better homes and gardens gel memory foam mattress

Kate is a mother of two and holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from Sonoma State University. She's also a passionate researcher.

whats-it-feel-like-the-sweetnight-gel-memory-foam-mattress

Well, I did it again. I had to order yet another new mattress to try out the latest and greatest. This time I got my hands on the new Sweetnight 12-inch gel memory foam mattress. Now, don't let this confuse you with Sweetnight's old flippable memory foam mattress, which I already did a review on in the past. But this is new, has a whole lot more gel-memory foam and airflow comfort foam inside, and it's supposed to be the latest and greatest mattress in a box!

My husband is starting to wonder if there is something wrong with me. Seriously, in the last year or so we've tried the Purple mattress, the Acesleep mattress, the Bedstory mattress, and now two versions of the Sweetnight mattress.

The good news is, besides driving my husband crazy, I now have a solid understanding of what's out there when it comes to these mattresses in a box. This version of the Sweetnight mattress is supposed to be even better than the last, and its price is extremely reasonable. So, sorry honey, I had to try this newest mattress. This might just be the last one we'll ever buy though. And let me tell you why.

The Features of the Model We Picked

I was actually pretty impressed with the older version of the Sweetnight mattress I tried, so when I heard there was a new version that featured even more gel memory foam and airflow comfort foam underneath that, I had to try it. So we got the Sweetnight 12 Inch Memory Foam Mattress.

We opted for the king size. It was recently awarded "Amazon's Choice" for the top mattress based on the number of satisfied buyers, and it has a ridiculously low price. Amazon doesn't like it when I mention price in my articles, but if you click that link above for the mattress, it'll take you to Amazon and you'll see the current price. It's actually really ridiculously inexpensive for what it is.

This mattress has the following notable features:

Three Layers of Support: After trying all these mattresses, I've realized that more layers aren't necessarily better. I've always said to just give me tons of gel memory foam (I love gel foam) and tons of airflow underneath, and I'll be happy. That's basically exactly this mattress. It has 3 inches of gel-infused memory foam, 3.5 inches of airflow comfort foam, and 5.5 inches of high-density support foam. Lots of gel on top, which is where it should be, then tons of airflow underneath to keep it cool, and a really thick support layer. It sounded perfect to me.
CertiPUR-US Certified: This used to be a unique feature, but now most mattresses have this. It's really a must-have now. It means the mattress was built without any harmful substances like mercury, formaldehyde, or other heavy metals.
Medium Plush: This mattress is described as medium-plush by Sweetnight, but the Amazon description says "medium-firm." Not sure why there is a discrepancy, but someone is wrong.
Breathable Rayon Cotton Fabric: What in the world is that? I'm not sure, but it is what the cover is made out of and it's pretty awesome. It's soft to the touch and designed to make the mattress feel just slightly plusher than it really is. It's easily removable and washable.

On paper it sounded like it was the mattress that I thought they should have made all along. I explained to my husband that this is why we needed to get this new mattress and try it, but he still didn't understand.

The company claims that this newest version of the mattress was created only after they analyzed over 10,000 customer's user experience reports on their old mattress. Surely, mine was one of them⁠—I had a few things to say last time, like the fact that they needed to stop doing flippable mattresses, the last one was not pleasant to sleep on. I guess they listened since this one only has one sleeping surface.

So does this mattress live up to the hype? Here's what I found out.

The new version of the Sweetnight Gel-Memory Foam mattress (12-inch thick version) arrived at my door step within two days thanks to Amazon Prime.

The King size mattress is 107 lbs so we had to use a hand truck to bring it inside the house.

The new version of the Sweetnight Gel-Memory Foam mattress (12-inch thick version) arrived at my door step within two days thanks to Amazon Prime.

How It Feels: Soft or Firm?

First off, I'd consider this mattress to be medium or maybe even medium-firm. It's a great compromise right in between a firm and plush mattress and here's why. It's great for stomach and back sleepers, but it really works well for side sleepers also (who usually need very plush mattresses). Why? Because of the three full inches of gel-infused memory foam! Honestly, I don't think I've tested a mattress yet that had three inches of gel memory foam—that's a lot.

All this gel-infused memory foam gives this mattress a really interesting and unique feeling. I've reviewed other mattresses in the past that I thought had that "pause" before the bed rebounds while you're laying on it, but none that "paused" as long as this one does. We're talking maybe a full two or three seconds before the bed fully rebounds. This gives an awesome hug-like feeling while you sleep on it even though it feels initially to be just slightly on the firmer side.

When you go to change positions while sleeping on this mattress, you can feel your body's imprint still in the mattress. Then it slowly readjusts and molds to you again. You can feel it hug you as it adjusts. I love the feeling, it's weird, but I love it and so does my husband.

Body Heat

For how well the mattress does with body heat, I have to rely on my husband. He is definitely the hot sleeper in the house. In fact, he rarely doesn't get overheated at night. I was excited for him to try this mattress since it has such a large amount of gel-memory foam followed by a huge layer (3.5 inches worth) of open airflow comfort foam. These two combined should work wonders at keeping my husband cool.

You know what? It absolutely did! We've slept on it for two weeks now as I write this article, and he says he hasn't once gotten too hot sleeping in the bed. Which is an issue that has long plagued him, and one that has been an issue in the past for many others sleeping on traditional memory foam mattresses.

Honestly, he says this is the coolest memory foam that we have tried yet. Which is saying a lot since we have reviewed so many beds now.

Edge Support

Edge support with this mattress is excellent. I can't feel any reinforced edges but I don't think the mattress needs it since it feels medium-firm and holds its shape very well. You can sit on the edge while you have a conversation and not feel like you are about to slide off the mattress—excellent for those of us like me who are slow to get up in the morning.

Off-Gassing

Some people like to call it "off-gassing" and others like to just call it the "new product smell." Whatever you call it, I was worried since the last Sweetnight mattress my husband and I tried was a good mattress overall, but did stink up our room for quite a while as it was airing out.

This mattress was similar. I don't think anything changed on that front. We opened up the windows in our bedroom and after about 24 hours, the smell was about half as strong as it was the previous day. After 48 hours, it was about half again. It took about three or four days for the smell to completely dissipate. That's with opening the windows during the day.

The company does mention the odor in the unpacking instructions included with the mattress and says simply, "If your Sweetnight initially has a slight odor, don't worry, it's normal with newly manufactured foam."

Overall Comfort

This mattress is extremely comfortable for our situation. I realize it may not be for everyone, but for me and my husband, it's perfect. He generally likes a firmer mattress since he's a stomach and back sleeper, while I like a much more plush mattress being a side sleeper. This usually puts us in a really bad position when it comes to finding a mattress that we both can agree on.

Luckily, this mattress works for both of us. It feels firm enough for him, but I get that hug feeling I like so much from a more plush mattress, also making it good for sleeping on my side. That delay before the bed adjusts to your body when you move positions is just too cool to describe and feels wonderful.

Also, I am thoroughly impressed that my husband says he's able to stay cool at night on this mattress. Let me gloat for a second because I knew that would be the case with this mattress—it was built for hot sleepers!

There is no down side to the comfort of this mattress for us, simply none. And the comfort is the most important with any mattress in my opinion.

Unpacking and Setup

The mattress came rolled up and compressed inside plastic packaging in a rectangular box. This was a king-size 12-inch mattress, so the box was really heavy⁠—107 pounds to be exact. Inside the box were instructions, a warranty card, a safe cutter (to cut open the compressed mattress), and a sleep journal… a very cool touch!

My husband unpacks the new Sweetnight mattress and goes through the documentation inside.

To set it up, just do the following steps:

Remove from box and place the mattress. Take the rolled-up and compressed mattress out of the box lay it on the support for the bed (the platform, box spring, or other support).
Remove outer plastic wrapping only. Remove the outer plastic wrapping only so you can unroll the mattress. Careful not to accidentally cut the inner plastic or it will start expanding early.
Unroll and position the mattress. Make sure the mattress is right side up and it's positioned where you want it. This will be your last chance to reposition it before it expands!
Cut open the mattress. Use the included safe-cutter to cut open the last layer of plastic around mattress. You'll hear some hissing as the mattress expands while you cut. Careful not to cut the mattress itself.
Let it expand. The mattress will be a little deformed at first, it's ok, this is normal. The instructions say to leave it for 72 hours to fully expand but it happens a lot faster than that. More like three or four hours and it's into the correct shape.

That's it. Realistically you can easily be sleeping on it the first night. If you want, you can let it air out a few days somewhere else in your house before putting it in your bedroom. It does off-gas a bit in the beginning, so if you don't like that strong "new mattress smell" this may be a good idea.

Shipping

I bought this mattress on Amazon. I still really like getting my mattresses in a box directly from Amazon. The few returns of mattresses I've done have been no problem with them, so I trust their returns even with big bulky things like this. Also, it arrived at my doorstep in two days thanks to Amazon Prime.

Return Period

By ordering it through Amazon you'll have a 30-day return period which honestly is plenty of time to know if you like the bed or not. You really don't have to have it back to Amazon in 30 days, you just need to have notified them you intend to return it if you don't like it within the 30 days.

No, you don't have to compress it back inside its original box (I doubt that's possible anyway). Amazon just sends a truck to your house to pick it up in its uncompressed form and they'll issue you a refund. Very easy.

Warranty

Sweetnight will give you a free 10-year warranty on the mattress from the date of purchase. This warranty will cover things like defects in workmanship or materials. If there's a problem and you use your warranty, the company says they'll either repair or replace the mattress at their discretion.

This warranty is pretty standard in the industry. It'll cover any lasting body impressions or sagging greater than 1.5 inches in the mattress. It also covers "any physical flaw in the mattress causing the mattress to split or crack, despite normal usage and proper handling." They will not cover shipping charges.

My Conclusion: Was It Worth It?

This mattress was absolutely worth it for my husband and I. It's a great "middle ground" for us since it seems to work for him, a hot sleeper who likes firmer mattresses, and for me, a side sleeper who likes softer mattresses. The price on Amazon was very competitive and I am still in shock that you can get a mattress of this quality shipped right to your doorstep with free two-day prime shipping. At 12-inches thick, it's a big mattress. It does appear to be of high quality, but you will need deep-pocket bed sheets.

We also ordered the Sweetnight Gel-Memory Foam Pillow because we wanted to get the full experience. The pillow was extremely well priced also and really unique in its own right.

We definitely recommend this mattress for hot sleepers and those couples like us who can't agree on the firmness level that a mattress should be. If you don't like it you can always send it back to Amazon easily (and no you don't have to box it back up), but I think if you give it a week or so, even the harshest skeptics will see how much they enjoy this bed. Good luck!

The only downside I was able to find with this mattress was the off-gassing. It was a bit strong and seemed to hang around, but after it was gone (about four days for it to completely dissipate), we really enjoyed our mattress. If you are sensitive to off-gassing products, you may want to air it out a little somewhere else in your house for a few days before sleeping on it.

Molly on September 21, 2019:

Oh! the review very details!

Liz Westwood from UK on September 19, 2019:

This is a very thorough and useful mattress review.