I tested Simba's new £399 Amazon-exclusive 'Simbatex Cool' mattress during one of the hottest months of the year – here are my honest thoughts

My Simba Simbatex Cool Mattress review puts the much-loved sleep brand's new Amazon-exclusive mattress to the test to see how it performs compared to the best mattresses on the market.

In a nutshell

First things first, this is a very affordable mattress. It's sold exclusively on Amazon, rather than on Simba's own website, which, to my mind, suggests the brand is aiming to deliver a budget-friendly option that suits shoppers with an under-£500 budget.

A double of the Simba Simbatex Cool Mattress costs £399 and a king-size £429 as of writing, which is about as affordable as you can go and still get a decent mattress.

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And all in all, I do think this new launch is one of the best budget mattresses out there, other than a few niggles. Especially because, even though this mattress is sold through Amazon, Simba is still honouring its usual 200-night sleep trial, which means you can test this mattress out at home to see if it suits your sleeping style before you have to commit to keeping it.

As a back and side sleeper, I found its medium-firm foam sleep surface very comfortable, and enjoyed its light cushioning around my shoulder and hip. My husband and I share a bed with our toddler most nights, and we also really appreciated its motion isolation, which meant we didn't notice when one of us in the bed tossed or turned. And, it has a nice amount of bounce to say it lacks springs.

On the downside, I didn't feel it really lived up to its name in the cool stakes. It didn't cause us to overheat, but it definitely wasn't as cooling and breathable as I would have liked either. And its edge support was lacking, which meant my leg could slip out of bed when I was pushed to the edge by our star-fishing toddler!

However, if you're not a hot sleeper and there aren't three of you crammed into one bed, I'd definitely recommend this mattress for most sleepers. If you're on a budget and are searching for a king-size mattress for less than £500, I think this is a great choice that you won't be left unimpressed with.

Simba Simbatex Cool Mattress Review

Specifications

• Type: Foam
• Construction materials: Breathable cover, graphite-infused Simbatex cooling foam, foam support layer, zoned CertiPUR foam base
• Sizes: Single, Small Double, Double, King, Super King
• Tensions available: Medium-firm
• Height: 23cm
• Side handles: Yes
• Flip or rotate: Rotate
• Manufacturers sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

Having finally managed to nail my sleep setup – the perfect combination of a medium-firm mattress, a thick mattress topper, and some sumptuous pillows – I've been snoozing well for a few years. Despite my toddler getting in with us every night and my husband turning into a breathing radiator past the hour of 10 o'clock!

As such, I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive about changing my sleep setup to test the Simbatex Cool mattress. However, I worried for no reason – luckily, I instantly clicked with this mattress from the first night I slept on it.

It's crafted from three main layers in total. There's a Simbatex foam layer, and below this, you'll find a wedge of foam support, above the final layer, which is zoned CentiPUR foam.

I'm mostly a back and side sleeper, and I found this mattress to be instantly comfortable. It's a true medium-firm feel, and I found it lightly cushioned me at the pressure points of my shoulders and hip, where I need it most. It also kept my spine well-aligned in both positions.

I never suffered from any aches while sleeping on this mattress, not even once. The same goes for my husband, who was initially annoyed that I was changing our much-loved mattress, but now knows he overreacted a little and had nothing to worry about.

As this mattress is foam only, that means there are no springs inside, and we were initially concerned that might mean a lack of support, especially for my husband, who is heavier than I am. However, he sleeps on his back and side, but mostly his side, and he also found this mattress ultra-comfortable from day dot.

2. Motion isolation

As an all-foam mattress with no springs in sight, the motion isolation of this mattress is impressive.

I share a bed with my husband, and very often our toddler, and when my husband moved off the bed, I barely felt it. And the same goes for him, as he rarely felt me tossing and turning at night.

Even with our toddler in tow, the motion isolation proved to be very impressive, especially for the affordable price tag.

3. Responsiveness

I was also super impressed by the responsiveness of this mattress. I found its cushioning cradled my pressure points perfectly, but unlike some memory foam mattresses I've tested, it doesn't feel so foamy that you can't roll around or get out of bed with ease.

It was easy to move around on, and even more fun for my toddler to bounce on top of! I never struggled to switch positions on this mattress, although when I pressed my hand on it, it did leave a visible print for a few minutes.

4. Temperature regulation

Since this mattress is specifically called 'cool', I had high hopes that it would give us some sort of relief in the heatwave we were baking in during testing. I put it to the test during one of the hottest Mays on record, with the temperatures where I live reaching 32C.

Our bedroom is very warm, so most nights from around April, we need to sleep with a fan on, regardless of whether it's 15C or 30C outside. And perhaps we were expecting too much, but on nights when we didn't sleep with a fan on, we were both still very warm and sweaty.

That said, it didn't actively cause me to overheat like some budget memory foam mattresses I've tested. It just didn't keep us that cool either.

Simba uses its trademark graphite-infused foam in the top layer, and according to the brand, that Simbatex foam also offers five times more airflow than standard memory foam, so I don't doubt this mattress is more breathable than many cheap foam options.

From its name, I guess I just expected it to be a little cooler to the touch. My husband, as a hot sleeper, has a cooling pillow which is impressively cold when you lay your head on it.

Overall, if you're a hot sleeper, this mattress may not be as cooling as you'd hope. A natural fill mattress such as the Hypnos Pillow Top Select is definitely your best bet there, but if you're looking for an under £500 mattress that won't actively overheat you, the Simbatex Cool did 'okay' for temperature regulation. Not brilliant, but definitely not awful either.

5. Edge support

When I unboxed this mattress, I didn't have high hopes for its edge support, mostly because the mattress is slightly rounded at the edges and doesn't feature an edge trim, as more expensive mattresses generally do.

One of the main USPs of this mattress is also its affordability, and having put numerous budget mattresses through their paces, the one area they do all tend to scrimp on is edge support.

As you can see, the mattress sinks quite a lot at the edge when I'm sat on it, and – as a parent who is regularly joined in bed by our toddler – I found this a bit of an issue when sleeping too.

During the night, if my toddler fancied sleeping in the starfish position and I found myself at the very edge of the mattress, I found that my leg would slip off the mattress and onto the floor. This was only when I was pushed to the very, very edge, though.

6. Sleep trial

As this mattress is sold via Amazon rather than direct from Simba, I was really pleasantly surprised to find out it still comes with Simba's usual 200-night sleep trial.

That's important because it can be tricky to tell if a mattress is really going to suit you when you're buying online, so it really helps to take some of the risk out of the purchase.

7. Ease of care

Similarly, considering this is a purse-friendly mattress, I was pleasantly surprised to discover it still comes with a removable cover that unzips for easy cleaning.

You can add a mattress protector to any mattress, of course, but, personally, I think that the removable cover is a total game-changer, as I like to wash all of my bedding, pillow protectors, and everything else I sleep on, a good few times a year. Especially since my dog sometimes comes up on our bed while we watch TV in the evenings.

Once unzipped and removed from the mattress, the washing instructions say to wash the cover at 40C; you just can't tumble dry. This makes the job of cleaning your mattress a breeze, plus it is easy to unzip and fit back onto the mattress.

It also comes with sturdy side handles – again, something many under-£500 mattresses lack – and they make rotating the mattress every few months a dream. It's not that heavy either, plus there's no need to flip this mattress, so it's very easy to care for.

8. Delivery

When it comes to the Simbatex Cool mattress delivery process, you get free shipping, and this can be as fast as three days. You have the option to also buy service add-ons, which include unpacking (£5) or unpack and recycle (£20), in which they will take your old mattress and recycle it.

You will be contacted by a carrier to choose a delivery date that suits you. I chose a day I knew I would be working from home. Unfortunately, I also received a text the day before this, alerting me that my delivery was en route, but this turned out to be a glitch in the system.

I was assured by my contact that this was wrong and it would still arrive the next day. However, unlike a normal order from Simba's own website, I couldn't use any online tracking capabilities, which did make things a little more stressful.

On the delivery day, I did receive a tracking text with a link that gave me a more specific timeframe for delivery, and it informed me I needed to be home to sign for the mattress.

The mattress arrived rolled, although not boxed. And unlike a normal Simba delivery, which is delivered to your room of choice, I needed to get it into our bedroom myself.

I received a king-size mattress, which is heavy, so I wouldn't have been able to lift it on my own, but luckily I had help on hand.

This mattress did initially have a strong chemical smell after being unwrapped. This lingered for around a day. It wasn't unbearable, and rest assured, my bedroom air purifier didn't flag it, but I did leave the windows open whilst it was offgassing.

The plastic that this mattress was protected in was labelled as '4 LDPE', which is recyclable. This does depend on your local authority, though, as in some places you can leave it kerbside with the rest of your recycling, while in other areas, it may need to go to your local supermarket.

9. Third-party reviews

The only way to buy one of these mattresses is via Amazon. Since it's a pretty new product, there aren't a huge number of reviews yet – 24, as of writing, to be exact.

Overall, it's given a 4.5 out of 5 star rating, and shoppers rave about how supportive it is, plus mention it being budget-friendly and noticeably cooling. I agree with the support and purse-friendly pricing, but I can't relate to the cooling comments, unfortunately, and my husband agrees.

Some shoppers complained about the chemical smell after unwrapping their mattress, which I can definitely relate to, as this does linger for a day or so.

10. Value for money

Starting at only £349 for a single size, I think this mattress is a true steal. The most you'll pay for one of these mattresses is £479, and that's for a super king size.

In comparison with our best-rated mattress, which is the Simba Hybrid, you'll be saving 50%. This mattress comes in at £999 for a king-size (when it's not on sale).

I do think the Simbatex Cool feels like a cheaper mattress when compared directly to the Simba Hybrid, but then, it is. And you still get a lot of the bonuses of a 'normal' Simba mattress, such as the cooler graphite-infused foam and 200-night sleep trial.

Even our best-rated affordable mattress, which is the DreamCloud Hybrid, is still £599 for a king-size. So, overall, if you're looking for an under £500 mattress, I think the Simbatex Cool is a very good option.

11. Environmental impact

This mattress perhaps doesn't scream green in the same way as Simba's more expensive range, but it is made in the UK, meaning it won't travel far to get from production to your doorstep. It also has CertiPur-approved foams inside – these are certified for safe sleep, meaning these foams have been tested for environmental, health and safety properties.

How I tested

Annie Collyer

Hi, I'm Annie. I've spent the past seven years testing all sorts of homeware products, from mattresses to vacuums and everything in between. I'm also Mum to a 2.5-year-old who often does her fair share of mattress testing, too, since she sleeps in between my husband and I every night of the week. For this review, we tested the king-size Simbatex Cool Mattress on a wooden slatted bed base.

My sleep stats:

Sleep position: Back/side
Tension preference: Medium-firm
Sleep problems: None

In putting the Simbatex Cool Mattress through Ideal Home's mattress testing process, I considered the eleven factors that we deem vital to any mattress purchase.

I tested the mattress for comfort, motion isolation, responsiveness, temperature regulation, and edge support. This means that my husband and I, (plus quite frequently my 2.5-year-old and dog!) slept on the mattress for a month before I wrote my review.

I also took into consideration ease of care, any sleep trials available, the delivery process, its value for money, and, where possible, researched the mattress's environmental impact and any third-party customer reviews – to see if they aligned or were at odds with my own experience – before writing my own review and giving this mattress a star rating.