What's The UK's Best Pillow Top Mattress? Top 5

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A pillow top mattress is one where a comfortable topper is permanently attached onto the mattress.

Various materials are used for the comfort layer on a pillowtop mattress. Some use natural materials such as latex and wool whilst others use synthetic fibres.

Should you get a manmade or natural pillow top mattress?

If you are interested in the natural v synthetic argument you might like to have a look at this WebMD article. It explains that ‘gaseous chemicals called volatile organic compounds’ are released by mattresses.

On the one hand, it suggests that ‘these VOCs come mainly from the polyurethane used in the mattress’. That suggests that levels will be higher in mattresses using synthetic materials such as memory foam. They suggest that ‘cotton, wool and natural latex will all produce lower levels of gases’.

However, it also concludes that ‘the estimated doses of most VOCs remained well below the levels that could cause health effects’. They add that ‘experts are generally more concerned about children’s exposure to VOCs’.

The appeal of a pillow top mattress is that you get solid support from a sprung mattress underneath along with a lovely squidgy layer on the top. The downside in some cases is that the top layer loses its shape so you might get sags and dips over time (don’t we all?).

You can’t usually turn over a pillow top mattress as the comfort layer is only on one side.

Our pillow top mattress selections

We’ve picked out five of the best pillow top mattresses in the UK. Our top 5 includes award winners, mattresses with outstanding customer reviews and pillow top mattresses which offer the best value for money. We’ve included a mix of posh expensive pillow top mattresses as well as cheap pillow top mattresses.

Prices are for double mattresses and are correct at the time of writing. Review scores are correct at the time of writing.

1. Sealy Posturepedic Nostromo/Teramo Latex 1400 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress – soft/medium firmness – £599

Expert testers went wild for this Sealy mattress which has a latex pillow top. Latex is a natural material which is well suited for mattresses. However, it is expensive to produce so tends to be used as a thin topper. The exception is posh latex mattress brand Dunlopillo which makes the whole mattress out of latex.

Anyway, back to Sealy which calls itself the world’s biggest mattress brand. Overall, the Sealy brand scores 2.9/5 on TrustPilot although that includes a big range of products. I would pay more attention to individual product reviews. This particular model achieves a very impressive 8.9/10 from about 500 customer reviews.

A pillow top mattress with plenty of support

The Sealy Nostromo/Teramo has 1400 pocket springs, which is very good and will provide plenty of support. Most decent mattresses have 1000-2000 pocket springs. If you’re very heavy you would get more benefit from a number nearer to 2000 but for most people 1400 is perfectly adequate.

The warranty is five years. That’s towards the lower end of the mattress market. It’s made in the UK and the same mattress goes by a couple of names – Nostromo and Teramo.

There’s some debate over the firmness of the the Sealy Nostromo/Teramo. The Sealy website describes it as soft, whilst Mattress Online say it is medium. This sort of ambiguity is common in the mattress market, as there’s no industry wide agreed way of measuring firmness.

Most people describe the Sealy Nostromo/Teramo as halfway between soft and medium.

What the scientists say about pillow top mattresses

Finally, it’s worth mentioning an academic paper which was published in China on the issue of mattress toppers. Three researchers – Yu-Chi Lee, Lee Chih-Yun and Wang Mao-Jiun – carried out tests to determine the ideal ‘combination of thickness and hardness’. Their research focused on ‘supine’ sleeping, which means sleeping on your back.

Their conclusion was that the best outcome in terms of things like ‘body pressure‘ and ‘temperature distribution’ were achieved with ‘a soft topper of 30-mm thickness’.

With that in mind, this mattress gets the thumbs up as it has a 25mm top layer and is softer than most.

Pros and cons – our expert summary

“The main downsides with the Sealy Posturepedic Nostromo are that it’s got a relatively short warranty for the money. There’s also no opportunity to return it if you find it uncomfortable. The five year guarantee is half that of the Sleepeezee Perfectly British Mayfair 3200 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress. However, it’s also a couple of hundred pounds cheaper.”

“You might be tempted by the trial period offered by the slightly cheaper Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress. However, the Sealy Posturepedic Nostromo has more pocket springs, which should offer more support. Also, this is a hugely popular mattress so you might find it in a showroom so you can try it out first hand.”

“It’s certainly one of the softer mattresses in our pillowtop comparison. The Hypnos Premier Luxury Pillow Top Pocket Sprung Mattress is another option at the softer end of the scale but it’s twice the price.”

Sealy nostromo mattress — Is it the Teramo or the Nostromo? Either way, it’s popular with customers

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Award Winner + Big Name Brand + Great Reviews

Award Winner + Big Name Brand + Great Reviews Show Less

2. Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress – medium/firm – £419

The cheapest pillow top mattress in our top 5 is this one from Sleepeezee.

The brand has a Royal Warrant meaning that the Prince of Wales sleeps in a Sleepeezee bed. Well, I think it means they supply the royal household but that doesn’t sound as impressive. Customers also rave about Sleepeezee, with an outstanding average brand score of 4.2/5 on TrustPilot.

The 1000 Memory Comfort model is less than half the price of another Sleepeezee mattress – the Mayfair(#4 on our list) – but it still offers a lot for the money.

What’s the pillowtop layer made from?

As well as a layer of pocket springs, it also has memory foam and a pillow top. Memory foam doesn’t appeal to everyone as it has a bit of a sinking feeling. However, most mattress experts say that it offers a good level of consistent support compared to springs. It’s obviously working well alongside the softer pillow top layer as it scores more than 9/10 from about 400 reviews on Mattress Online.

There are a couple differences between this cheaper Sleepeezee model and the luxurious Mayfair model. The first is the number of springs and the second is the use of fancy natural materials such as cashmere.

A high spring count is more important if you’re on the heavy side. However, for most people the support of 1000 pocket springs will be enough. It is certainly far better than ‘open coil’ or ‘traditional’ springs which are what your grandma has on her wartime spare bed.

Is this mattress ideal for you?

This model is a medium/firm tension mattress. That means it might suit someone who sleeps on their back. Side sleepers usually go for softer mattresses than back sleepers so that their shoulders and hips sink into the mattress a bit more.

Sleepeezee also offer a rather appealing 60 night sleep trial if you buy it from Mattress Online. They’ll swap it for another Sleepeezee mattress if you find it isn’t right for you. Check the terms and conditions first.

The other main difference compared to the more expensive Sleepeezee Mayfair mattress (#4) it that this model comes with a 5 year warranty instead of 10 years.

Pros and cons – our expert summary

“In the pros column is the fact that the Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress is the cheapest out of this selection by some distance. It’s half the price of the other featured Sleepeezee mattress (the Sleepeezee Perfectly British Mayfair 3200).”

”It’s also likely to suit a lot of people as it’s medium firm. That’s a very popular option for guest bedrooms and hotels.”

“Another definite plus is the 60 night comfort trial, which is unusual for a mattress at this price. The trial has some smallprint and only applies from some locations, so it’s not as generous as some other mattresses with trial periods.”

“In the cons column for this mattress is the relatively short warranty. The Sleepeezee Perfectly British Mayfair 3200 offers twice as long. The spring count is also a little on the low side. It’s the same as the Silentnight Mirapocket 1000 Geltex Pillow Top Mattress. However, I prefer a number closer to that offered by the Sealy Posturepedic Nostromo or the much pricier Hypnos Premier Luxury Pillow Top Pocket Sprung Mattress“

Search latest deals on Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000

Comfort trial + long established UK brand + Royal Warrant

Comfort trial + long established UK brand + Royal Warrant Show Less

3. Silentnight Mirapocket 1000 Geltex Pillow Top Mattress – medium firmness – £629

Here’s a mid-priced pillow top mattress which is worth a look.

It’s made by Silentnight, which is probably the most well-known name in the UK mattress market. The brand offers mattresses, duvets, pillows and various other sleep related things. It scores a more-than respectable 4.1/5 from thousands of customers on TrustPilot.

The Mirapocket 1000 pillow top mattress has got 1000 pocket springs. That’s not as many as some but enough to provide a good level of support unless you’re large enough to take up two seats on an aeroplane.

As well as the pocket springs and the pillow top layer it also has a layer of something called ‘geltex’. That is a type of fancy foam which aims to offer a bit of consistent support.

It makes our top 5 thanks to outstanding customer reviews, which average 9.2/10 from more than 170 reviews.

Pros and cons – our expert summary

“There are plenty of positives about the Mirapocket 1000 pillow top mattress. You’re buying from a well established brand which sits somewhere around the middle of the market in the UK. Silentnight doesn’t have the Royal Warrant of Hypnos or Sleepeezee but it is the biggest brand in the UK. It’s easy to find a good number of reviews for most of their mattresses.”

“It uses a different material for its top layer which is synthetic and is called Geltex. Rival choices such as the Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000 use memory foam which has more of a sinking and hugging feeling than Geltex.”

“What about the downsides and negatives with this mattress? The warranty is only as good as the Sleepeezee Memory Comfort 1000 which is a couple of hundred pounds cheaper. It also doesn’t have a trial period so you can either search for one in a showroom or take a gamble and buy it online”

Search latest deals on Silentnight Mirapocket 1000

Big name mattress brand + pocket spring construction

Big name mattress brand + pocket spring construction Show Less

Should you get a manmade or natural pillow top mattress?

Our pillow top mattress selections

1. ​Sealy Posturepedic Nostromo/Teramo Latex 1400 Pocket Pillow Top Mattress – soft/medium firmness – £599

A pillow top mattress with plenty of support

What the scientists say about pillow top mattresses

Pros and cons – our expert summary

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