Opinion on Tempur-Pedic mattress at Brookstone with adjustable frame
Written: Jan 17 '03
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Pros: comfort, spouse's moves don't jiggle your side, 90 day money back
Cons: price
The Bottom Line: Tempur-pedic: really comfortable, great for sleeping with a partner(they can roll over and not cause waves on your side); adjustable bed part heavenly. Be sure its returnable
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| efud's Full Review: Tempur-Pedic Adjustable Sleep System |
WHAT I BOUGHT
I bought four pieces, all in extra long, to make one 'king size' bed: twin and full mattresses and adjustable foundations. I wanted this mattress forever, but waited 3 years before finally buying. And what made me buy it was that the local Brookstone store was selling the floor model twin extra long adjustable foundation for 50% off because it was an older model and they wanted to replace the floor model with the newer model. There are minor differences between the old and the new adjustable bed, but nothing of significant note, except that the new model is truly whisper quiet. But hey, I saved $650.00. That is a big chunk of change for me.
WHY I BOUGHT IT AND WHY I BOUGHT IT WHERE I BOUGHT IT
I have a sore neck. Ever wake up with a stiff neck, so stiff you cannot turn your head to check your blind-spot when you are driving? That is how I feel almost all of the time in varying degrees. On my old mattress, I would sleep on my back with my head pillow just so, and, pillows under my upper arms to support my shoulders... I would essentially try to put myself in traction, and then when my spouse would cuddle up to me, he would create a 'sink hole' and i would be thrown out of alignment. His weight beside me created a divet, and that would change my body alignment. And, sometimes, I would (on a rare occassion) wake up stiff in my lower back because of my mattress. My chiropractor sold me a tempur-pedic pillow 4 years ago, and I loved it at first, but, then it didn't seem 'fat' enough for me, so then I folded it over to double it up in 'fatness' and slept on it. Regardless of the pillow being too thin for my taste, I still really liked the feel of the foam. I tried the tempur-pedic mattress that is set up in the local Brookstone store, and I always loved it, but, the price was insane. Still, I wanted it, the whole package: the foam mattress and the adjustable bed in king size. (The adjustable bed part is the frame the moves up and down just like a hospital bed with the touch of a remote control).
In fact, I tried desperately in vain to find a half-decent price for the 'generic' version of mattress. I talked to the local foam shops here in Seattle, but, while their price was somewhat better, none of them would take it back if I decided I didn't like it. I searched industrial directories looking for foam manufacturers, thinking I could cheaply buy directly a chuck of foam (i.e. a 5" foam pad that I could lay on top of a foundation or even just a board), and, since it would be so cheap, I wouldn't care if I couldn't take it back to the factory. But, no luck: I couldn't locate a single factory in the state of Washington despite knowing the SIC (standard industry code) for foam. And finally, I surfed the internet looking for sources of generic visco foam or swedish memory foam mattresses. I found several, and I bargained with them for a great price, but, I was leary about buying it this way because, what if I didn't like the mattress, would I truly be able to return it hassel free? Would I get what I was paying for? Would I end up bamboozled? I do buy things over the internet, commodity items like books or CDs where you know exactly what you getting, and besides, they are relatively cheap items anyway. However, buying a $2,2000 mattress from an unknow, non-national 'virtual' internet store would require a huge leap of faith on my part. Having read an epinion of someone else who got majorly messed around by an internet/mail order shop, and then, reading on 'whatsthebest.net' site about someone else who got messed with by a different internet shop, I decided I couldn't go the internet route because it was simply too risky. Which was too bad, because I think the mark-up on Tempur-pedic is disgustingly obscene. So, I decided that if I bought a visco mattress, it would have to be from a completely reliable retailer so that if I didn't like the product, I would know for certain that I could return it and get my money back (A REAL REFUND, A FULL REFUND, NOT JUST A STORE CREDIT WHICH IS WHAT SOME MATTRESS SHOPS ONLY OFFER). Also, if the product failed, I wanted to be assured that my warranty would be honored absolutely. It has a 20 year warranty, and so you need to deal with a company you feel is going to be around for twenty years.
BARGAINING WITH BROOKSTONE
I didn't pay sales tax which saved me 8.8% ( I told the store manager that if he didn't sell it to me without tax, then, I would simply buy it from Tempur-pedic direct on the internet, and, they do not charge sales tax). Delivery cost $189 for the adjustable beds, and on top of that, $25 for the mattresses ($214 total for delivery). If I had decided to return the thing, I simply call them, and they come get it, and I get all of my money back except for the delivery charge. If you live in a sales tax free state, and so bargaining for no sales tax is meaningless, then, I suggest you insist on a Brookstone $200 gift coupon, as they were offering that this Christmas as a special with the purchase of any tempur-pedic mattress. They definitely ought to give you that if you buy a mattress from them. If they refuse, just say fine, then, I guess I will wait until next christmas to buy it when the special promotion will be back on (don't settle for a measily free pillow - hold out for the $200!).
MATTRESS OBSERVATIONS
-Mattresses are totally personal things, what is right for me may be totally wrong for you. When I would lie down on the Tempur-pedic in the store to try it out, I would be totally comfortable right away, and, I would continue to stay really comfortable as the next 10 minutes went by with me lying on this demo bed in the store. If you lie on the bed and don't feel comfortable, I don't know if you ever will. I think somewhere between 8 to 12% of Tempur-pedics are returned, so obviously they don't do it for everyone. Also, if you read some of the comments on the web, in the alt. groups like arthritis, some people do hate this mattress. So, be sure if you buy it you can really get your money back.
-The mattress feels firm, but in a pleasent way. Because it molds, it's firmness is a softened firmness. And by the way, it molds, it doesn't sink.
-I really am happy. Knowing what I now know, I would buy it again tomorrow, and, I only wish I had bought it years ago.
-Oddly enough, my home Tempur-pedic feels like thicker and firmer than the tempur-pedic demo mattress that is in the store. I asked the store about this, they said the mattresses were identical, but, that maybe the demo model getting jumped on constantly and being under hot lights makes it feel softer when one goes to lie on it.
-Sleeping beside my spouse on my tempur-pedic is a pleasure. He can roll right beside me, and no divet is created for me to slip slide into. My spinal alignment stays as is. So, he is happier now because he can cuddle me and I don't grumpily push him away saying my neck hurts. He is amazed at the difference.
-While I really really like it, and would never again buy a conventional spring mattress, I have to be honest and confess you could probably buy a generic brand for the memory foam mattress and like it just as much. What I can say is that I love my mattress. And, add the adjustable foundation, and then, I truly LOVE LOVE LOVE it. You can position yourself like an astonaut for take-off or like you are in a dental chair - a zero gravity position.
-I read that as the foam is temperature sensitive, that in a cold room, it feels hard. Indeed, when I took delivery of my mattress, it had obviously been sitting on an ice cold truck over night for several days, so when the guys put it down, I couldn't believe it because it was totally like cement! But, that is no worry because the thing will warm up eventually. And, a cold bedroom is still WAY MORE WARM than being outside on a truck. So, if you have a cold bedroom, do not fear your mattress would be cement. It won't be, and besides, you body warms it up.
-Let me tell you 2 things: I am always cold (I sleep with a down comforter even in summer), and so in preparation to counter-act this notion that this mattress could be cold and hard in our cold bedroom, I bought a sunbeam electric mattress pad to warm the bed. The mattress pad is awesome, a warm bed is soooo great. Regardless of my heating mattress pad, it still doesn't matter that we have a cold bedroom: even when I come home from work and the house heat has been off all day and the electric mattress pad has not been on, the mattress is still perfectly pleasant to lie down on.
-My husband, on the other hand, is always warm, and so I am hoping that the mattress won't be too warm for him in summer. I doubt it will, but that was something I thought about and thought I should probably buy it in the peak of summer to see how it goes and see if he is too hot sleeping on it and so returning it would be best. Update: summer came and went and no problems with heat retention at all; we both absolutely love it! Frankly,even if he was too hot, I would not part with it, instead, we kept our old mattress that is the same height, and so I would just put the new beside the old so we both got the mattress we liked.
-It fits regular sheets.
-you do not have to ever flip it or rotate it. In fact, you can't flip it over, the visco foam is only on one side of the mattress.
-when you first take delivery, it will smell a bit plasticy at first, but it is not a strong odor, and it fades away in 3 days. It is kind of like new car smell, or, new carpet smell, or, if you get a new big toy that comes in a big box with styrofoam, it is not offensive and it goes away.
-Because we bought the adjustable bed, and we have a king size, we actually got 2 seperate beds and squish them together. We split it like this because I anticipated he would want to sleep flat whereas I would want to sleep with my head and feet slightly elevated. With a split bed, we are each free to do a position that feels best and we can operate our sides independently. So, what we actually decided to buy was an extra long full and an extra long twin. we both easily fit on the full by itself, but, when it come to lights out, i can roll over and elevate my side to my liking. Still, even if our sides our slightly different due to elavation differences, we still have the feel of being in one bed, legs and arms can be anywhere on whatever part of the bed and you don't feel like your arm is on the other bed (the beds meld seemlessly). The beds stay together, and, if you roll over, you will never go slipping down a crack or anything like that. I make the bed with two fitted sheets, and then one big king quilt. It works.
-the adjustable bed part I do LOVE. The comfort is incredible. But, that is me. But, I really, really, love it. It is just so comfortable. The combo of the foam mattress with the adjustable bed is so great!!!! It is ungodly expensive, but, boy, it was worth it.
-if you get a doctor to write you a note (i.e. you suffer from fibromyalgia or arthritis or have a bad back), you may be able to write it off your taxes as a medical expense
-not to be indelicate, but, I think it is a great bed to "get close and biblical" on. Knees can sink in really nicely. In fact, it is so great because it is not a bouncy bed. And with the adjustable part... enough said.
-and it is great for watching tv, reading, or eating. and it would probably be good for folks with acid reflux
-now with this mattress, I am no longer fussy about my pillow. Any pillow seems to work and I am comfortable, which is far different from before on the old mattress where no pillow was really very good.
ADJUSTABLE MOTORIZED BED
-The motorized adjustable bed is branded tempur-pedic, but really, it is a Legget & Platt. You can buy this brand anywhere from anyone, so shop around and get the best deal. call them at 1-800-888-3078. Surf to Legget and Platt on the web to check it out. You cannot buy from them directly, but, you can investigate their product. I think United Consumers Club carries their catalog, and so if you are a UCC member, that might be one way to get a deal on the adjustable bed part at least.
-The adjustable bed has a cordless remote control, much like a tv remote. It has 2 things you control:
1) the rising/lowering of the head and foot, and,
2) the vibrating thing for the head and/or foot.
-the head can go really very high, which is great for reading or talking or tv watching.
-it has this wall hugger thing, which means as you raise your head, the mattress foundation creeps backward, so that the bed is closer to your night stand rather than passing it by and leaving it behind. Not a big deal really. I could live without this.
-it is truly whisper quiet. you can raise or lower head or feet and you won't wake a sleeping partner.
-the remote control (for the newer model) backlights it's buttons when you touch any button, and this is a terrific feature, because when you reach for the remote, it is usually in a dark room and lit buttons does help. (the old model had glow in the dark buttons which were really not helpful)
-The vibrating thing is a gimmick. If I could have saved $50 by not getting the vibrating things, I would have; that is how little it means to me. So, when you read brouchers about wave motion and automatic timer, ignore it. It is not a big deal and shouldn't be a selling point for you. Yes, it does have a 30 min. auto shut off. It has a odd warning to people with pacemakers to be cautious using the vibrating mode as the pacemaker could falsely interpret the motion...
-the remote has a "level" button, press it and the bed, no matter what position, goes back to flat.
-the remote has one preset position button (kind of like a preset radio station button on your car stereo). Simply press the Memorize button if you are in a particularly comfortable configuration, and then, no matter what position you are in, if you press the favorite button, the bed goes back to its memorized position. This is a good feature, and if it had 3 presets, that would have been nice.
-You can attach a head board to the bed if you want.
-It has a "by pass" box with a button under the bed, so that, if there was a power outage, and you bed was maximumly raised (i.e., stuck in a position you wouldn't/couldn't sleep in), then, you could still get the bed to flatten out by pressing this 'emergency' button. which works on a battery, so power outage doesn't affect it
-The bed and mattress are normal height, but, you can't really store a lot under this bed because it has low clearance. (so for example, you cannot put those long flat under-the-bed rubbermaid storage bins under this bed).
-The adjustable bed has a small metal thing at the end of the adjustable bed that is there to act as a brake for the mattress and stop it from sliding off if you raise the head up maximumly. But, one of our beds (the older floor model) doesn't have this retaining metal bracket, and the mattress on the bed that has no metal retaining bar doesn't slide about or need to be shoved back when the bed is returned to flat. The mattress is sold with the claim that the bottom of the fabric is 'anti-slip', so, maybe it really is anti-slip...
-the 'foundation' part of the bed really seems like it is essentially a 3/4" thick plywood board with a thin layer of foam on it.
Extra long twin mattress cost: $1099
Extra long twin adjustable bed (new model) cost: $1300
(I paid a total of $4600 for the extra huge "made-up" 'kingsize', which consisted of (all extra long) twin mattress, full (also know as double) mattress, twin adjustable foundation, and, full (double) foundation.
Recommended:
Yes
Mattress Size: King
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat firm
Amount Paid (US$): 2200mattress
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Epinions.com ID:
efud
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Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 7 members
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