Of course, we all know that a mattress company will make the same exact mattress for 5 different stores under 5 different names. This makes it very hard to price match and extremely hard to review. After all, my mattress, titled the Lagoon in Burdines, is the same mattress (save material color according to the Sealy rep) that is sold at Sears under the Diamond name. They are all basically the Elite pillowtop, from what I can tell.

I was in the market for a new mattress after having a bad run of luck with the Simmons brand (see my other review for more information). Frankly, I hadn't had much sleep and I was beginning to think that mattresses were just not meant to last long. For that reason, I also waited so long to write this review. I wanted to make sure it would outlast my other mattresses, and it has so far.

I bought this mattress, a King, one of the NEW Sealy Posturepedic line that had just come out, in August of 2003. It has now been 8 months since I bought this mattress and 2 months past when my last mattress became unbearable. But, we'll get into that. The basic description of the composition of this mattress comes from Sealy's website and is as follows:


1. Posturepedic Innerspring

2. UniCased Construction - The new UniCased Edge actually locks into the innerspring to provide a consistently stable feel you’ll experience anywhere you lie along the mattress surface. The UniCased Base is engineered to work in unison with the Posturepedic innerspring to extend the comfort life of your mattress by absorbing weight and pressure.

3. Foundation Made of Steel - The Shock Abzzorber Plus box spring has steel modules and a solid steel spine for increased support and durability.

4. IN addition to the basic features above, we also got a mattress with a pillowtop and a low profile box spring.

5. The cover on our mattress is a type of satin look and feel material.

6. We have two cloth handles on each side of the bed that are made out of the same material as the bed itself.

7. This is a no-flip mattress. It just needs to be rotated every few months (actually, I was told once every six, but we do it about once every 3).

Now, on to the review...

The new pillowtop offers a layer of foam and a layer of a type of memory foam to help the mattress contour to your body. Fortunately, the Sealy rep was at Burdines (Update: This store is now part of Macy's) the day we went shopping and I was able to ask her a lot of questions. My main concern with the memory foam was that it would break down easily, much like some of the pillows I've had in the past. She explained that they used a different type of foam than the pillows, one with more latex, and that it would last the life of the mattress. So far, she has been right. This mattress contours immediately to me upon laying down and makes me feel cushioned and supported at the same time. It took some getting used to at first, but once I did, I was surprised at how quickly I could get comfortable.

The idea of the innercased construction was a little odd to me. After all, I did not see how it would make a difference; however, the rep explained to me how they make it and it made a lot of sense to me. It appears that the material they use for the edging is not the standard steel or metal edging that holds the coils on the top and bottom of each coil. Instead, they use a thick foam looking plastic that locks into place on the side of the bed by fitting in between the first row of coils. Instead of giving support to the edge of the bed at only the top and bottom of the coils, it is a sold piece that goes the length of the coils and gives support to the entire side of the bed. This has made a huge difference for me. When I get out of bed in the morning or sit on the side of the bed, it no longer "gives" under my weight. In addition, if my husband pushes me over to the edge (yes, even on a King bed, they still do it) I still have support, so I don't wake up in the middle of the night like I used to do.

In rating the coils, I feel it is important to note that the coil count and gage of the coils will make a HUGE difference in the feel of the bed and durability of it. The thinner the coils (or gage), the more coils they will put in and the more support you will have. Hence, the gage is typically lower, but the count is higher. Likewise, the thicker the coil, the less coils they will put in and you are more likely to feel less support. This is not a die hard rule, however, quite a few people can sleep on less coils and not even notice, while others, like me, suffer from the Princess and the Pea syndrome. This bed, given that its a King, has a high coil count anyway. I don't remember now specifically what the count was, but it was higher than average. I have found that it is wonderful because of this. I feel my husband's movement less and I feel a lot more support at night. In addition, my husband has noticed that I toss and turn a LOT less during my sleep. I assume that this is because of the higher support offered by the coils.

Finally, a good foundation will make a difference in how your mattress holds up and supports you. We have really liked the foundation for this mattress. The low profile is nice. I am short and don't feel like I have to jump in and out of bed. The foundation does not creek or have much give to it like my other foundations. Overall, there is not a whole lot to say about it, except that it is doing its job.

Overall the mattress has done very well for me. It has some very small dips in it where we sleep, but the rep said to expect that with the memory foam. It sort of saves the contouring so that you can get comfortable immediately upon going to bed. And she's right, it really is MORE comfortable, not less, than the day it was delivered. I honestly can say that it does not feel like it's breaking down at all and it is so wonderful to sleep on. For the first time in my life, I get comfortable and fall asleep as soon as I go to bed.

For anyone who is concerned about rotating the bed with the memory foam, there is no worry. Yes, it keeps the contours, but after rotating it, it takes 5 minutes of laying on it for it to reshape itself to the new body. There is not discomfort to my husband or I after rotating.

My only complaint about this mattress is that the satin-type material makes it hard to keep the sheets on (actually, we have a waterproof mattress pad and then the sheets on the bed). We did find a product recently from Linens N Things that seems to have fixed the problem. I don't remember what it was called, but it was essentially 4 pieces of material (much like a thin layer of foam) that you put on the corners of the mattress, under the sheets (or mattress pad in this case) and it holds the sheets down by static electricity. We've had it on the bed for 5 days with no sheet loosening. I think it was 4.99 for the set.

Bottom Line: This mattress is great. I will post again if my opinion on this ever changes.

UPDATE: As of this update, it is October 19, 2004. Thought you all ought to know that this bed is actually MORE comfortable then when I bought it. It is still wonderful!


Recommended: Yes

Mattress Size: King
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat soft
Amount Paid (US$): 1200