spending money I don't need to spend.
We are going to venture into a couple of shops this afternoon

This is one of those queries where you will get dozens of different recommendations I think.

I think in the first instance you should go and see a good retailer like And So To Bed (Not Dreams or the big chains, who are box-shifters) who are near you in Harrogate: https://www.andsotobed.co.uk/store/17-harrogate