Emma has recently launched its Black Friday sale, offering what the brand promises are its lowest prices yet on selected bestselling lines.

That includes discounts of 25% off on the Emma Hybrid Thermosync Mattress, which Ideal Home has tried, tested, and rates the best Emma mattress you can buy. However, I've found a way to shop Emma's bestselling mattresses for even less.

Whilst a double Hybrid Thermosync Mattress is currently reduced from £799 to £599.25 on Emma's website, I've discovered a way to bag this bestseller for just £378. That's a further £221.25 saving, and it isn't the only Emma mattress that's had its price slashed.

That's right, as Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I keep track of all of the best prices on the best mattresses on the market, and I've discovered Argos currently has the Emma Hybrid Thermosync mattress on sale for just £378. That's cheaper than the Black Friday deals currently live on Emma's own website.

If you were shopping for a super king-size mattress, the savings would be even more dramatic.

Full price, a super king in the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync mattress costs £1049. Emma has the super king on sale for £786.75. At Argos you can shop a super king for £492. That's a £557 saving on normal RRP, and the best deal I've seen this year.

The even better news is that as a part of Argos' early Black Friday promotions, this mattress comes with Argos' price guarantee. That means that you can shop confidently knowing Argos won't reduce the price any further before Christmas.

This doesn't guarantee that another retailer won't lower the price of this mattress even further, but I've been keeping an eye on Black Friday deals for the past four years, and with the current Argos sale prices already offering a whopping 47% reduction on the mattress's normal retail value, I think it's highly unlikely we'll see a better saving on offer any time soon.

Plus, as I mentioned, it isn't just the Emma Hybrid Thermosync mattress that Argos currently has discounted.

We've tested and reviewed most of Emma's mattress collection at Ideal Home, and overall, we feel the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync mattress offers the best mix of comfort, support, and temperature regulation.

However, there are several more affordable Emma mattresses available, including the Emma Hybrid Premium mattress and Emma Hybrid Original mattress, the first of which also has a significant saving at Argos.

The Emma Hybrid Premium mattress normally retails at £529 for a double, and is currently on sale at Emma for £448.80. However, you can snap up a double in the Emma Hybrid Premium mattress at Argos for only £317 right now.

That said, when it comes to Emma's most affordable mattress, the Hybrid Original, Emma still has the best price. This mattress isn't on sale at Argos, so it remains its normal retail price of £359 for a double. The best bargain is at Emma, where the Emma Hybrid Original mattress is now reduced to £323.10.

Although that does mean you can score a more premium Emma mattress at Argos for cheaper than you'd pay for the entry-level model at Emma.

It just goes to show that when it comes to Black Friday deals, it pays to shop around. That's why Ideal Home's Black Friday deals page exists; to do the hard work of hunting for the best prices on bestselling homeware for you.

All in all, if you've been eyeing up an Emma mattress and just waiting for the right time to shop, then thanks to Argos' Black Friday mattress deals, I think that time is definitely now.

In this Emma Hybrid Airgrid Mattress review, I put the brand's premium model through its paces to see how it performs in comparison to the best mattresses on the market.

In a nutshell

I’ve tested almost 30 mattresses as a sleep-product tester, from hybrid mattresses to pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses. So I was keen to see how Emma’s latest iteration – the Emma Hybrid Airgrid Mattress – would fare against my stringent tests.

Overall, I found the Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress to offer gentle support and good temperature regulation. The clever Airgrid layer makes this a much more responsive and 'bouncy' mattress than many other hybrid memory foam mattresses I've tested. Personally, I don't enjoy the feeling of sinking into and being 'cocooned' in a memory foam sleep surface, so I, for one, appreciated this.

However, I also found that extra springiness had a downside, and that was poor motion isolation. I share a bed with my husband, and I was very aware that I was being bounced around when he moved next to me on the mattress.

I was also disappointed by the edge support on the Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress, especially considering its price point, which at £999 for a double, isn't cheap.

All in all, if you prefer a medium to soft mattress, I did find the Emma Hybrid Airgrid very comfortable. I think it's a particularly good choice for side sleepers who want a responsive mattress that's easy to turn over on and has both cushioning and some bounce. However, if you're easily disturbed by a fidgety partner, this mattress isn't for you.

Emma Hybrid Airgrid Mattress review

Specifications

• RRP (double): £999
• Type: hybrid
• Construction materials: air grid, memory foam, pocket springs, support foam
• Sizes: single, double, king, super king
• Tensions available: medium-soft
• Height: 27cm
• Side handles: yes
• Flip or rotate: no
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

The Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress is listed as a medium-soft tension. As someone whose preference is a medium-firm tension, I was initially a bit dubious about how comfortable I’d find the Airgrid mattress to sleep on.

I’m a side sleeper. This means that some mattresses can cause my hip and shoulder to ache if they're too firm, or cause my lower back to ache if they're too soft. That's why the best mattress for a side sleeper is usually one that's medium-firm. A medium-firm tension allows the shoulder and hip to sink in to the mattress ever so slightly, but has enough support that the spine can rest in alignment without the waist dipping too low.

As the Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress is a medium-soft mattress, I was concerned it wasn’t going to give me enough support for my midsection, and I’d wake up with an aching lower back, which is a pain I often encounter whenever I sleep somewhere other than my own bed.

However, when I lay on the mattress, I immediately felt like it was probably more medium than soft. My shoulders and hips dipped into the mattress slightly, but I could feel the mattress underneath my waist gently supporting me.

Next up, I tested it for back sleeping. My husband has unwittingly become a mattress co-tester – not a gig he ever signed up for, but here we are – and as luck would have it (for mattress-testing purposes at least), he’s a back sleeper. I also like to lie on my back when awake at night.

We both found that the Airgrid did well in rising to support our lower backs, but I did feel my hips sank down a little too far, and I felt a little overextended in this area.

Emma says their Airgrid layer and the zoned springs work together to provide 'exceptional support for your body's pressure points'. I agree that for a hybrid mattress, the Airgrid does offer really decent support – would I say it’s exceptional, particularly if compared to a traditional pocket spring mattress? Considering the above; probably not.

One thing I did really like about the Airgrid mattress was that it felt a lot more 'alive' and responsive than most mattresses in a box I've tested, which can often tend to feel a little dead and unresponsive due to their memory foam surface.

That's probably because Emma has added an extra layer to this mattress, and that's the 'Airgrid' layer. This is a slice of foam that looks like a grid, with squares cut out across the whole layer. The idea of this is to spread pressure from the body, so – in Emma’s words – 'you never feel heavy or like you’re sinking into the mattress'.

There's still a memory foam layer and pocket springs underneath, but I would definitely agree that the Airgrid layer kept me on the mattress surface rather than sinking *into* the mattress, which I much prefer. However, this responsiveness has some downsides, which I'll come to next.

2. Motion isolation

Being able to sleep uninterrupted is never to be underrated. Feeling my husband move next to me is a sure-fire way to wake me up (and irritate me, if I’m honest), so I’m very fussy, and a mattress with good motion isolation is very important to us both.

I also have three kids who love to come in at 6.50 am on the dot and snuggle into bed with us. My ideal would be to not be able to feel them wiggling around next to me so I can squeeze in just 10 more minutes of snooze time.

So how did the Emma Hybrid Airgrid stand up to these tests? Not so great. Both my husband and I found that the mattress's movement isolation was poor. When I rolled over at night, it felt a bit like being on a bouncy castle!

I could also feel my husband moving about when he couldn’t sleep, and if he got out of bed in the night, I almost felt like I was going to bounce off the bed.

Luckily, my husband is someone who doesn’t move much in his sleep – a real bonus for the health of our marriage, whilst we tested the Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress. But if you're part of a couple where one of you is prone to tossing and turning, whilst the other is a light sleeper, I would say this mattress isn't the one for you.

3. Responsiveness

I really rate the responsiveness of this mattress in comparison to other memory foam hybrid mattresses I’ve tested.

I found the mattress didn’t mould around my body and make me feel smothered – a real bonus for me, as that sensation gives me 'the ick'. As someone who likes to freely move and stretch while I sleep and laze around, I much prefer a mattress that doesn’t make me feel like I have to put real effort into shifting about or changing position.

However, as I’ve previously mentioned, the mattress is *so* responsive it sometimes felt overly bouncy. My husband remarked that it was 'almost too bouncy' for his liking, and we found that we noticed when the other person changed position or rolled over and got in and out of bed far more on this mattress than our usual sleep surface.

Emma claims that 'as you shift in your sleep, the AirGrid layer rebounds in no time allowing you to toss and turn without even realizing it', which is true, but if you sleep with another person, I would say that you *will* notice when they toss and turn, because they're likely to make your side of the mattress bounce too.

Emma promises the Airgrid layer will offer 'weightless comfort', but I had real concerns about becoming airborne if anyone jumped onto the bed next to me!

4. Temperature regulation

I’d say I’m a hot sleeper who likes to be cosy. My husband is a hot sleeper who likes to be cold to sleep, so a mattress with good temperature regulation and breathability is important to us both.

Emma claims that the Hybrid Airgrid is its most breathable mattress ever. The brand says that the 'large air channels maximise airflow and keep the mattress from retaining heat, allowing it to maintain the ideal temperature all night long.'

I've previously tested the (now discontinued) Emma Original mattress and Emma Premium mattresses, and found I slept very warm on them both. I would find myself kicking off the covers even in December, so I was interested to see how the 'most breathable Emma mattress' would live up to its claims.

All in all, I would say I didn’t overheat on the Airgrid, even on the nights I was feeling very hot thanks to hormones. So here I find Emma’s claims valid – the Airgrid is definitely a more breathable product compared to the brand's previous models.

However, I usually sleep on the Hypnos Wool Origins 6 Mattress, and I definitely find its mixture of wool combined with pocket springs to offer better breathability and temperature regulation than the Emma Airgrid's synthetic fill.

So yes, for a synthetic mattress which employs memory foam, this mattress doesn't cause the same overheating many can, but compared to a wool-filled mattress, I can't say it's the *most* breathable sleep surface I've slept on. Overall, I'd say its breathability and temperature regulation is 'good', but not quite as good as the natural-fill mattresses I've tested.

5. Edge support

If you’re new to the world of edge support, it essentially means how well reinforced the sides of the mattress are. This is incredibly important, yet a factor that’s often overlooked when we shop.

Good edge support will ensure the entire mattress surface is supportive and gives you the maximum possible area to lie on. If you're a couple sharing a double mattress, this is especially important as you'll likely want to use every inch of space. Similarly, if, like me, you're a parent who often has extra little people climbing into bed. It's not uncommon for there to be five humans on my mattress if my three kids decide to join us.

Poor edge support means that when you roll close to the mattress edge, it may dip, and you can feel like you're about to roll out, which can wake you from an otherwise good night's sleep. Good edge support can also extend the lifespan of your mattress, stopping it from sagging over time.

Some mattresses have firmer foam around the edges or higher-tension springs to provide extra edge support, and most manufacturers will shout about the methods they've taken to reinforce their mattresses' edges. However, I tried valiantly to find any information about reinforced edge support on the Airgrid mattress, and came up empty-handed.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then, this was the main area I felt the Hybrid Airgrid was lacking. When lying right at the edge of the mattress, I initially thought the edge support was pretty good. I didn’t have to cling on, and I couldn’t feel it dip into the side of the bed.

However, I found the mattress sagged quite dramatically when I sat on the edge. It couldn’t stand up to this kind of focused pressure, and that made me wonder how the edges would hold up over time as the fillings naturally become more compressed.

It also wasn't ideal for sitting on the edge of the bed and putting on socks in the morning. It felt like an effort to stand from a sitting position, which may also be something anyone with limited mobility will struggle with. Overall, I gave its edge support a 2 out 5. Not terrible, but I'd definitely like it to be better, especially for a mattress of this price.

6. Sleep trial

Emma offers a 200-night sleep trial, which means you can buy the mattress, sleep on it at home for 200 nights, and return it if you find it doesn't suit you during this test period.

This is useful because it can take a while for our body to adjust to a new mattress, and, because Emma is an online retailer, it's very difficult to try an Emma mattress before you buy.

Make sure to check the terms and conditions on any sleep trial before you make a purchase, though; they vary from brand to brand, and there may be things you need to do to be compliant, such as purchasing one of the brand's own mattress protectors alongside the mattress.

7. Ease of care

To start with Emma recommends rotating your mattress monthly for the first six months to prevent body impressions. After the initial period you should then rotate it every three months.

The brand states that you should never flip your Airgrid mattress as the layers are stacked in a specific order that only 'work' one way.

The cover is removable and you can wash it if you want. This is no mean feat though. The mattress isn’t the heaviest mattress out there, so turning it could be done by one person with average strength, however, removing a mattress cover is another matter entirely. Personally, I would opt for one of the best mattress protectors instead.

8. Delivery

When my Emma Hybrid Airgird order was placed, I received an email with my tracking information. I then received a text message from the courier (UPS in my case) the day before delivery, letting me know the mattress was due for delivery the next day.

However, unlike with most mattresses I've received for testing recently, I wasn’t given a specific delivery window. Instead, the mattress could have turned up at any point throughout the day. As I work from home, this didn't affect my day too much, but if you don’t work from home or you need to go out, this delivery process isn't very convenient. Most brands now offer a two-hour delivery window, which I much prefer.

My second bugbear was that the mattress was only delivered to my doorstep, and from there I had to shift it into the house myself. I tested the king-size version of this mattress, and although it comes rolled in a fairly compact box, it's still very heavy. It was a two-person job to get it up a flight of stairs, and this won't be heavy-lifting that everyone can do.

However, Emma does now offer delivery to your room of choice as a paid extra. Opt for Premium Delivery, which costs £35, and your mattress will be carried into your home by the two-person delivery team. This also means you're given a 3-hour delivery window on delivery day and a selection of possible delivery dates to choose from.

9. Value for money

I tested a king-size in the Emma Hybrid Airgid mattress, which costs, at the time of writing, £1,279. A double mattress costs £999, which I think is a pretty hefty price tag.

Indeed, this is Emma’s most expensive mattress, and had it passed my tests with flying colours, I might be willing to pay a premium for it. However, overall, I was left disappointed by the Airgrid's lack of motion isolation and its poor edge support.

For comparison, Simba's Hybrid Pro mattress costs £1,199 for a double. It's a slightly more expensive price tag, and a slightly firmer-feeling mattress, but I do feel it's a mattress-in-a-box that nails a lot of the areas that let Emma's Airgrid down.

No, Simba's mattresses don't have the bounce of the Airgrid, but, in my book at least, that turned out to be a good thing. I think the Airgrid has leaned a little too far in the other direction and become *too* bouncy.

10. Environmental impact

Emma doesn’t mention whether any of the synthetic materials used in the Airgrid come from recycled sources, which, I assume, means they do not.

The brand also doesn't offer to collect and responsibly dispose of any old mattresses like many of its competitors, such as Simba, do. And it’s not been made easy to recycle this mattress at the end of its lifespan. The layers are glued together inside, so it can't easily be dismantled to recycle each element.

Considering Emma is one of the biggest names in the mattress industry, and used mattresses going to landfill is such a big environmental problem, it's a shame the brand doesn't seem to be doing more to lead the way in combating this issue.

Instead, Emma's main nod to sustainability seems to be its Second Life scheme. This scheme takes previously owned products (likely those that have been returned during one of the brand's sleep trials), revamps them, and then resells them to a new owner at a lower price.

11. Third-party reviews

Third-party reviews of Emma’s Airgrid Hybrid mattress are limited, perhaps because this mattress is a fairly new addition to the range.

Some reviews I found said the mattress solved their aches and pains and had them sleeping better. However, one reviewer noted that the mattress isn’t firm enough for heavier builds or stomach sleepers, and something that comes up in many reviews is the poor edge support.

I'd agree with those comments. I think this mattress is best suited to lighterweight sleepers as it is fairly soft and doesn't offer the support heavier builds need. And I concur with the concerns around its lack of edge support.

How I tested

My sleep stats:

Sleep position: side
Tension preference: medium-firm
Sleep problems: hip pain

In putting the Emma Hybrid Airgrid Mattress through Ideal Home's mattress testing process, I assessed 11 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 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, the mattress's 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.

In this Emma Premium Cloud Pillow review, I put one of the brand's bestsellers through its paces to see how it compares to the best pillows on the market.

In a nutshell

The Emma Premium Cloud Pillow, as its name might suggest, is a part of Emma's premium pillow range.

It's packed with fluffy microfibre polyester, which I found gives it a cloud-like medium-soft feel. I usually sleep on a feather and down pillow, and the Premium Cloud does a good job of mimicking the feel of down, but with a slightly denser and more supportive structure.

The bonus of that synthetic filling is that this pillow is also fully machine washable and quick to dry – good news for anyone with allergies. It's just a shame Emma doesn't seem to use recycled polyester in its products, unlike most of its competitors

As a box-wall design, the Premium Cloud pillow is best for side sleepers, as the built-in side panel helps to maintain a good height throughout the night. Even better, it's height-adjustable, with two inserts that you can add or remove to create a pillow that better fits the space between your ear and the mattress.

The only downside (beyond its fairly expensive £80 price tag) is that I found it too high for back sleeping, so if you're a combination sleeper, this may not be the best option for you.

However, overall, I really enjoyed the Emma Premium Cloud pillow's pairing of height and marshmallowy softness. And the fact that the pillow comes with a 30-night sleep trial is very useful for testing it out before you commit.

If you usually sleep on your side and don't like a firm pillow, I think this is one of the best pillows for side sleepers who prefer a softer feel beneath their head.

Emma Premium Cloud Pillow review

Specifications

• Best for: side sleepers
• RRP: £80
• Heights available: 1, but it's adjustable
• Dimensions: H adjustable x W50 x L70cm
• Feel: medium-soft
• Materials: cover: polyester, inner: microfibre polyester
• Care instructions: machine-washable at 40°C, low tumble dry
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 44 nights

Comfort

This is a microfibre pillow, which means it's filled with soft and fluffy combed polyester. I found it feels nicely squishy and marshmallow-like, which is great news if you're a fan of a softer pillow, like me.

I usually sleep on a feather and down pillow, and I found the Emma Premium Cloud to feel very similar, with the bonus that there are fewer concerns about animal cruelty to worry about, and the microfibre fill is easier to wash. But more on that later.

It's also a 'box edge' pillow, which means that it has side panels that create a higher loft.

A box-wall pillow is perfect for side sleepers, as when we sleep on our side, we need a pillow deep enough to fill the gap between our ear and the mattress in order to keep our head, neck, and spine well aligned, and the box design helps to create that height.

Another bonus for side sleepers is the fact that this pillow's height is adjustable. This is helpful because we all have different-sized body frames, so what is the right height pillow for one side sleeper won't necessarily be the right height for another.

Unzip the padded cover of the pillow, and there are two thin inserts inside. I kept both inside the pillow to start with, but soon found that it made the pillow feel a little too high for me as my neck was arching upwards a little.

I removed the first, and then the other, and this pillow was soon the exact right height for me to sleep comfortably on my side.

Emma's isn't the only adjustable pillow on the market; there's also the Simba Hybrid Pillow, which offers similar adaptability by way of foam 'nanocubes' that can be added or removed to adjust the pillow's height.

The Simba Hybrid is perhaps the more versatile option, as you can create any height pillow you want. In contrast, the Emma Premium Cloud only offers three height options. However, in practice, I appreciated the simplicity of Emma's design. There was less mess and faff in adjusting it, and I found the inserts easier to store.

Overall, I really liked the Premium Cloud's combination of height and marshmallowy softness. If you're a side sleeper who doesn't like a firm pillow, this is a great option.

Temperature regulation

Emma says that the Premium Cloud pillow uses 'Outlast® technology' that 'actively manages heat by absorbing, storing, and releasing it'. This means the pillow's fabric is coated in a natural wax that aims to maintain a balanced and comfortable sleeping temperature throughout the night.

I'm a hot sleeper, and I usually find I overheat sleeping on (or under) synthetic materials, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this wasn't the case with the Cloud pillow.

I didn't find it quite as cool to sleep on as my usual feather and down pillow, but I found it far cooler than most memory foam pillows, and cooler than a lot of polyester and microfibre pillows I've tested.

Ease of care

One of the good things about this pillow is that it's fully machine washable. A lot of pillows that contain memory foam can't be washed, and only the cover can be put through a rinse cycle.

But because the Emma Premium Cloud pillow is made from polyester, that means the entire thing can be popped into the washing machine at 40°C, which could be good news for anyone with allergies.

The pillow can then be line-dried or tumble-dried on a low heat setting, and because of polyester's quick-drying nature, neither takes long to do. You might just find you need to redistribute the filling after washing, as I found it tended to clump together a little unevenly.

Sleep trial

Another good thing about this pillow is that it comes with a 30-night sleep trial that allows you to test out whether the Emma Premium Cloud offers you a comfortable night's sleep before you commit to keeping it.

That's important, because pillows aren't one-size-fits-all, and what suits one person can be very different from what suits another.

The only downside is that, unlike most other retailers, Emma doesn't give a lot of detail on what happens to products returned via its sleep trial. Brands like Simba commit to recycling or repurposing items that are returned, but Emma is less transparent about how unwanted goods are given a new life.

Value for money

The Emma Premium Cloud Pillow costs £80 at full price. That kind of price ticket isn't unheard of in the world of pillows, although I do think it's quite steep for what is essentially a polyester-filled pillow.

When it comes to the best fillings for a pillow, polyester is usually the most affordable option, and this price point is more reminiscent of premium feather and down.

I was also a little disappointed by my first impressions of the Premium Cloud. Just like the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow I recently reviewed, it's delivered boxed and vacuum-packed in plastic, so initial impressions are a little underwhelming considering this pillow's luxury price point.

Aside from the plastic packaging – not the most environmentally-friendly decision – I was also disappointed that the polyester filling and cover aren't made from recycled fibres.

This does seem to be an area Emma is falling a little short in comparison to its competitors, with most bedding brands now making far more effort towards sustainable manufacture. If I'm paying £80 for a pillow, then I'd much prefer to invest in an option that's making greater efforts to reduce its environmental impact.

However, when I removed the packaging, the Cloud pillow soon expanded to its full size, and I did find it really comfortable to sleep on.

Plus, its adjustable height is still a rarity in the world of pillows, and I found it made a big difference to my sleep comfort.

The brand's main competitor, Simba, offers the adjustable Simba Hybrid Pillow for £109. In comparison, the Emma Premium Cloud Pillow offers slightly less flexibility in its adjustability, but if one of its three height options suits you, at nearly £30 less, it could be a great buy.

Overall, if this pillow ends up being the right fit for your body – and therefore offers you a better night's sleep – that could make it well worth its price. And the good news is you do get that 30-night sleep trial to give it a test drive before you commit.

How I tested

In order to test out the Emma Premium Cloud Pillow for this review, I slept on it for a week on my own bed.

During the testing period I rated its comfort, temperature regulation, and ease of care, and took into consideration its price point and any sleep trials on offer before giving it a score out of five.

Wondering about the pros and cons of Emma vs TEMPUR mattresses? You're in the right place.

As Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, I've spent the last four years testing the best mattresses on the market, including those from two of the best-known names in the sleep world: Emma and TEMPUR.

So, if you're in the market for a new mattress or perhaps searching for the best pillow for a good night's sleep, I'm here to explain the key differences between the two brands and provide my recommendations on which one might best suit your needs.

Emma vs TEMPUR: mattress comparison

Both retailers sell a variety of sleep products, but if you're weighing up Emma vs TEMPUR, it's likely to be the brands' mattresses you're considering. Let's dig into the details.

As of writing, Emma now offers four mattresses. Three memory foam and spring hybrid mattresses, and one that adds in an 'airgrid' layer to the mix for added breathability:

Emma Hybrid Original Mattress: double £359
Emma Hybrid Premium Mattress: double £528
Emma Hybrid Thermosync Mattress: double £819
Emma Hybrid Airgrid Mattress: double £1099

In contrast, TEMPUR offers three memory foam mattresses, all of which forego springs and offer a sleep surface built up from foam and memory foam layers. The higher the price point, the thicker the adaptive memory foam layer:

TEMPUR PRO® SmartCool: double £2099
TEMPUR PRO Plus SmartCool: double £2399
TEMPUR PRO Luxe SmartCool: double £2899

The first thing you'll likely notice, is that there's a BIG price difference between the two brands. At £2099 for a double, TEMPUR's entry-level mattress is nearly twice the price of Emma's most expensive model.

The key difference, and, in my opinion, the main reason you might consider investing in a TEMPUR mattress over an Emma mattress, is the fact that all of TEMPUR's mattresses come in a choice of four tension options.

Unlike Emma's one-size-fits-all approach to mattress tension, you can choose each of TEMPUR's mattresses in a soft, medium, medium-firm, or firm feel. This can be vital for achieving a more comfortable sleep, as our weight, sleeping position, and personal preferences can all affect which type of mattress tension feels more comfortable for us.

For instance, if we're a heavier weight sleeper, we're likely to be more comfortable on a firmer-feeling mattress. On a soft mattress, we'll likely sink in too much for comfort. If you're lighter than average, you'll appreciate some extra softness; a medium-firm mattress may feel far too firm for you.

There's also TEMPUR's new SmartCool materials to consider. One of the main problems with memory foam is that it lacks breathability and can lead to overheating at night, especially if you're a hot sleeper.

Overheating has been an issue on many of the older Emma mattresses we put through Ideal Home's mattress testing process – such as the now-discontinued Emma Original and Emma Premium mattress – and was also an issue I encountered on TEMPUR's older (and similarly discontinued) Sensation mattress.

TEMPUR's new SmartCool technology combats this problem with innovative materials that draw heat away from the body; and they really work. When our reviewer Jullia tested the TEMPUR Pro Plus SmartCool mattress, she didn't suffer from any hot and sticky wake-ups during testing.

Emma's newer mattress lines also offer better temperature regulation than their older models. Our tester Molly and her partner (who likened the discontinued Emma Original to sleeping in a sauna!) found the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync mattress offered a much more stable sleep environment, as did Rachael, who tested out the Emma Hybrid Premium mattress, and Rachel, who tested the new and improved Emma Hybrid Original mattress.

However, overall, during testing we've found TEMPUR still wins out when it comes to beating the heat.

Side by side, a TEMPUR mattress also looks and feels far better quality than the Emma mattresses we've tested. They may be twice the price, but you can instantly see and feel the difference in quality you're getting for that price.

Emma vs TEMPUR: sleep trial comparison

A sleep trial is a really useful way to test out whether a mattress is the right sleep surface for you before you commit, and, thankfully, both Emma and TEMPUR offer decent-length sleep trials.

Emma gives customers 200 nights to test out sleeping on its mattresses, whilst TEMPUR offers 100 nights. I think 100 nights is more than long enough to give the mattress a fair trial, but if you want longer, Emma wins out in this category.

Emma vs TEMPUR: delivery comparison

It may not be the first thing you think of when shopping for a new mattress, but a mattress is a heavy and bulky item, so the mattress delivery process can make a big difference to how stress-free or stressful delivery day becomes.

Because they utilise so much memory foam, in my experience, TEMPUR mattresses are particularly heavy. They're also delivered flat, so it's good news that the brand offers free delivery to your room of choice as standard. The brand does just stipulate that it 'cannot deliver to high rise buildings any higher than 3 floors, unless there is a working lift big enough to accommodate the items ordered without the need to unbox or unpack them before they are delivered to their final location'.

In contrast, Emma only delivers to the doorstep, with no option to pay for delivery to your room of choice. Sadly, this might mean the brand's mattresses are an unsuitable option for some people. However, if you can move the mattress yourself, then the fact that most of the brand's mattresses come rolled and boxed could be a bonus.

This doesn't make the mattress any lighter, of course, but a mattress-in-a-box is a lot more compact and therefore far easier to carry up awkward flights of stairs or get through narrow delivery access.

Emma vs TEMPUR: customer satisfaction comparison

As of writing, Emma has just over 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an average rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars. 61% of reviewers gave the brand 5 stars, but 23% of reviewers only gave the retailer 1 star, with complaints about poor communication and poor customer service being the main theme.

In comparison, TEMPUR only has just over 2,000 reviews on Trustpilot, with an average rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars. 58% of reviewers gave the brand 5 stars, with customers raving about the comfort of the mattresses. 24% of reviewers rated the brand just 1 star, with complaints about poor communication and customer service.

Emma vs Tempur: Verdict

All in all, if you're looking for affordability, then Emma is always going to win out over TEMPUR in this respect. Prices for a double Emma mattress range from £359 to £1099, whereas a double TEMPUR mattress starts at £2099 and goes up to £2899.

However, if you're willing to invest more, TEMPUR offers greater versatility in its mattress range. You can choose from a soft, medium, medium-firm, or firm tension in each of its mattresses, and we found the brand's new SmartCool range to sleep cooler than Emma's mattresses.

If you opt for TEMPUR, you also benefit from delivery to your room of choice, whereas Emma only delivers to your doorstep.

Overall, if you're looking for affordability and can manhandle a mattress into your bedroom by yourself, Emma offers budget-friendly mattresses with the convenience of speedy mattress-in-a-box delivery. Whereas TEMPUR offers superior quality, the ability to craft your sleep surface to your exact preferences when it comes to tension, and innovative technology that combines the cushioning of memory foam with a cooler sleep.

If you're looking for an affordable mattress, you'll want to check out Emma's current 20% off sale.

The brand's spring sale is offering up to 20% off all of Emma's bestselling mattresses, including a saving on Emma's most budget-friendly offering, the Emma Hybrid Original mattress, which is now reduced from £418 to just £376.20 for a double.

One of the contenders in Ideal Home's guide to the best budget mattresses, this purse-friendly mattress scored well during our testing of a range of mattresses under £500.

Our reviewer, Rachel, scored it 4 out of 5 stars in her Emma Hybrid Original mattress review, saying 'My husband and I tested the Emma Hybrid Original for a month, and overall we were impressed.'

'In line with its price point, it does look and feel a little basic compared to more premium options,' says Rachel, 'but we still found it felt comfortable yet supportive to lie on.'

The Emma Hybrid Original mattress is a reincarnation of the brand's original budget-friendly mattress, the now-discontinued Emma Original mattress.

Unlike the all-foam Emma Original, the Emma Hybrid Original is exactly what its name would suggest: a hybrid mattress that utilises foam and memory foam top layers for comfort with pocket spring support underneath.

During testing, Rachel found this meant more breathability than its predecessor, and a little more bounce.

If you have a little more cash to invest in a good night's sleep, then the Emma Spring Sale also offers savings on the brand's more premium mattresses.

This includes 20% off the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync Mattress that our reviewer, Molly, rated the best of all four Emma mattresses she's slept on in her Emma Hybrid ThermoSync Mattress review, and the mid-range Emma Premium Mattress.

Plus, a host of the brand's bedding also features in the discounting event.

That includes plenty of Emma bedding options that the Ideal Home team has reviewed and rated, such as the Emma Premium Mattress Topper, the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow, the Emma Premium Foam Pillow, and the Emma Cloud Duvet.

All in all, if your bedding needs an overhaul, now is the time to shop and make the most of some savings!

My Emma Hybrid Original mattress review puts the brand's most budget-friendly mattress through its paces to see how it performs compared to the best mattresses on the market.

In a nutshell

Following the discontinuation of the Emma Original, the Emma Hybrid Original mattress is now the brand's most affordable mattress and its under £500 price point makes it likely to become another bestseller.

I tested it for a month, and overall I was impressed. Unlike the all-foam Emma Original mattress which lacked spring support, this new hybrid design is constructed with foam and memory foam top layers and pocket spring support underneath, and I found its medium tension a great fit for my sleeping preferences.

Despite its fairly basic appearance, it was cushioning when I slept on my side, yet firm enough to give me good support when I laid on my back. Unlike the all-foam Emma Original which left many of our reviewers overheating at night, I also never woke up too hot on the Hybrid Original.

My husband also thought it was comfortable and supportive, although he did note it felt more bouncy than similar mattresses, which he didn’t like. But, overall I thought the Hybrid's motion isolation was decent, although I felt its edge support and overall build quality could have been better.

All in all, for under £500, this mattress is a decent all-rounder. It feels and looks fairly basic, but its main downside is the no-frills customer service and delivery process – although its mattress-in-a-box delivery is convenient for those with awkward access, delivery is to the doorstep only, so you'll need to get it into your bedroom yourself.

Emma Hybrid Original Mattress review

Specifications

• Type: hybrid
• Construction materials: pocket springs with foam and memory foam top layers
• Sizes: single, small double, double, king, super king, EU single, EU double, EU king
• Tensions available: on a scale from 1 (firm) to 10 (soft), the Hybrid Original is a 7 (medium) mattress
• Height: 22cm
• Side handles: yes, two on each side
• Flip or rotate: rotate
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 night

1. Comfort

Before I popped my bedsheets on the Hybrid Original, I unzipped the cover to peek inside and I have to admit I was pretty dubious about how comfortable this mattress was going to be when I laid on it.

It's a hybrid mattress with pocket spring support and a foam and memory foam comfort layer, but with the cover off that foam layer looked pretty minimal, and its build quality looked a little... basic... compared to the (admittedly more expensive) mattresses I'd just been testing.

However, my first impressions of laying on this mattress were good. Emma states the Hybrid Original is a 'medium' tension and as my preference is always for a firmer mattress I was slightly concerned I would find it too soft. However, in practice, I found it comfortable but still firm enough to offer good support.

Usually, I sleep on my side or back, and I tend to find a medium-firm mattress suits me best as I need cushioning to allow my hip and shoulder to sink into the mattress so that my spine stays aligned when I'm laid on my side, but enough support for when I'm laid on my back.

The Emma Hybrid Original Mattress has a foam top layer that cushioned my shoulder and hip really well when I slept on my side and I felt it allowed the perfect sinkage so that my spine was kept aligned. After the first week of sleeping on my side on this mattress I didn’t have any hip or shoulder pain and my lower back wasn’t aching like it sometimes does, which suggests my spine was in good alignment.

The top foam layer offered more cushioning than the similarly budget-friendly IKEA Valevag mattress I recently tested and I definitely appreciated this around my shoulder and hip.

When I slept on my back on this mattress I also slept really well. Back sleepers usually need a slightly firmer mattress to support the hips and lower back to ensure they don’t dip too low, but also enough cushioning to support the lower back.

This mattress offered a perfect combination of support and cushioning. The memory foam top layer felt lovely to lay on – a bit like I was sleeping on a mattress with a mattress topper on the top! But at the same time, I didn’t feel I was sinking into it too much; the mattress was supportive so that my back and hips didn’t dip too low, and my posture stayed aligned. My husband agreed that it felt nicely firm.

2. Motion isolation

I felt the Hybrid Original's motion isolation was pretty good. However, my husband thought that this mattress felt more ‘bouncy’ than some that I’ve tested, and was less keen.

Memory foam mattresses are known for reducing motion transfer from one side of the bed to the other as the cushioning foam dampens and absorbs movement and vibrations, and this worked in the Hybrid Original's favour.

When my husband was moving around next to me the vibrations didn’t bother me half as much as they normally do on other mattresses. And when my youngest son who weighs about 35kg and moves around a lot in his sleep, slept on it next to me I didn’t feel his movements at all.

I noticed how good the motion isolation was when I was sitting in bed reading my book one Sunday morning and both of my boys jumped in next to me, the movement didn’t throw me around as much as usual!

3. Responsiveness

Although this mattress features a memory foam layer, I found its responsiveness really good. I didn't ever feel I was sinking into its surface too deeply, and when I got up or changed sleeping position it quickly bounced back into shape. Consequently, rolling over wasn’t difficult, and nor was getting out of the bed.

4. Temperature regulation

One of the problems I've found with some memory foam mattresses, is that they can lack breathability and cause me to overheat at night, even though I'm usually a cold sleeper.

However, when I slept on this mattress for a month I didn’t wake up feeling hot and sweaty as I often do and I didn't ever wake up to find my bedsheet feeling damp with sweat like I have done previously on other mattresses.

Probably that's because that foam layer is quite minimal, so there's plenty of space for air to flow through the pocket springs beneath.

5. Edge support

The Emma Hybrid Original Mattress doesn't claim to have reinforced edge support, so considering its price tag I was expecting this to be an area where it did a little less well in our testing process. However, I was pleasantly surprised.

The edges of this mattress are deceptive! At first glance, they didn’t look overly supportive as the fabric around the edges looked slightly creased and a bit baggy even after the mattress had fully inflated. Plus, when I felt the sides of the mattress with my hand I could feel the springs through the fabric.

However, I weigh about 9.5 stones and when I sat on the edge there was a bit of sinkage but my bottom didn’t sink right down to feel the bed frame like it has on other mattresses I've tested at this price point. Laying on the mattress and rolling close to the edge, I didn't find the edge dipped down as much as some other mattresses in this price bracket. It wasn't the best edge support, but it also wasn't the worst.

Overall, I felt the edges were more supportive than both the IKEA Valevag mattress and the Simba Hybrid Essential mattress I've recently tested. However, your weight will have an impact on edge support.

My husband, who weighs just over twelve stones, commented that the edge support wasn’t as good as the more expensive mattresses we've tested – in particular the Sealy Newton Posturepedic mattress which has exceptional edge support – but I thought it was definitely better than most mattresses I've slept on at the budget end of the price scale.

6. Sleep trial

There aren't many places you can test out an Emma mattress in store, but the good news is that the brand offers mattress sleep trials on all of its range.

This means that you can buy the mattress, sleep on it at home, and return it if you don't find it the right sleep surface for you. This is important as experts say it can take up to 30 nights to adjust to a new mattress.

As of writing, Emma offers a 200 night sleep trial on the Hybrid Original, so that's plenty of time to sleep on it (literally) and decide whether it's the right option for you.

7. Ease of care

The memory foam top layer means that you can’t flip this mattress. Instead, Emma recommends rotating it monthly for the first six months to prevent body impressions, then switching to rotation every three months. The four vertical side handles on two sides of the mattress make this easy to do.

This mattress also comes with a removable cover that's easily unzipped and can be machine-washed to freshen up the mattress. Whilst you can add one of the best mattress protectors to any mattress, this is still a nice added extra for peace of mind.

Removing the mattress cover was easy. I machine-washed it at 40 degrees as per the instructions and let it dry on an airer by the radiator. It dried quickly and although it was a bit of a fiddle to put back on, and I needed another pair of hands to help me position it into place, it washed well and fitted back onto the mattress well.

8. Delivery

Arranging mattress delivery was easy with clear communication from the start. I received a text message the evening before our delivery day telling me that delivery was due tomorrow via UPS. The following day I got another text message telling me that my mattress was due to arrive that day.

The Hybrid Original is a mattress-in-a-box delivery, which means it arrives rolled and packaged into a compact cardboard box - useful for people like me who have awkward access to negotiate.

The downside is that Emma only offers doorstep delivery as standard, so you'll need to have the ability to heft this mattress into your room of choice yourself. The brand also doesn’t offer removal of your old mattress like most mattress companies do.

Emma says the Hybrid Original should take 24 hours to fully inflate after it’s unboxed. Although the brand does also mention that ‘it is not entirely uncommon for the mattress to not inflate to its full size immediately,' stating it 'should reach 90%-95% of the desired depth within 48 hours,' but 'it may take an extra couple of days to reach the optimal height.’

I did notice that the sides of the mattress looked initially quite creased and baggy, but this did improve over time as inflation happened.

9. Third-party reviews

This mattress is a fairly new launch for Emma so reviews are somewhat limited so far. However, as of writing, the reviews I found for the Emma Hybrid Original mattress on Argos score the mattress an average of 3.9 stars out of 5.

A lot of these reviews describe the mattress as ‘great’ and ‘very comfy', whilst some mention the detail I noticed with the springs not having much protection at the sides of the mattress.

One reviewer says, 'Top side memory foam is very comfy but... you can feel the coil springs very clearly at the sides of the mattress, obviously you're not sleeping on them but I am more aware of them than I would like.'

Emma's Trustpilot reviews are also mixed, with the brand currently scoring an average of 2.8 out of 5 from reviewers.

10. Value for money

As of writing, the Emma Hybrid Original mattress costs £418 for a double and £468 for a king-size mattress.

For comparison, Simba's most affordable mattress, the Simba Hybrid Essential Mattress costs £599 for a double at full price, so the Emma Hybrid Original potentially offers a considerable saving.

All in all, I found the Simba mattress a little more comfortable during my tests, and Simba's delivery process offers room of choice and white glove delivery options for those who don't want to (or can't) do heavy lifting.

Simba will also collect your old mattress on delivery day to ensure it's responsibly recycled, the brand uses CertiPUR® foam in all of its mattresses (which is verified free from heavy metals like mercury or lead) and Simba's Trustpilot score is higher, averaging 4.3 out of 5 stars. So if my budget stretched to the Simba Hybrid Essential Mattress, that would be my top choice for the best affordable mattress.

However, if you're after a mattress for under £500, I was impressed by the Emma Hybrid Original. For me, this mattress is neck and neck with the Origin Hybrid mattress in terms of performance. Although, the Origin model is currently cheaper, priced at £341 for a double.

I found it more comfortable than the (admittedly much cheaper) IKEA VALEVÅG pocket sprung mattress, which is £219 for a double, and a big step up in comfort compared to the Dreams Workshop Follows Traditional Spring Mattress which is currently just £179 for a double and the Zinus Green Tea Memory Foam Mattress which is usually on sale for under £200.

How I tested

My sleep stats:

Sleep position: back or side
Tension preference: firm
Sleep problems: lower back pain and/or neck pain and occasional overheating
Height & weight: 5"5 and 9.5 stones

In putting the Emma Hybrid Original Mattress through Ideal Home's mattress testing process I assessed ten 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 myself (and my husband) slept on the mattress for a minimum of two weeks 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 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.

This Emma Hybrid ThermoSync Mattress review puts the hybrid mattress-in-a-box under the spotlight to see how it fares under Ideal Home test conditions for the best mattresses.

Initially, I tested this mattress for a month whilst I helped my parents move house. Then my mum, who has recently undergone a knee replacement, tested it after her operation. Here's what we thought.

In a nutshell

I've tested several Emma mattresses before. In fact, I swapped out my older Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress to try out the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync Mattress for this review.

The ThermoSync is a medium-firm hybrid mattress, and I found it to be slightly softer than the Luxe Cooling, which I appreciated as I found side sleeping much more comfortable on the ThermoSync. I also found it offered improved temperature regulation compared to the Luxe Cooling which meant no overheating at night. By the end of my testing period, I would choose the ThermoSync as my favourite of all the Emma mattresses I've reviewed.

I also appreciated the ThermoSync's mattress-in-a-box delivery, which is great for those with awkward access, and the 200-night sleep trial that allows you to test out the mattress for yourself in your own home before committing.

However, as with all Emma mattresses, it was only delivered to my doorstep rather than my room of choice, and there's no white glove delivery option to choose from (where the mattress is unboxed and installed onto your bedframe for you).

Beyond that, the only area this mattress performed a little less well is its edge support. It dipped considerably when I sat on its edge, although, as of writing, I didn't find this affected my sleep as I could still sleep close to the edge without sinking. Whether this would be the case if I was heavier, I'm not sure.

This mattress isn't cheap, but I did find it improved my sleep quality compared to the more affordable Emma mattresses I've tried. All in all, it's definitely my top recommendation from the brand's range.

Specifications

• Type: Hybrid
• Construction materials: Memory foam, Thermosync foam, Elastic Airgocell foam, HRX foam, pocket springs
• Sizes: UK single, UK small double, UK double, UK king, UK super king, EU Single, EU Double, EU Queen
• Tension: Medium
• Height: 27cm
• Side handles: Yes
• Flip or rotate: Rotate
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

For me, the medium-firm Emma ThermoSync is a Goldilocks level of comfort when I compare it to the firmer Emma Premium and Emma Luxe Cooling mattresses I've previously tested. It reminds me of the Emma Original mattress in terms of its comfort, and I found it to be a mattress I could acclimatise to immediately.

This makes sense considering that the ThermoSync and Original have almost identical firmness levels. According to Emma, 'on a scale from 1 (firm) to 10 (soft) the Emma Hybrid Thermosync is a 7.5 (medium)', while Emma states the Original is a 7 on the scale.

Ordinarily, I like to sleep on my side and when I tried the firmer Premium, I experienced a kind of dull pain in my hips and back after a time, which is why I switched back to a medium-firm mattress.

So, as a side and back sleeper, the ThermoSync was noticeably comfier from the offset. It doesn't overly dip down when I nestle onto it, and it holds up across my shoulders and hips when I'm on my side.

As I mentioned above, though I was the one to initially test out this mattress for several weeks, my mum has gone on to inherit it, with a different set of comfort needs. After undergoing a knee replacement, she found it difficult to sleep easily, but did note that shifting to this mattress was a huge help when she was out of hospital.

If you're spending this much on a mattress, you'll obviously want it to be comfier than a hospital bed, but the real defining difference was that this mattress made it easy to get back to sleep even when she was restless. It has a very cushioning feel too, which proved immensely helpful for resting her healing leg.

My mum sleeps on her back and is also prone to back pain, so her comfort levels are harder to meet than mine. She immediately found this mattress to be noticeably more comfortable than her old mattress and hasn't had an occurrence of back pain since using it. Perhaps no surprise, as a medium-firm mattress is usually recommended by experts as the best mattress for back pain.

2. Motion isolation

According to Emma, this mattress should 'absorb any motion on the mattress ensuring uninterrupted sleep' and therefore provide tip-top motion isolation. This was something I put to the test when I slept with my mum in this bed whilst I helped her move house.

As I've noted, she is a fairly restless sleeper so there is a high risk of being woken by her during the night. Compared to the old mattress we were sleeping on in our house before we moved, the motion isolation here was worlds apart.

Though she often tosses and turns, I was able to stay in a deeper sleep without being interrupted by a fidgety co-sleeper.

3. Responsiveness

The make-up of this mattress includes a layer of foam underneath its temperature regulating foam that's designed to 'enhance airflow and cradle all the achy bits, like a full body hug'.

As well as making the mattress comfortable, I think that this increased air flow does help to make the feel of the surface more responsive. When you press down it, it immediately springs into action. Or when you shift around on it, it's not as if you've fallen into a soft trench you can't wriggle out of. That makes sleeping soundly even if you're prone to moving about much easier.

With her recent surgery, my mum often needed to change sleeping positions whilst being mindful of her knee and found it similarly responsive.

4. Temperature regulation

During my previous testing of the Premium and Original Emma mattresses, my biggest complaint was poor temperature regulation and poor breathability.

I'm usually a cold sleeper, but when I previously tested the (now discontinued) Emma Premium mattress, I regularly woke up due to overheating and my partner (a hot sleeper) was beside himself after a few nights of broken and sweaty sleep.

The ThermoSync mattress aims to address this with specialist 'ThermoSync foam' which is 'infused with graphite particles' to absorb the excess heat created by your body when you sleep. So I had high hopes that my previous gripe had been solved.

So far, I can't complain of any heat-related issues when sleeping on the ThermoSync, even within my mum's small bungalow which can get very warm, very quickly. I certainly haven't experienced the middle-of-the-night heat surge that I had with the Premium.

Unlike me, my mum is a hot sleeper, and she doesn't have any heat-related complaints either, so she can attest to this tech working for warmer sleepers too.

5. Edge support

Good edge support has been an important factor for me when sharing a bed with my mum so that we have our own sleeping sections without feeling like we're going to roll off the edge. It's also been a factor because of my mum's bad knee, meaning she needs an even surface she can get up from when she's feeling less mobile.

Emma says the ThermoSync is engineered with an 'additional foam edge support for more stability', and although I haven't felt like I'm too close to the edge at any point when sleeping, I was surprised when I sat on the edge of the mattress as to how much I felt it dipped.

Repeatedly, when I tested the edge support by perching on the sides, I felt like I was dipping far more than I'd like to, and my mum also noticed the edge support was lacking when she was putting on her socks and shoes, which is a process that takes her a bit of time.

If you also have similar mobility issues, the Sealy Newton Posturepedic Mattress is the mattress with the best edge support, gaining the seal of approval from our reviewer who struggles with lower back pain.

All in all, I would say the edge support is where this mattress is slightly let down. Although it didn't affect my sleep during testing, it may be more of an issue if I were heavier, and it's a factor I'll be keeping an eye on to see if the edges do dip more over time.

6. Sleep trial

If you're on the fence about which mattress to choose and can't get to a showroom to test a mattress in-store, Emma offers a decent length sleep trial of 200 nights on all its mattresses.

Seeing as I've tested mattresses that I initially found comfortable, but then struggled with over time (I'm thinking of those nights spent overheating on the Emma Premium) knowing that I could send the ThermoSync back, even after initially thinking it was a good fit, gives me peace of mind.

The brand itself says that it can take up to six weeks for your body to fully adjust to a new mattress, a fact I can attest to first-hand. So it's definitely worth opting for a mattress with a sleep trial in my opinion.

7. Ease of care

I've always been a bit unsure on when I'm meant to be flipping or rotating my mattress, so I reached out to Emma via the customer chat function to ask them how to care for my new mattress.

The customer service representative told me that it's a good idea to rotate the mattress, advising me to do so every 3-6 months to 'increase the mattress's durability' and 'help the foam inside to be distributed evenly, ensuring that no dips develop'.

As I write this, it means it's time for me to rotate the mattress to avoid any dips. This is easily done thanks to the large fabric handles on the side of the mattress, which are a necessary addition to a mattress with this much weight when it is out of the box.

8. Delivery

The ease of Emma's mattress-in-a-box delivery is a huge plus point for me. This mattress was delivered to coincide with moving into a new house, but, as always, there were moving delays, meaning that the mattress had to sit in its box for a while before it could be unfurled.

Keeping it neatly packaged up was so much easier than if it was a flat delivery. And its compact box is also a bonus for anyone with awkward delivery access to negotiate.

That said, I inquired as to how long I could keep the mattress within the confines of its box and Emma recommended no longer than four weeks. If you're moving house, that's a great window of time to allow you to get yourself sorted and still know you have somewhere to sleep if you need to at the end of the day.

The delivery of the mattress was seamless, with the courier calling me when they were within an hour of arrival. However, as with all Emma mattresses, delivery is to the doorstep only. There's no option of delivery to your room of choice, or 'white glove delivery' where the mattress is unboxed and installed onto your bedframe for you.

If this is a deciding factor in your mattress purchase, you might want to consider a Simba, Brook + Wilde, or Bensons for Beds option instead where these services come as standard or as added extras.

Luckily, I had help on hand to do the heavy lifting, and I found removing the mattress from its packaging fairly straightforward.

You place the curled-up mattress onto the bed and then remove the outer packaging and wait for the inflation to take place. This can create a bit of a plastic-y smell, so I always make sure to open the windows a little beforehand, but in the case of this mattress, I didn't notice any particular odour.

I find it's best to unbox this mattress in the morning to give it a good amount of time to inflate. When I returned six hours later, the mattress looked ready to go.

9. Third-party reviews

Emma is a well-known mattress brand, almost synonymous with the mattress-in-a-box product. Despite how popular the brand is, the TrustPilot score for the brand is a little concerning at 2.8 stars out of 5 from 49,991 reviews at the time of writing.

Reading through the reviews, lots of the 1-star ratings relate to the sleep trial or product guarantee and voice frustration at not being able to exchange or receive a refund for a product that didn't meet expectations. Others take issue with how the product arrives post-delivery or with the lack of availability to engage with customer service assistants.

I can't say that I've experienced any of these issues with the brand personally, and have always found myself connected via live chat to an agent on the website within minutes when I have a query or problem, but it's a factor worth being aware of.

10. Value for money

As of writing, a ThermoSync mattress costs £819 for a double and £918 for the king-size I tested. However, Emma often offers discounts that can see the price slashed, so it's worth holding out for a sale period when you shop.

That said, this mattress still costs considerably more than the brand's most affordable mattress, the all-foam Emma Original mattress, which I've also tested. I found both mattresses similar in comfort, with the biggest difference being that the ThermoSync slept far cooler and didn't cause me to overheat at night. If you're a heavier-weight person, the ThermoSync's pocket-spring layer will likely also offer better support. If neither overheating or support are factors for you, the best value is with the Emma Original mattress.

Price-wise, this mattress also sits bang in the middle of the most popular mattresses of its competitor, Simba. The Simba Hybrid Original mattress costs £799 for a double, and the Simba Hybrid Pro mattress costs £1149.

Thanks to its more extensive delivery and customer care options, its greater commitment to sustainable manufacturing, and Simba's higher Trustpilot rating, we still think Simba's are some of the best mattresses you can buy at this price point. But I've been really impressed by the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync mattress, so if you find it on sale when you come to shop, it's a great mattress to test out at home and see if it nails your sleep requirements as it has mine (and my Mum's).

How I tested

My sleep stats:

Sleep position: back or side

Tension preference: medium-firm

Sleep problems: occasional overheating and hip pain

Height & weight: 5"7 and 11 stones

For this review, I put the Emma Hybrid ThermoSync mattress through Ideal Home's mattress testing process, evaluating how comfortable this mattress was, judging whether it had an impact on temperature regulation and looking at motion isolation and responsiveness. I also judged how easy it was to receive, unbox and move this mattress.

As part of the review, I also looked into customer service from Emma and used the brand's outreach functions myself, as well as researched third-party reviews on sites like Trustpilot.

My Emma Original Hybrid Pillow review puts the brand's 2-in-1 hybrid pillow through its paces to find out how it compares to the best pillows the Ideal Home team has tested.

In a nutshell

The Emma Original Hybrid Pillow attempts to do a lot. The brand says it's suitable for side, back, and front sleepers – something not many pillows attempt as each sleeping position requires a different height pillow. Emma also says the pillow offers both a firm and soft sleep surface.

Having tested the pillow in all three sleeping positions and flipped it over to experience the firmer and softer feel, I agree that its adjustable filling makes it very versatile.

However, I don't think it's the best pillow in any one of these categories. I've tested better pillows for side sleepers and better pillows for back sleepers, as well as firmer and softer options. So, although this pillow offers a lot, it perhaps tries to do a bit too much at once.

Emma Original Hybrid Pillow review

Specifications

• Best for: side, back, and front sleepers
• RRP: £55
• Support: medium-firm
• Height: medium
• Materials: outer: polyester and microfibre, inner: visco memory foam
• Dimensions: L70 x W50cm
• Washable: the removable cover is machine-washable at 40°c, the memory foam core can't be washed
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 30 nights

Comfort

When I first laid my head on the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow I thought I might have found my ideal pillow for side sleeping.

The Original Hybrid is an adjustable pillow that features a layer of removable memory foam sandwiched in between a cover that has a layer of microfibre on each side. With the memory foam inserted, this pillow was just the right height to fit neatly in between my shoulder and head when I was laid on my side.

This is subjective of course, because the trickiest part about how to choose a pillow is that we're all built differently. For reference, the distance from my neck to the edge of my shoulder is around 17cm, and I tested this pillow on a medium-firm mattress that my shoulder sinks into a little.

The two sides of the pillowcase both have different amounts of microfibre inside, making one feel more cushioned than the other, although this remains a medium-firm feeling pillow thanks to that memory foam core.

After testing both, I decided I preferred the softer side so got to work getting comfortable, and at this point I noticed four things.

One, I didn't really like the feel of the pillowcase. It's 100% polyester and has a strange suede-like texture. Obviously, this can be solved by popping the pillow into a pillowcase, but the pillow was a very tight fit to squeeze into any of my pillowcases and that suede texture made it really difficult to slide the pillow into a case against the friction it created.

Two, I soon realised I could still smell strong chemical off-gassing from the memory foam core, even though I'd aired the pillow outside after unboxing it the day before.

Three, that microfibre padding soon bunched up and became quite lumpy under my head, making the pillow surface uneven. Because the padded pillow case is also quite loose, I had to keep pushing the cushioning down so it didn't bulge up around my face.

And four, as well as making my head feel very hot, after 10 minutes or so with my head resting on this pillow my body heat had caused the memory foam core to compress.

This is a feature of memory foam and could have worked well in that it might have cradled my head, but what happened in reality was that the pillow edge next to my neck compressed and the top of the pillow did not, which meant I soon didn't have enough pillow height for comfortable side sleeping.

I switched to my back instead, and found the pillow a decent height for back sleeping, although I did find it quite firm. And again, the memory foam soon caused issues as it moulded around my head, but didn't bounce back very quickly if I shifted position slightly. That meant there was a dip where my head had just been and the pillow felt lumpy in my new posture.

You can also take that memory foam core out and use just the padded pillow case as a very low loft pillow if you're a front sleeper. It was then the right height for me to sleep on my stomach, but I still found the microfibre filling bunched up and felt lumpy.

All in all, this pillow was OK comfort-wise. Its adaptability meant it did a decent job of allowing me to alter it to sleep on my side, back, or front. It just wasn't the most comfortable pillow I've slept on in any of those positions.

Temperature regulation

As mentioned, I also found this pillow hot to sleep on. Emma says that this pillow is breathable, but I didn't notice much breathability in its design.

I only needed to rest my head on the pillow for ten minutes and it soon felt very warm to the touch, and made me want to flip the pillow over in search of a cooler side.

Memory foam mattresses are notorious for reflecting body heat back toward the sleeper unless they have cooling technolgies added, and I definitely found that to be the case with this memory foam pillow.

Granted I'm a hot sleeper, but my bedroom was only 17°C during my tests, so had I been testing this pillow during the summer, I think I would have woken up with a very hot and sweaty head by the morning.

Ease of care

Although you can't wash the memory foam core, you can unzip the pillowcase, remove the memory foam insert, and wash the outer case of this pillow.

As for how to wash a pillow, in the case of the Emma Original Hybrid, the care label says it can be machine-washed at 40°C and tumble-dried on low.

I only tested washing it once, and it came out of the machine fine and dried quickly. But I did find it made the microfibre filling bunch up more and required a lot of shaking and reshuffling of the fibres to try and make the pillow surface even again.

Sleep trial

If you buy direct from Emma, then the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow comes with a 30-night sleep trial. This is useful as pillows are very subjective, and it can be hard to guess whether an option is right for you without actually sleeping on it.

A sleep trial allows you a set number of nights to test out sleeping on the pillow in your own home. Terms and conditions apply, but Emma says it will collect the pillow and refund your money if you decide the pillow doesn't suit your needs within this time.

The only thing the brand doesn't make clear on its website is what happens to products returned during a sleep trial. Most bedding retailers recycle or donate returned products to charity, but Emma is less clear on what happens to end-of-life products.

Value for money

As of writing, the Emma Original Hybrid Pillow costs £55. I'd say that's a mid-range price point for a pillow, and considering its versatility, it's not a bad price.

However, although this adjustable pillow is very adaptable, I didn't find it the best at any one of its claims. If you're looking for the best pillow for a side sleeper, I found the Panda Memory Foam Pillow performed much better, and it's cheaper at £44.95.

Similarly, if you're looking for the best pillow for back sleeping I much prefer either the medium-firm Panda Hybrid Bamboo Pillow or the soft and plump The White Company Luxury Hungarian Goose Down Pillow. As for front sleeping, I still don't think microfibre can beat the malleability of a low loft feather and down pillow, like the Dorma Hungarian Goose Down Soft Support Pillow.

However, if I've learned anything about pillows in my four years as Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, it's that they're like marmite. One person's 'not-right' can be another's 'best-thing-I-ever-slept-on', so, Emma's 30-night sleep trial is a great way to test out whether this adaptable pillow is a good fit for you.

For this review, I put the Emma Cloud Duvet to the test on my own bed to see how it fared compared to the best duvets on the market.

In a nutshell

The Emma Cloud Duvet is a microfibre duvet with a polyester cover filled with polyester fibres.

During testing, I found it to be a super lightweight (it really does feel as light as a cloud), easy to care for thanks to the fact it can be machine-washed, and, potentially, a good option for cold sleepers as I got toasty super quickly under the covers.

However, I did find I needed to stick one leg out from under it to cool down only five minutes into bedtime. So if you're a hot sleeper the Cloud Duvet's lack of breathability could mean you're likely to overheat.

The lack of clarity on its tog rating also makes it a bit of a confusing purchase.

All in all, I thought this was an OK duvet, particularly if you're looking for a washable and lightweight option. However, there was nothing about the Emma Cloud Duvet that made me feel like it was a premium product.

The fact Emma hasn't chosen to use recycled polyester is disappointing and there are far more affordable synthetic duvets out there that do the same thing. You can find these in my full verdict below.

Specifications

• RRP: £69 / £89 / £99 / £109
• Sizes: single (140 x 200cm) / double (200 x 200cm) / king (225 x 220cm) / super king (240 x 220cm)
• Materials: 100% polyester cover and 100% polyester fill
• Care: machine wash at 60°C (or maybe 40°C?!) and low tumble dry
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 14-night

Feel

We all know that first impressions count, and when the Emma Cloud Duvet arrived on my doorstep, I can't say I was that impressed.

As of writing, the double sized Cloud Duvet costs £89 – a not inconsiderable sum of money – and call me fussy, but the package that I received for that investment left me very underwhelmed.

Tightly rolled up in plastic packaging with a very average looking label on the front (that also confusingly referred to duvet as a 'Microfiber Duvet' rather than the 'Cloud Duvet'), this bedding didn't exactly scream premium product to me.

However, if I've learned anything during my four years of testing bedding it's that appearances can be deceptive. And, that big things can come in small, vacuum-packed packages (I'm looking at you mattresses-in-a-box). So, I put my initial judgments to one side and cut open the polythene.

At which point I got my next big shock. Because the Emma Cloud Duvet is thin. Really thin. When I picked it up and held it between my thumb and fingers it was only 2cm deep at maximum.

It was at this point I realised I didn't actually know what tog rating the Cloud Duvet was – because the duvet is only available in one warmth option I had just assumed it would have a mid-range tog rating of around 10.5 togs that would be suitable for most of the seasons – but this felt much thinner, more like a high summer 3 or 4.5 tog duvet.

I headed over to the Emma website to check but came up empty-handed. Apparently, Emma doesn't think its customers need to know what warmth of duvet they're buying, which is a very confusing approach as I'd say it's the MOST important piece of information you need to avoid any duvet buying mistakes.

I checked the packaging and the care label on the duvet itself, but there was still no information on a tog rating. I would have asked the customer service chatbot on the Emma website, but it was out of action when I tried.

Well, I'd just have to sleep under it and see what happened – more on that in the next section. In the meantime, I considered the duvet's feel and how it draped on the bed.

This is a synthetic microfibre polyester-filled duvet with a polyester cover, both of which are generally considered to be budget-friendly materials, and this feels like a budget duvet.

A microfibre fill is always a little nicer than a hollowfibre filling as it tends to mean the polyester fibres are brushed more thinly for a light and airy feel, and the Emma Cloud Duvet does feel light and relatively airy.

It was also silent to snuggle into (no noisy crunching or crinkling here) and it tucked in nicely around my body to eliminate any draughts – something I was grateful for, because judging by the duvet's thickness I thought I was soon going to be in for a cold night's sleep! And, it draped adequately enough on the bed.

All in all, I thought the duvet felt OK. But, just OK. Other than the Emma-branded piping along its edges, I couldn't yet see anything that distinguished this duvet from other microfibre duvets half its price.

Temperature regulation

At 10pm I hit the sack and climbed under my new Emma Cloud Duvet to test out its performance.

I keep my bedroom between 16°c and 18°c for duvet testing (the ideal bedroom temperature to help us sleep better according to sleep scientists), and because of the duvet's thinness, I was concerned I was going to be cold.

However, after two minutes under the Emma Cloud Duvet, I was toasty. Five minutes in I had to stick a leg out from under the covers to cool down and regulate my body temperature.

Which I suppose isn't surprising. Temperature regulation is a common area where synthetic duvet filling can fall down. The polyester microfibres (in this case also paired with a polyester cover) aren't breathable and so reflect body heat back towards the sleeper rather than letting that heat dissipate through the duvet.

This can be a bonus if you're a cold sleeper as it means a warmer sleep. But, if you're a hot sleeper, like me, it means more likelihood of overheating.

I soon realised I wouldn't have wanted this duvet to be any thicker than it is or I would have been sweating. As it was, I had an OK sleep under the Emma Cloud Duvet. I was warm throughout the night and didn't wake up too hot or too cold. I did feel ever so slightly clammier than I would have liked – this hot sleeper still definitely prefers a wool duvet such as the luxury Floks Luxury British Wool Duvet, the washable Woolroom Deluxe Washable Wool Duvet, or the more affordable Slumberdown Wonderful Wool Duvet for the excellent breathability they offer – but I didn't overheat during testing.

However, I wouldn't want to sleep under this duvet in any warmer ambient temperatures. The 16°c to 18°c testing conditions were just about right for me, but had I been testing this duvet in summer when my loft bedroom gets a lot warmer, I think I would have been waking up in a hot and sweaty mess on a regular basis.

However, the main plus point I found whilst sleeping under this duvet was how light it was for its warmth level. I'd previously been sleeping under much heavier wool duvets and it was refreshing to have something so light to lift in comparison – in that respect, the Emma Cloud Duvet does feel as light as a cloud.

Ease of care

One of the main benefits of a synthetic duvet is that polyester is very easy to care for. You can usually stick a synthetic duvet like this one in the washing machine and wash it at a high temperature, so a synthetic duvet can be a good choice for anyone worried about bed-wetting or allergies.

The Emma website says that the Cloud Duvet can be machine-washed at 60°C and then tumble-dried on a low setting. This is also stated on the packaging label. However, when I checked the care label on the duvet itself it advises a 40°C delicate wash. I'm still waiting for confirmation from the brand on which setting is correct, so haven't yet popped the Cloud Duvet into the washing machine.

Value for money

As of writing, the Emma Cloud Duvet costs £69 for a single, £89 for a double, £99 for a king, and £109 for a super king size.

Because I don't know for sure what tog rating the Cloud Duvet is, it makes it hard to compare side-by-side with other products. After sleeping under it I would guess it's about a 7 tog duvet. However, giving it the benefit of the doubt, for reference, a higher 10.5 tog synthetic duvet, like the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet or the John Lewis Synthetic Soft Touch Washable Duvet, costs around £30 for a single up to £50 for a super king. Both of these duvets also use recycled polyester, which the Emma Cloud Duvet does not.

So by my reckoning, the Emma Cloud Duvet is roughly double the price of a comparable high-street duvet. And, during testing, I failed to find anything – other than the brand name – that really differentiated it from other products on the market.

Verdict

Overall, I thought the Emma Cloud Duvet was OK.

After getting over my initial disappointment over how the duvet was packaged and my shock at its thinness, I liked how light it felt over my body, the fact it didn't make any noise when I tucked it around me, and how warm it kept me on cold nights.

The fact it can (presumably) be washed at either 40°C or 60°C is another bonus.

However, I didn't feel the duvet felt particularly premium or luxurious and although it kept me toasty, I found it a slightly clammy sort of warmth that I knew would quickly turn into overheating should the ambient temperature of my bedroom rise. I prefer a duvet where I don't have to constantly stick one leg out of bed to cool down.

I also think the Cloud Duvet is expensive for what it is. As mentioned, there are far more affordable polyester microfibre duvets on the market, and the M&S and John Lewis options mentioned above both use more responsibly-sourced recycled polyester fibres which the Emma Cloud Duvet does not. Both of these brands also clearly state what tog rating their respective duvets are, whereas it would seem the Emma Cloud Duvet is a bit of a potluck situation.

All in all, if you get this duvet included with an Emma deal when you buy a new mattress, it's well worth a try to see how it suits you. It does the job.

Would I purchase it at full price though? Probably not. If I wanted a synthetic duvet I'd opt for the M&S Supremely Washable Duvet or the John Lewis Synthetic Soft Touch Washable Duvet, instead.

How I tested

I tested the Emma Cloud Duvet at home on my own bed, sleeping underneath it for a week to see how it performed.

Whilst testing I assessed the duvet's feel – this includes how malleable and squashy it feels to scrunch up in my hand, how well it tucked in around my body at night, if it made any noise when doing so, and how well it drapes on the bed.

I also assessed the duvet's temperature regulation and breathability. In doing so I made sure to keep my bedroom between 16°c and 18°c. I also made sure to use the same breathable cotton duvet cover I use to test every duvet we put through Ideal Home's duvet testing process.

As a hot sleeper who is prone to overheating, I then set to snoozing to see if I slept comfortably throughout the night, or whether I woke up hot and sticky under the covers and had to fling a leg out of bed or throw the covers off myself to cool down. And, alternatively, if I woke up too cold.

I also assessed the duvet's ease of care, and where possible made sure to wash the duvet according to its care instructions to see if it came out of the washing machine looking and feeling as good as when it went in.

Lastly, I considered the duvet's price point and value for money, as well as researching any third-party reviews to see what a wider selection of owners think of the product, before giving the duvet a score out of five.

Temperature-regulating, customisable, and supportive – the Emma Premium Foam Pillow certainly markets itself as having all the hallmarks of one of the best pillows around.

Plus, that height-adjustable three-layer design means the brand promises it will be 'the one' for you whether you're a side, back, or front sleeper. A triple threat promise that it’s hard not to be impressed by. However, the Emma Premium Pillow is over £100, which does seem a considerable sum, for a pillow.

Is it worth the investment? Our Emma Premium Foam Pillow review puts it to the test to find out. Here’s our reviewer with everything you need to know.

Emma Premium Foam Pillow review

Specifications

• RRP: £115
• Construction materials: polyester, elastane, foam
• Product size: H adjustable x W70 x D40cm
• Care instructions: Cover is machine washable at 60°C
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 30 nights

How I tested

My sleep stats:

• As a 6 foot tall side sleeper I tend to need a high loft pillow that matches my shoulder width in order to keep my head and neck well aligned
• Previously prefered to sleep with two firm pillows and on an incline due to allergies (hayfever, dust) and breathing problems
• Can get neck and back pain if pillows aren’t firm enough

Construction

Whilst some customisable pillows like the Simba Hybrid Pillow and its 'nanocube' fill (that's a lot of little blue foam cubes to the uninitiated) can be a bit fiddly to adjust, Emma has kept it really simple with the construction of the height-adjustable Emma Premium Foam Pillow.

On the outside, you have the knitted polyester cover which then unzips to reveal three foam inserts that you can take out or add back in to adjust the pillow height.

There's a grey foam layer and two white foam layers. Both the grey foam, which by my measurements is around 4cm high, and the thinnest and softest white foam layer, which I measure to be 5cm in depth, are domed. The middle foam layer which measures approximately 3cm high is more rectangular in shape and made from HRX foam layer (HRX stands for High Resiliency Extra).

The dark grey foam layer, which feels very squidgy and dense compared to the lighter white foam layers, is made from 'ThermoSync foam'. Emma doesn't give much detail about this material on the product page of the brand's website, beyond saying that it's temperature regulating.

However, ThermoSync foam is also used in the construction of the Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress, and our review of this mattress discovered that temperature regulation is achieved by infusing the foam with graphite particles which help to absorb body heat. So I assume this is also the case with the ThermoSync foam used in the Emma Premium Pillow.

There's then a layer of HRX Foam (HRX stands for High Resiliency Extra), and a layer of softer foam.

What type of sleeper does it suit?

The customisation available with the height-adjustable Emma Premium Foam Pillow is its main USP, as you can alter the loft of this pillow according to your sleep style.

As a side sleeper with wide shoulders, I’m always after as much elevation as possible, so I preferred sleeping with all of the foam inserts inside. That's because the best pillows for side sleepers are those that keep the neck in alignment with your spine, so side sleepers need a pillow that's high enough to match the width of one of their shoulders.

However, a back or front sleeper might want to take out the middle foam section, leaving the grey Thermosync foam and the softest foam layer for a less elevated pillow.

Some might just find – as I did – that it can be hard to squeeze the foam inserts back into the pillow after taking them out as they tend to stick to each other rather than gliding in and out smoothly.

How comfortable is it?

As with any pillow, comfort is a subjective thing, and one person's 'just right' is another's 'not firm enough'.

This isn’t one of those big, soft, down-filled pillows you get in 5-star hotel rooms. Foam just doesn’t have the pillowy softness that you get from a down fill.

However, as 6ft side sleeper with fairly wide shoulders I like a dense pillow that has enough height to keep my head well raised rather than dipping down. That hotel-like, sink-in sort of pillow doesn't suit me as I don’t feel like those pillows prop up my head enough or make me feel supported when I sleep.

Overall, I think the Emma Premium Foam Pillow is definitely in Goldilocks territory – not too soft and not too firm. It offers cushioning and support and has enough customisation options to suit front, back, and most side sleepers. The only caveat being that side sleepers with a wider build might still need a bit more height than the Emma Premium pillow offers.

To put it into perspective against other premium pillows I've tested, the Simba Hybrid Firm Pillow can be customised to be higher than the Emma Premium pillow, which means your head is more elevated. That means the Simba option may well suit side sleepers with wider shoulders like me better. I also liked the firmness the Simba option offers.

In my opinion, the Emma Premium Foam Pillow is a middle ground between the Simba Hybrid Firm Pillow and the original Simba Hybrid Pillow.

The Emma Premium offers more support than the Simba Hybrid Pillow, which is softer and more down-like. This makes the Simba Hybrid pillow a lot less elevated, so it wasn't the right fit for me, although it remains a popular choice with back sleepers or those side sleepers with narrower shoulders.

How breathable is it?

Bedding that features synthetic fillings can be prone to making us overheat at night, as synthetic materials don't offer the same breathability as natural fibres.

However, thankfully Emma addresses this probem with the Thermosync foam layer that's designed to improve temperature regulation.

Whatever adjustments you make to the pillow's inner foam layers, you just want to make sure that you keep this insert as the top layer inside your pillow so that it's next to your head.

This Thermosync layer works in tandem with a knitted, textured pillow cover designed to allow to air circulate through it so that the heat from your head can dissipate.

While any cooling effect perhaps wasn't extremely noticeable, I still found these features worked well during a recent heatwave, keeping my face fairly cool as I slept and preventing any uncomfortable night sweats. It’s always a certified selling point when the cool side of the pillow remains just that.

Is it good for those with allergies?

Foam and synthetic fill pillows are generally considered a safer bet for people with allergies than down or feather pillows. That's because some down pillows can harbor dust mites, mould, and other allergens besides the down itself.

That’s not to say that dust can’t build up with synthetic or foam pillows either, but with a cover that is machine washable at 60°c you’ll be able to prevent dust and dirt build up on the Emma Premium Foam pillow which should help with any allergies you might have.

I usually struggle with allergies keeping me awake at night, and although I can't entirely put it down to the pillow alone, I did find that during my month trying out the Emma Premium Pillow my allergies were subdued.

Care instructions

Like most foam pillows, you can’t machine wash the foam inserts, but you can still unzip the Emma Premium pillow's cover and pop it in the washing machine.

Emma states that the cover is machine washable up to 60°c, which is a pretty high temperature compared to similar pillows with removable covers.

Verdict

The Emma Premium Foam Pillow's versatility will no doubt suit a range of sleepers, with its customisable height potentially allowing you to create the exact right pillow height for your preferred sleep position.

I found this pillow was a good middle ground – not too soft, not too firm, not too low, not too high – offering a good mix of support and cushioning. And, the fact that any overheating has been addressed with the layer of Thermosync foam is good news for hot sleepers.

However, that £115 RRP is definite an investment. That said, Emma does offer a 30 night sleep trial on the Emma Premium Foam Pillow, which gives you time to test it out and find out if one of its three adjustable heights is for you. Plus, if you can snap it up when there are bedding deals on offer, you might be able to pay a lot less.

For its price point, it's just a shame that none of the synthetic materials used in this pillow's construction appear to be derived from recycled sources, and, as synthetic materials are generally non-biodegradable and can contribute to environmental pollution, this may not be the pillow for you if you're after an eco-friendly option.

On the flip side, synthetic pillow fillings are popular with allergy sufferers as dust mites aren't a fan of these plastic-derived materials – I certainly didn't notice this pillow triggered any of my allergies whilst I slept on it – and the fact the exterior is machine washable at 60°c will be a big plus point for some.

All in all, I think this pillow is a good all-rounder, and if you're struggling to find a pillow that quite nails it for you in the comfort stakes then the Emma Premium Pillow is well worth a test out.

Our Emma NextGen Premium mattress review puts the brand's mid-range hybrid mattress through its paces to see how it compares to some of the best mattresses the Ideal Home team has tested.

When it comes to buying a mattress online, Emma is perhaps one of the first names most people think of. After all, the brand's flagship Emma Original mattress was one of the first mattress-in-a-box beds on the market. And, as our Emma Original mattress review found out, the brand's all-foam mattress is a crowd-pleaser, offering cushioning comfort at a relatively low price point.

However, as a hot sleeper I struggled with breathability when I tested out the memory foam Original mattress many years ago, and reviews of the now discontinued Emma Premium mattress – which also mention it sleeping warm – left me wary that I would overheat on an Emma sleep surface.

But, spurred on by my colleague's Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress review and the temperature-regulated sleep it offered, I was intrigued to find out whether the new and improved Emma NextGen Premium mattress would offer me the same cooler sleep (and for less money than the Luxe Cooling).

I tested out the Emma NextGen Premium mattress for a month to see how well it performed in terms of comfort, temperature regulation, motion transfer, and edge support. Here's what I found.

Emma NextGen Premium mattress review

Specifications

• Type: Hybrid
• Construction materials: Memory foam, foam, pocket springs
• Number of springs: Not provided
• Memory foam: Yes
• Sizes: Single, Small Double, Double, King, Superking, EU single, EU double, EU queen
• Comfort level: Medium (7 out of 10)
• Height: 25cm
• Side handles: Yes
• Flip or rotate?: Rotate
• Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

How I tested

Construction

The Emma NextGen Premium mattress is hybrid mattress that combines a memory foam upper layer with pocket spring support. It's around average when it comes to depth, with a 25cm profile that's constructed from five layers.

Unusually for a hybrid mattress, the foam layers take up less room than the springs which make up 18cm of the depth. The brand doesn’t disclose how many coils they use in the spring layer, but dubs these springs 'tall Infinity springs' saying their extra height helps to maximise airflow for a more breathable sleep.

These springs also have varying coil tensions in different areas of the mattress, the aim of which is to support the natural curvature of the spine. Emma states is uses 'firmer coils for the lower back and hips to prevent sagging and ensure proper spinal alignment' and 'softer coils under the shoulders to allow for a gentler sink-in'.

On top of these springs are four layers of foam. First up, is a layer of 'Halo memory foam', designed to 'adapt to the body and mould to your curves for targeted spinal alignment and pressure relief'. The next layer is a lower density foam made of 'Point Elastic Airgocell' which the brand states 'cradles all the achy bits'. Then there's a denser layer of supportive foam.

Covering all of this is the 'Emma UltraDry' fabric, which the brand says is breathable and moisture-wicking. The cover can also be unzipped and removed for machine washing.

Delivery

The Emma NextGen Premium may have springs but that doesn’t mean that the brand has strayed away from what it knows best, and that is vacuum packing its mattresses and putting them in a box.

As of writing, delivery from Emma is free, and it’s fast too, with this mattress turning up at my door within just a couple of days of it being ordered. The delivery came via DHL who gave me a two-hour delivery window on the morning of delivery.

The box did turn up a little battered and there’s no white glove service here, the delivery was brought to my front door and then it was up to me to manoeuvre it from the door step to its final destination. The box did have cut outs on the side that made it easier to drag inside the house – much needed considering the double mattress weighs 29.5kg.

The lack of delivery to a designated room is worth bearing in mind if you know you will struggle to get a mattress into your bedroom without help.

The outer box actually seemed very small, to the point that I thought a mistake had been made with the mattress size, but as it turned out, it was a double mattress, just folded in half and vacuum packed so tightly that it appeared smaller.

The moment you cut into the plastic, the mattress springs to life. I found it quite difficult to cut the plastic, and as there's no safety tool provided like there is with a Simba mattress, I was worried I was going to accidently damage the mattress. If you have a small parcel knife this may be more effective at releasing it from its plastic prison than a pair of scissors.

Once free from its packaging, Emma suggests leaving it for up to six hours to fully inflate, but do state in rare occasions it may take a couple of days to reach the optimal height. However, I found this mattress was plumped up and ready to go within half an hour of being opened up.

There was some chemical off-gassing smell once the packaging was removed, but that disappeared within 24 hours so wasn't as bad as with some mattresses I've tested.

Comfort

Now, I’ve tested enough mattresses to know that you can’t judge a mattress based on just one sleep. I was in the process of decorating and waiting for a new bed in our master bedroom, so I made the Emma NextGen Premium mattress my new sleep surface in our guest bedroom for a month. That’s usually enough time to get used to the feel of a different bed and to figure out whether it’s going to amplify any joint or back pain that I am prone to suffering from.

Emma rate this mattress as medium-firm, stating it sits at about 7 out of 10 on the firmness scale, and I found this pretty accurate. You don’t really 'sink into' this mattress, instead you sleep 'on top' of it.

As a combination sleeper I found that when I slept on my back I felt like I was comfortably on top of the mattress and not 'in' it. Whilst when I turned on to my side, I felt the memory foam top layer contour around my body so it felt as though the mattress was hugging me, but I still didn’t feel as though I’d been sucked in to the mattress which is something that all-foam mattresses have a tendency to do.

This can be a really hard thing to get right, I hate the feeling of sinking right into my mattress but I do like to feel cosy and as though my mattress is cradling my entire body. And, when I need to turn over in the night I like to do it quick, and this mattress felt responsive in that regard rather than my having to wait for the memory foam to 'release' me.

This mattress is designed to support the areas where you need it the most, so the 7-zoned support focuses on the head, neck, shoulders, waist, hips, thighs and feet. I found the zoned support did its job well, but it did mean that I had to lie 'properly' in my bed. Anyone (like me) who tends to move around a lot or move down the bed when they sleep will notice the difference in the cushioning, as when you move out of optimal position you can feel it. This isn’t as weird as it sounds and actually, I found that sleeping on this mattress I didn’t shift around (or down the bed) as much as I usually do.

All in all, this mattress feels closer to a traditional sprung mattress than other hybrid mattresses I've tested, which I think makes it a good choice for a range of sleeping styles, including side, back, and – thanks to its firmer sleep surface – also front sleepers. That means it could be a great choice for couples who may have different sleeping styles.

Temperature regulation

Did I mention that I sleep hot? Regardless of the season, you can always guarantee that I’ll wake up with one leg outside of the covers trying to get some air to my skin.

This changed significantly for me when I first switched out from a not-so-breathable all-foam mattress to a hybrid mattress, and having had a sweat-inducing sleep whilst testing the all-foam Emma Original mattress in the past, I was super worried I’d wake up sweltering on the NextGen Premium and reaching for the fan.

But I didn’t need to worry. This hot sleeper found the Emma NextGen Premium slept really cool. Whilst Emma doesn’t label this mattress specifically as a cooling mattress, leaving that title for its more expensive Emma Luxe Cooling mattress, it does say that you’ll enjoy a 'dry and sweat-free sleep' on the Emma NextGen Premium, which I can confirm is absolutely true.

Not once during my month of testing did I wake up feeling so much as clammy. The weather has been so up and down during my testing with some both warm and cold nights and this mattress kept me warm on those cold nights and cool on the warm nights which was perfect.

The breathability likely comes from three distinct areas on the mattress. There’s the 'cooling cover', which is super soft, not that it makes that much of a difference since it gets covered with a sheet. But the cover is made using fabric that is moisture-wicking and it’s worth noting that it can be unzipped and popped through the washing machine so you can keep it super fresh.

There is then the 'Point Elastic Airgocell' foam layer which aside from offering support also absorbs and evaporates sweat to keep you nice and cool whilst you sleep. And then finally, the layer of 'Infinity pocket springs' which don’t just add support to this mattress but also help to improve airflow so that bodyheat doesn’t get trapped within the mattress fibres.

Motion isolation

I have to admit, I’m a pain to sleep with. I move around a lot at night. And not only that, I have two small dogs who like to pretend my bed is their bed so often hop up during the night, until they get fed up of the human snoring and hop back down again. My husband also tends to get up for the toilet during the night and if I’m disturbed it doesn’t make for a happy wife, so a mattress that isolates motion is very important for us.

One thing I’ve come to learn during my years of testing mattresses is that all-foam mattresses do a much better job of isolating motion than hybrid or traditional spring versions. That's because foam and memory foam absorb movement and so dampen any motion from a partner (or dogs) considerably.

So I was super surprised at just how well this hybrid mattress did when it came to motion transfer. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying it was one of the best mattresses I’ve slept on in terms of absorbing motion. I didn’t think it was going to be as good as it was because of the size of the springs used, however, the cushioning foam did a really good job of making sure I didn’t feel anyone moving around on the bed.

Edge support

Emma doesn’t actually make any grand claims when it comes to the edge support on the Emma NextGen Premium mattress, which is perhaps down to the fact that it’s one of the only areas that I felt really let this mattress down.

I tend to sleep close to the edge of the mattress at night, and whilst it wasn’t too bad when I was stretched out and my weight was evenly distributed, I could feel the mattress sag a little as I got closer to the perimeter.

When my full weight was applied to the edge of the mattress it dipped right down. I found this dipping worst on the lengths of the bed rather than the shorter edges, and I put this down to the lack of foam edging around the springs at each side. Instead, the springs run right to the edges of the mattress. And when I sat on the edge of the mattress to put my socks and shoes on, I did feel unstable and as though I might fall off.

This is probably not a deal breaker if your mattress is large enough that no one needs to sleep on the edge, but I didn't feel the edge support delivered the same 'premium vibes' as the rest of the mattress, which was a shame.

In this regard, the more expensive Emma Luxe Cooling mattress does seem worth its price tag, as this mattress offered all of the plus points I enjoyed in the Emma NextGen Premium mattress, but also offers foam edges that mean you can sleep right at the edge of the bed without feeling like you might roll off in the night.

Additional features

This is a hybrid mattress so Emma suggest rotating it at least once a month for the first three months, this is to prevent body impressions and keep it from dipping and sagging. After that first six months, it only needs to be done once every three months.

The mattress can’t be flipped so always make sure the white side is facing up. Interestingly, Emma state that the side handles are just for adjusting the mattress and not for moving it. I’ve used them to rotate the mattress around and found that they’re pretty solid and didn’t feel like they weren’t strong enough to do that. But it seems pretty pointless to me to have four handles just for the process of wiggling it on to the mattress frame.

As mentioned, the mattress also has a removable, washable cover. You don’t need to lift the mattress to get this off, just unzip and remove the top layer. The cover can be machine washed at 40℃. This is a great feature for a freshening up the bed, however, I did find the cover snagged quite easily. I managed to pull a few threads by catching my watch on the surface whilst changing the sheets, so I would recommend removing all jewellery and accessories before your weekly bed change if you want to keep it in tip top condition.

As of writing, there is also a 200-night sleep trial on the Emma NextGen Premium mattress if you buy it direct from the retailer – just make sure you read the terms and conditions before you shop.

Third-party reviews

This mattress doesn’t have that many reviews from customers who have purchased it on Amazon, but the reviews that it does have on there are all 5 stars. Customers mention how they found delivery easy and straightforward, and highlight how comfortable the mattress is. They also mention that, like me, they find the mattress does a good job of helping them maintain the right temperature throughout the night.

When it comes to Trustpilot, Emma reviews are a mixed bag. Overall, the brand's average rating is just 3 out of 5, however, 65% of reviews are 5 star but dragged down by 19% of reviewers only awarding 1 star. Good reviews again mention how fast and efficient the shipping is. There are also lot of reviews saying how supportive this particular mattress is, and how it's the perfect level of firmness.

Deals

Buying a new mattress is an investment, and although the Emma NextGen Premium mattress has a mid-range price point to begin with, a discount is always welcome. The good news is that Emma regularly runs sales throughout the year, meaning you'll likely never have to wait too long to find the Emma mattress you have your eye on reduced.

You'll tend to see deeper discounts on this mattress during key sales events, mainly Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and the Boxing Day and January sales. Throughout the rest of the year, your best bet for a lower price is to keep track of our round up of the best mattress deals.

Verdict

All in all, I was really impressed by the Emma NextGen Premium mattress.

Comfort-wise, I couldn't fault this mattress. I get sciatica attacks and sleeping on a mattress that doesn’t have the right support can cause the pain to start, as well as pain in my neck, but this mattress actually made me feel better. I didn’t wake up with any aches or pains at all, and as a predominantly side and back sleeper, it did a really good job of offering me support in the places I needed it the most. I also noticed I didn’t seem to move around as much when sleeping on this mattress, and I woke up feeling like I’d had a good nights sleep.

As I’ve already mentioned, I was intially worried about testing this mattress after flashbacks to hot and sweaty nights spent sleeping on the all-foam Emma Original mattress. But I was more than pleasantly surprised by how breathable I found the Emma NextGen Premium mattress to sleep on. I didn’t play the duvet tango once whilst sleeping on this mattress, instead waking every morning with the covers over me and feeling a comfortable temperature.

Its motion isolation was also superb. In fact, between not overheating and not getting disturbed every time there was a movement in the bed, I probably had some of my best night's sleep on this mattress.

The only real downside for me was the edge support, or lack thereof. I found this incredibly poor and a real shame considering it could be easily remedied by a foam encasement around the springs. If you’re someone who normally sleeps close to the edge then you may find the adjustment of having to sleep a couple of inches back a bit too much. And you certainly cannot sit on the edge of the bed without feeling as though you’re going to end up on the floor.

Overall, I thought this was a great mattress, and it was really only the lack of edge support, and the fact I had to transport it to my bedroom myself, that lost it some marks.

This Emma Premium Mattress Topper review puts the brand's bestselling mattress topper to the test to see how it compares to the best mattress toppers and best cooling mattress toppers on the market.

A comfortable mattress is one of the best ways to get a good night’s sleep. But even the best mattresses can become uncomfortable over time, or perhaps your sleep style has changed or you've invested in a mattress which isn't quite the right fit for you. This is when a mattress topper can come to the rescue and offer an easy way to upgrade your bed. A good topper can also make one of the best sofa beds a more comfortable affair.

The Emma Premium mattress topper promises 9cm of cushioning comfort that the brand claims will help a sleeper to maintain 'the optimal sleeping temperature every night - never too hot or cold'.

As such, I was eager to test out this topper in my own home to see whether it could live up to its claims. During testing, I noted how easy it was to attach to my bed, how comfortable myself and my partner found it to sleep on, whether it was able to keep me feeling cool overnight, and how easy it is to care for.

Emma Premium Mattress Topper review

Specifications

• Construction: Foam
• Sizes available: Single / Small Double / Double / King / Super King
• Depth: 9cm
• Care instructions: Machine-washable removable cover

How I tested

What the brand says

First things first, what is a mattress topper? Well, a mattress topper is a cushioning layer that you can add to the top of your existing mattress to increase breathability or comfort. If your existing mattress is too firm or sleeps too warm and you're looking for how to sleep better, a mattress topper could help.

If you're not sure whether you need a whole new mattress or whether a mattress topper could suffice then our mattress topper vs new mattress guide will help you to decide. A mattress topper also shouldn't be mixed up with a mattress protector which is a much thinner affair. You can find out more in our mattress topper vs protector explainer.

So how does the Emma Premium Mattress Topper aim to improve your sleep? Emma makes some pretty big claims when it comes to the Premium mattress topper, stating it can help sleeper's to maintain 'the optimal sleeping temperature every night - never too hot or cold'.

The Premium topper promises to do this via the 'ThermoSync foam' layer which the brand states 'prevents overheating and absorbs moisture'. This foam layer has a 'graphite coating that ensures an extended deep sleep phase through optimal temperature regulation'. Graphite is a mineral very popular with mattress manufacturers at the moment thanks to its ability to conduct heat away from the sleeper.

Underneath that is a layer of 'Adaptable HRX comfort foam' designed to offer cushioning and pressure relief. These layers are then wrapped in a breathable fabric cover.

Unboxing

The Emma Premium Mattress Topper arrives shrink-wrapped and rolled up in a small branded Emma box. That meant it was easy enough to carry up the stairs and unpack in our bedroom, although it is heavy, weighing in between 9 and 15kg depending on the size of topper you purchase.

Once unboxed, the brand recommends that you leave the topper to fully decompress for at least five hours before sleeping on it. 

I found that the topper expanded pretty much straight away, however I did notice a strong off-gassing smell when the topper was unpacked so because of this I left the topper to air for a good 24 hours in our spare room before popping it on the bed.

Attaching the topper to the bed

The Emma Premium Topper doesn’t have any straps or a cover to secure it to the bed. Instead, the base of the mattress topper is made from a textured plasticky-feeling material that grips to your mattress to prevent the topper from moving around in the night. 

However, unlike the Aidapt Memory Foam Cool Mattress Topper I tested, the Emma Premium isn't so grippy that you can't still get it into position on top of the mattress easily.

As someone who moves around a lot at night, I was concerned that the lack of straps would mean this mattress topper would also move with me when I tossed and turned in the night. However, the textured anti-slip coating does a really good job of keeping the topper attached to the bed and at no point did this topper move around. 

One thing I would recommend, if you don’t already have them, is to invest in some extra deep sheets. This topper is 9cm deep, so add that to your mattress height and a regular fitted sheet just won’t cover it. 

Comfort

I currently sleep on a hybrid mattress, and having not slept on an all-foam mattress for quite some time, I have to admit that the Emma Premium mattress topper did feel a little firm when I first slept on it. But that firmness soon morphed into a cradling comfort, especially when I lay on my side. 

Thanks to those 9cm of foam – that's almost double most cheaper mattress toppers, like the Silentnight Airmax Mattress Topper that comes in at 5cm deep – I found the Emma Premium Topper did an excellent job of cushioning my hips and shoulders. I woke up the next morning feeling pretty refreshed with no noticeable aches and pains.

The foam mattress topper also did a great job of bouncing back once I got out of bed. I’ve found in the past that memory foam toppers and mattresses can take a while to regain their shape, and their mouldability can mean I struggle to change position in the night. There were none of those problems with the Premium Topper's foam construction. I found that despite the cushioning thickness of this topper it still had a bit of bounce so I found it super easy to move around at night and change sleeping position. 

However, I did find there was a lack of edge support on this topper. I tend to sleep close to the edge of the bed and found the topper was quite soft and spongy towards the edges. If you prefer a firmer edge to stop you from feeling like you might roll out of bed in the night, or to provide better support to push yourself out of bed in the morning then the Simba Hybrid Topper with its pocket-spring construction might be the better choice for you.

Breathability

I’ve always been a hot sleeper, even during the deep mid-winter I’ll wake up with one leg hanging out of the bed in an attempt to get some air, so I was very interested to try this mattress topper and see whether it meant I could keep both legs under the covers all night.

In particular, I've struggled before sleeping on Emma's Original mattress, which I found I slept very warm on due to its dense memory foam top, so I was a little bit concerned I might have the same problem with the brand's topper.

Thankfully, I found the Emma Premium Mattress Topper a much cooler sleep experience. I can only put this down to that ThermoSync foam layer which is infused with graphite to draw heat away from the body. However it works, it certainly did the trick in offering a more breathable sleep and my temperature seemed to stay regulated all through the night.

When I got up in the morning, the bed didn’t feel hot to touch as I'd found could happen with the Emma Original mattress. It felt just lukewarm from our residual body heat, like you’d expect from a spring or hybrid mattress.

Care instructions

One of the things I love about this mattress topper is that the polyester cover can be removed and machine washed. This helps keep the topper fresh, and because only the top layer gets removed it’s pretty easy to add back on to the bed once it’s been washed and dried. 

You shouldn’t wash the topper any hotter than 40C, and the brand states you should only use a mild laundry detergent when washing the cover and not use any abrasive chemicals like bleach. 

A top tip when you wash your mattress cover is to use less laundry detergent than you would in a normal load. This will stop the soap from building up and remaining on the fabric. 

The topper isn’t suitable for tumble drying so when you’ve washed it, either line dry or place over a clothes horse and leave to air dry.

Find out more about keeing your topper fresh in our guide to how to clean a mattress topper.

Verdict

All in all, I think the Emma Premium mattress topper does a great job of adding an extra layer of comfort to any mattress. Its 9cm deep sleep surface is great for adding additional cushioning to the bed – although its depth does mean you might need to buy new fitted sheets and it does make the topper heavy to move.

We found this topper also does a great job of isolating motion at night. The base layer of foam is thick enough to absorb any movement making it the perfect choice for couples and co-sleepers who don’t want to be disturbed by a restless partner. 

I was also very impressed by its breathability. I was initially worried I might overheat on its synthetic foam surface – especially after sleeping on the natural materials of Woolroom's Deluxe Wool Mattress Topper which I found a delight – but the graphite infused Thermosync foam seemed to do the trick in regulating my temperature and I found I stayed a comfortable temperature all night long.

The downsides to this topper are its lack of edge support and the strong off-gassing smell I encountered after I'd unboxed it – although this chemical smell did dissipate over time. That, and the fact that its synthetic materials are non-biodegradable and can contribute to environmental pollution and waste. 

Plus, this topper is very much an investment, costing almost as much as a new mattress itself.  

Its price tag is perhaps justified by its 9cm depth, with this topper being one of the deepest I've tested. However, at full price it's hard to justify the fact that its over three times more expensive than the 5cm deep Panda Mattress Topper which I also found did a great job of cushioning a firm mattress, and it comes in more expensive than the Simba Hybrid Topper, which offers better support thanks to its pocket springs.

However, Emma is renowned for its bedding deals, so it's unlikely you'll ever have to wait too long to find the Emma Premium on the sale, which does make it a far more appealing prospect. 

I certainly found this a comfortable topper to sleep on, it kept me cool and I woke up feeling like I’d had a really good sleep. As mentioned, it's also one of the deepest mattress toppers I've come across, so if you're struggling with a hard sleep surface those 9cm of cushioning foam could be worth every penny.

Comfortable sofa beds are not easy to find, especially for under £2000. However, the Emma Sofa Bed changed all that when it launched last May. Made by a dedicated mattress company it promised 'a sofa bed that actually feels like a bed' and earned an award in our Ideal Home bedroom awards.

However, the key sticking point with this sofa bed was always the price point of £1,999, but Emma has decided to discontinue its sofa bed and reduced the price by almost £600 to £1,399.30. The offer will only be available while stock lasts, so if you've been hunting for the best sofa bed for a guest room act fast.

Is the Emma sofa bed worth it?

Emma mattresses already have a brilliant reputation for comfort and affordability, claiming the title of 'best budget buy' in our best mattress guide with the Emma Original Mattress. They transferred this knowledge into the first Emma mattress sofa bed with an 18cm mattress. To compare, higher-end sofa beds usually only include a 12-14cm mattress, like our top-rated Darlings of Chelsea’s Bromley sofa bed, with a starting price of £2000. Most mattresses start at 25cm deep, so it does close the gap between the two.

The Emma sofa bed construction is the secret to how it can hide such a thick mattress. The sofa bed works similarly to a traditional trundle bed using two single mattresses. The single bed pulls up from underneath to make one or two single beds, or the slats can be attached to make a double bed. Both mattresses sit neatly in the under-sofa bed drawer when not in use.

Emma claims the bed is so easy to switch from lounging to sleeping that it can be set up in 10 seconds.

While the sleeping credentials are good, sofa beds must look good too when not in use, and the Emma sofa bed delivers basic good looks. The options are limited as it's only available in one size: 222cm wide and 92 cm deep; and one colour: grey. However, the versatile colour and simple modern design make it perfect for fitting into almost any design scheme. It also uses a water-repellent fabric to help keep your sofa bed in good condition for longer.

In keeping with Emma's mattress in a box USP the sofa bed arrives in two boxes, one including the structure of the sofa and the other with the two mattresses. While we have tried to put it together ourselves, Emma promises that these can constructed easily with no tools needed.

Alternative sofa beds

Saying all that while we do think this is a brilliant chance to snap up a versatile and comfortable sofa bed that your in-laws won't complain about, if you're budget is a little tighter these are three great alternatives that we highly rate.

I'm Ideal Home's Sleep Editor, which means I regularly put bestselling mattresses through their paces in order to find the best mattresses on the market. 

As such, every Black Friday I'm tasked with searching out the best Black Friday mattress deals to track down the lowest prices on our tried and tested favourites. 

The Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress is already one the best Black Friday mattress deals I've come across this year, with Emma's Black Friday sale reducing its normal price by a massive 65% off.

That means the full RRP of £1198 for the smallest mattress size is now reduced to just £419.30 in the Emma Black Friday sale.

However, the even better news is that it's just become even cheaper still thanks to an exclusive Ideal Home discount code that allows you to get an extra 10% off sale prices on the Emma website. 

That means the sale price of £419.30 for the single mattress is now reduced even further to £377.37. An incredible £820 saving on the full retail price.

To take advantage of the new, even lower, price, you just need to add discount code IDEALHOMEBF10 to the checkout on the Emma website. 

However, the discount code is only valid until the 28th of November at 12:59. So you'll need to move quickly to take advantage of the lowest price I've seen on this mattress all year!

We were amongst the first to review the Emma Luxe Cooling Mattress when it launched, and our reviewer was soon singing its praises, finding its new cooler sleep surface a welcome addition to the range. 

You can read our tester's full thoughts in our Emma Luxe Cooling mattress review.

The exclusive Ideal Home discount code also works on any other of Emma's sale products, including the already affordable Emma Original mattress. 

Emma is a tried and tested sleep brand, so you can (literally!) rest easy knowing you've got one of the best quality mattresses on the market.

Lidl’s middle aisle is famous for offering everyday essentials at affordable prices. And if you head down the middle of Lidl from the 19th of November, you’ll spot a new offering from the original ‘Bed in a Box’ brand, Emma. 

The supermarket’s move to branch out into mattresses is perfect for those who want to grab one of the best mattresses before Christmas. You won’t have to pay full price for this award-winning memory foam mattress, though. Lidl has slashed the price of this mattress for Black Friday, making it a brilliant Black Friday mattress deal.

The mattresses will be available to buy in-stores from Sunday 19th November:

• Emma Original Double Mattress |was £379 now £279 at Lidl
• Emma Original King Mattress | was £428 now £329 at Lidl

Lidl Emma Original Mattress

The Ideal Home team is particularly excited about this new Lidl offering. The supermarket has slashed the RRP of the double from £379 down to £279, and the king down from £428 to £329 for Black Friday.

Over the years, our testing team has tried and tested almost every popular mattress on the market - and the Emma Original has consistently come out on top. In fact, we’ve dubbed it the ‘Most Affordable’ mattress you can buy right now, which makes the £100 Lidl discount even sweeter. 

During our review of the Emma Original, our expert tester, Molly Cleary, gave this memory foam mattress a 4-star review, praising it for its lack of motion transfer, which cuts down on partner disturbance, and its medium-firm comfortability, which suited her perfectly. 

She said, ‘The Emma Original gets full marks from me for comfort. In my head, when I picture memory foam, I think of sinking uncomfortably far into a mattress, never to be found again. That's not the case here. It's a subtle kind of cushioning that feels very supportive from the first minute you lie down, but there's still a sturdiness to the mattress. Emma Sleep says that it's a 'body-hugging' mattress, and I'd agree it is unbelievably comfy.’

The only niggle she had with the mattress was that she found that it ran quite hot, but this was combated by switching out her bedding with new bedding alternatives that were a bit more breathable.

Of course, the fact that this bedroom must-have is a mattress-in-a-box means that you don’t have to worry about sliding a double or king-size mattress into your car alongside your fruits and vegetables.

If you’re suitably intrigued and looking for the best night’s sleep you’ve had in a long time, the Emma Original Mattress can be found in Lidl’s middle aisle from Sunday 19th November. 

Alternatives

If you don't have a Lidl near you then you'll be pleased to know that Emma has already started its Black Friday deals and included the mattress in its discounting. It isn't as affordable as the Lidl deal, however, you do have the option to opt for the new Emma Luxe cooling mattress which usually retails for over £1,000 but has been reduced by 65% to £629.30 for a double. 

We have a feeling that this mattress will set out fast at Lidl, so you’ll have to be quick if you want to grab this bargain. 

Our Emma Luxe Cooling mattress review puts one of the brand's premium hybrid mattresses through its paces to see how it compares to the best mattresses Ideal Home has tested so far.

Quick review

I've previously tested both the all-foam Emma Original mattress and Emma's entry-level hybrid mattress (the now discontinued) Emma Premium mattress for Ideal Home, and despite each having their merits, the one thing myself (normally a cold sleeper) and my partner (a certified hot sleeper) both struggled with whilst sleeping on Emma's mattresses, was overheating.

So, when Emma launched the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress which specifically promises a cooler sleep, I was eager to give it try.

And, I was impressed. Unlike the previous Emma mattresses I tested, the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress offered far more breathability which meant no overheating and a sounder sleep from day one. As someone who sleeps both on my side and back, I also found its medium-firm tension just right for me.

Overall, this is by far the best Emma mattress I've tested. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress costs more than the Simba Hybrid Original mattress – which in our opinion still takes the biscuit as the best value for money – and the fact that Emma appears to put less effort into reducing its environmental impact than Simba, I'd go so far as to say I've found my ideal mattress.

Emma Luxe Cooling mattress review

Overall we consider ten factors when we test mattresses. We then use these to score each mattress out of 5. The Emma Luxe Cooling mattress scored an impressive 4.5 out of 5. Read on to find out why.

Specifications

Type: Hybrid
Materials: Foam, memory foam, pocket springs
Sizes: Single, Small Double, Double, King, Super King
Comfort level: Firm
Height: 25cm
Rotate or flip: rotate
Side handles: Yes
Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

From the very first night I slept on it, I found the Emma Cooling Luxe mattress to be much more comfortable than the Emma Premium mattress, which was my previous sleeping surface.

Although both mattresses offer a hybrid design – with a sprung base and memory foam top layer – I found I needed an adjustment period to get to grips with the Premium mattress, in particular because its firmness meant that I experienced some aches and pains in my hips when I slept on my side.

In contrast, I immediately felt I sank into the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress a little more, which I most definitely preferred. This is no doubt because of the additional layer of foam that sits on top of the memory foam layer in the Luxe Cooling mattress (and isn't present in the Premium mattress). The result was that I was much more comfortable sleeping on my side and could switch between my preferred sleeping positions – on my back and side – because I wanted to, rather than switching at intervals because whichever hip I was laid on had started to hurt.

As a back and side sleeper the construction of the mattress also seems to work well for me. The memory foam top layer adds enough comfort to cushion my hip and shoulder when I'm laid on my side, but the pocket springs deliver enough support that I don't feel I'm sinking in to the mattress too much – like I've experienced on an all-foam mattress before.

My sister also tested this mattress out for me when she came to stay. She sleeps primarily on her back and reported that she fared excellently with this mattress too.

However, weight can affect how a mattress feels for you. I'm 5ft 6″ and 70kg and my sister is around 60kg. The lighter you are the firmer a mattress will feel, and the heavier you are the softer it will feel and the more you'll sink in to the mattress surface if the tension is too low.

It's also worth noting that, generally speaking, a mattress that utilises memory foam isn't the best choice for front sleepers. That's because it can mean the hips sink too low as the memory foam gradually depresses to mould around pressure points. In this case you might be better opting for a firmer mattress, like the Sealy Newton Posturepedic mattress Ideal Home recently tested.

2. Responsiveness

Perhaps because the first layer of padding in this mattress is foam rather than memory foam, I found this mattress pretty responsive to sleep on. That means that it was easy to change position and turn over in the night – perfect for me as someone who swaps between sleeping on my side and back.

In comparison, on an all-foam memory foam mattress, such as the Tempur Sensation mattress or Emma Original mattress, this can be trickier as the deeper memory foam 'hug' can be a little harder to transition out of when you want to change position.

3. Motion isolation

I pride myself on being able to sleep almost anywhere and through anything, although I have to have a solid eight hours a night to avoid crashing and burning the next day. In comparison, my partner sometimes has difficulty getting to sleep, so can toss and turn a little, and more regularly gets up during the night. This can sometimes prove difficult when sharing a bed, which is where motion isolation becomes important.

Why is motion isolation important in a mattress? Because it reduces the transfer of movement from one side of the bed to the other. So on a mattress with good motion isolation, our movements shouldn't disturb our partner.

The worst culprits for motion transfer tend to be open coil mattresses, as they're constructed from one continuous coil of springs. That means bounce on one side of the mattress is more likely to travel through the springs to the other side of the mattress.

The Luxe Cooling is a hybrid pocket spring mattresss. That means each spring is individually housed in a fabric pocket, which should reduce the likelihood of motion transfer compared to an open coil structure. It's also topped with a layer of memory foam which is excellent at dampening movement.

In practice, I found this mattress didn't entirely negate the feeling of someone moving around next to me at night, but it was pretty good at masking movements. My boyfriend tends to move around a lot before he drifts off and though I now feel it a lot less than compared with our old open coil mattress, I am still aware of him getting up or changing position to some extent, and I'm a heavy sleeper.

4. Temperature regulation

As mentioned, my biggest issue with the Emma Original and Emma Premium mattresses I'd previously tested was that they regularly made me too hot at night. Though I consider myself to be a cold sleeper, whilst testing these mattresses I soon found I was waking up in the night sweating due to a lack of breathability.

This can be a common problem with memory foam mattresses as the structure of memory foam is incredibly dense, meaning that body heat can't dissipate away through the mattress, and is instead reflected back towards the sleeper. That stops the body from being able to regulate its temperature and leads to us waking up due to overheating – not ideal if you're after a restful night's sleep.

The Luxe Cooling mattress addresses this issue via what the brand dubs 'Thermosync Technology'. In practice this is a graphite-infused foam layer, followed by a second foam layer with a more open structure, that both sit above the memory foam layer inside the Luxe Cooling mattress.

Graphite is highly conductive, and is commonly used in mattresses to draw heat away from the body. For example, Simba infuses graphite into most of its memory foam mattresses (you can find out more about this in our Emma vs Simba comparison). Paired with that extra foam layer that should allow better airflow between the body and the memory foam layer, I was hopeful these two factors would contribute to a cooler sleep. And, they did.

The result was that I didn't wake up in a sweat at any point whilst I slept on the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress – hallelujah! In fact, I slept coolly and soundly from the first night onwards, even through a summer heatwave.

5. Edge support

Even though I sleep in a king size bed, strangely I always find myself gravitating towards the edge of a mattress, so good edge support is very important to me. Thankfully I've never experienced dipping at the edges with this mattress, as I can imagine it would be very disruptive to my sleep.

Even when I was really testing the mattress's metal by half-hanging over the edge of the mattress, I didn't feel it give way, which is likely down to the foam edge support that the Luxe Cooling mattress contains.

6. Ease of care

The Emma Luxe Cooling mattress is one-sided, meaning you can only sleep on the top of the mattress and it can't be flipped. Instead, it needs rotating regularly to ensure even wear and tear. This is made easier thanks to side handles that help with the mattress' manouevrability.

A one-sided mattress could perhaps lack some longevity compared to a high quality two-sided mattress. After all, only one side means that side will get more wear and tear. However, my first impressions of this mattress are that it seems durable and of good quality.

The mattress cover itself isn't removable, so I'd definitely recommend investing in a good mattress protector to keep the Luxe Cooling mattress clean and fresh. After all, it's a lot easier to wash a mattress protector than it is to figure out how to clean a mattress! (Especially how to clean a memory foam mattress, as these can require a little more TLC).

7. Sleep trial

It's taken me a while to get to grips with how firm a mattress I prefer, and, in my experience, this is something that you can only really assess after spending a good few nights sleeping on a mattress to see if it begins to conjure up any aches and pains because it's too soft or too firm.

A sleep trial can be a great way to do this. This means that you get to test a mattress out in your own home, usually for anywhere between 30 and 365 nights, with the option to return the mattress for a refund if it doesn't suit you.

There are always specific terms and conditions that apply to sleep trials and these can differ between retailers, so it's important check the small print before you make a purchase. But, as of writing, Emma offers a generous sleep trial of up to 200 nights on the Luxe Cooling mattress, which is plenty of time to assess whether it's a good fit for your needs.

The only downside is that, unlike some retailers – such as Simba who are explicit that all Simba mattresses returned during a sleep trial are fully recycled and given a new life to avoid landfill – Emma doesn't offer a lot of clarity on its website as to what happens to Emma mattresses that are returned during the sleep trial, although it does mention that some are refurbished and resold. More on that in the Environmental Impact section.

8. Delivery

This is the third Emma mattress I've reviewed and received, and each delivery has been seamless for me. My delivery date was pinpointed down to the hour, which is always helpful as it means you don't need to hang around at home for an entire day.

However, unlike most mattress retailers, unfortunately Emma doesn't offer delivery to the room of your choice. You can't even pay extra for it, instead your mattress will be delivered to your doorstep and no further.

Thankfully Emma is a mattress-in-a-box brand, which means your mattress arrives rolled up into a manageable sized box, and although I wouldn't categorise myself as someone with much muscle to spare I got the box up the stairs and into my bedroom OK.

However, this kind of manual lifting wouldn't be possible for everyone, so if you lack mobility this is a very important point to bear in mind, and could mean it's best to avoid an Emma mattress in favour of a brand that caters to people of all abilities.

Of course, as there's no delivery to the room of your choice, there's also no white glove delivery service to unbox the mattress for you, so my next job was wrestling the mattress out of its packaging.

Once unboxed, cutting away the plastic is made easy thanks to the safety cutting tool included within the box.

From my previous experience with Emma mattresses, I knew it would take at least five hours for the mattress to be fully 'inflated', so I opened the window (to air out that new mattress off-gassing smell) and left it to inflate.

9. Environmental impact

The National Bed Federation estimates that 6.4 million mattresses were disposed of between 2017 and 2021, and only 14% recycled. The rest are likely to have ended up in landfill which is a big environmental concern. So, buying from a mattress from a manufacturer that considers its impact on the environment can be a very important purchasing decision.

As mentioned, unlike its main competitor in the mattress market, Simba, which publishes a regular environmental impact report, Emma seems to offer very little publically available environmental impact information – at least from what we could find by trawling the Emma website.

I couldn't find any information that suggests any of the materials used in the production of the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress came from recycled sources, which is a shame, and the brand doesn't seem to offer a mattress recycling service.

Although it does state some of the mattresses returned via its sleep trial offer are refurbished (that means the mattress is carefully examined, the cover is replaced, and the foam is subjected to UV light decontamination) it doesn't share what happens to those mattresses deemed unsuitable for resale.

10. Value for money

Of the three Emma mattresses I've tested, the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress is by far my favourite, but it's also the most expensive. In order to score a cooler sleep that unfortunately means a fairly steep price increase from Emma's entry-level mattress range.

The RRP of the hybrid Emma Luxe Cooling mattress is currently £1049 for a double, whilst the hybrid Emma NextGen Premium Mattress (that takes the place of the discontinued Emma Premium mattress) retails for £659.

The Emma Luxe Cooling mattress is also twice the price of Emma's most affordable mattress offering, the all-foam Emma Original mattress. The Original lacks the pocket spring support of the Luxe Cooling and NextGen Premium mattresses, but does save you a significant amount of cash, with a current RRP of £499 for a double.

Personally, after testing all three mattresses, I would definitely pay more for the Luxe Cooling and a cooler night's sleep. However, obviously Emma isn't the only mattress manufacturer to consider.

Emma mattresses are often looked at in comparison to Simba mattresses – one of the other leading names in the sleep world. Our Simba Hybrid Original mattress review (which is also a hybrid mix of pocket springs and memory foam) placed this mattress in the top spot in Ideal Home's guide to the best mattresses, so I was really interested to see how the Luxe Cooling would compare. All in all, I think the Luxe's newly designed cooler sleep surface definitely puts it on a par with Simba's breathable mattress. However, the Luxe Cooling costs more, with a double of the Simba Hybrid Original mattress costing £869 compared to £1049 for the a double Luxe Cooling Mattress.

Simba will also deliver to the room of your choice rather than just your doorstep, offers recycling of your old mattress, is leading the way in addressing its environmental impact, and tends to score higher on Trust Pilot, with Simba's Trust Pilot score averaging 4.5 out of 5, as opposed to Emma's Trust Pilot score of 3 out of 5.

However, if price is the main criteria in your search then the good news is that Emma regularly runs sales, so you often don't need to wait too long to find the brand's mattresses reduced. Our mattress deals page has a wealth of information on the best time to shop for an Emma mattress, with Black Friday usually seeing the lowest prices.

How I tested

During my mattress testing process I assessed ten factors that the Ideal Home team deems vital to any mattress purchase.

I assessed the mattress for comfort, responsiveness, motion isolation, temperature regulation, and edge support through at home testing. This means that I slept on the mattress for a minimum of two weeks before writing my review.

I also took into consideration durability, any sleep trials available, the delivery process, and the mattress's environmental impact and its value for money.

Where possible, I also took into account 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.

Emma has launched a sofa bed that could very well make its way up the rankings as one of the best sofa beds on the market – however, with a hefty £1899 price tag, is it an investment worth making?

Emma has long been a favourite for all things sleep-related at Ideal Home, responsible for manufacturing what we believe to be some of the best mattresses money can buy, with the Emma Original mattress taking the top spot in our own buying guide. So when we heard that they had launched a sofa bed, best believe we were all ears to see what all the fuss was about.

Emma sofa bed first impressions

The Emma Sofa Bed is available on their website, featuring a £1899 price tag, which is admittedly on the steeper side as far as sofa beds go. Sporting the tagline, 'a sofa bed that actually feels like a bed,' Emma claims that the sofa bed can go from sit to sleep mode in 10 seconds, fitting anywhere and everywhere in your home.

We asked our Decor Editor, Amy Lockwood, to weigh in and give us her first impressions on the premium-looking sofa bed, and whether it could be a worthwhile purchase to spruce up your living room sofa ideas.

'Usually, there are two different types of sofa bed designs; a click-clack construction where the sofa backrest and seat fold flat to create the sleeping surface, such as Habitat’s Roma sofa bed, which can often result in a fairly firm sofa and bed; or a pull-out sofa bed where you pull the mattress out from under the sofa seat, like with Sofa.com’s Otto sofa bed.'

'Due to the weight involved, pull-out sofa beds generally have to be built with quite thin mattresses – 6-10cm is the norm – which can mean a little less comfort than you might desire when your or your guests' bed is down for the night,' Amy explains.

'Higher-end sofa beds can sometimes deliver a 12-14cm mattress, Darlings of Chelsea’s Bromley sofa bed is one example, however, the sturdier build that’s required for that mattress weight means the price tag of the sofa bed is usually pretty high, with prices starting from around £2000.'

'The Emma sofa bed looks to offer an alternative construction which means it can offer an impressive 18cm thick mattress. For reference, most of the best mattresses on the market start at 25cm deep, so this isn’t far off the same comfort as a normal bed would offer,' adds Amy.

Therefore, does that mean its premium £1899 price tag could be worth it? We’re eager to get our hands on one to test out its comfort levels first-hand, but upon first impressions, it looks like it could be an overnight option well worth considering.

Our Emma Original mattress review puts the brand's most affordable mattress through its paces to see how the all-foam design compares to the best mattresses Ideal Home has tested.

Quick review

The Emma Original mattress is an all-foam mattress that ditches the springs and instead uses a mix of foam and memory foam layers for its structure. It's also one of Emma's bestselling mattresses, no doubt thanks to its very affordable price tag (which is often reduced further in the brand's regular sales) and the cushioned sleep it offers.

As a lighter weight side sleeper I instantly loved its malleable sleep surface. When I was laid on my side the mattress moulded around my shoulder and hips to offer cushioning on my pressure points with enough firmness below that I still felt supported. It also offered brilliant motion isolation which meant that the movements of my restless co-sleeper were substantially dampened.

However, it does have some downsides. I found I slept warm on its foam surface, and my hot-blooded partner often woke up sweating. Plus, it lacks edge support and its cushioned surface does make it a little unresponsive which means it's a bit harder to change position in the night.

Heavier sleepers may also find it doesn't offer quite enough support, and it may be too enveloping for those who sleep on their back or front. Plus, Emma doesn't deliver to the room of your choice, only to your doorstep, which won't be suitable for everyone. And, compared to competitors like Simba, we couldn't find a lot of evidence that the brand had considered the environmental impact of its mattress range.

But, if affordability is one of the key factors in your mattress search, and if, like many of us, you're a side sleeper in search of good cushioning for your joints, there's a lot to love about the Emma Original mattress. Not least a 200 night sleep trial that offers the opportunity to test it out for yourself before you commit.

Specifications

Type: Memory foam
Construction materials: Airgocell foam, memory foam, HRX foam
Sizes: Single, Small Double, Double, King, Super King
Comfort level: Medium Firm
Height: 25cm
Side handles: Yes
Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

I'm predominanly a side sleeper, and I instantly found the Emma Original mattress to be super comfortable. The memory foam layer moulded gently around my hip and shoulder when I was laid on my side to offer just the right amount of cushioning whilst still feeling firm enough underneath that I had support.

I can sometimes experience pain in my hip from sleeping on my side on a mattress that's too firm, but didn't experience any of that with the Emma Original. The brand describes it as a 'body-hugging' mattress, and I'd agree, it's a mattress that you sink into rather than lying on top of, so it's a good choice for a side sleeper like me.

Of course, the feel of a mattress does depend a lot on your body weight and your preferred sleeping position. I'm around 70kg so I likely don't sink into the mattress as much as a heavier person would. Those who do weigh more may find this mattress on the softer side and miss the lack of spring support.

It may also have a little too much give for a back or front sleeper to lay comfortably, but if, like me, you favour sleeping on your side, you're likely to enjoy the feel. After I tested the mattress for a number of weeks, I then moved the mattress into our spare room and my housemate also described this mattress as offering a 'dreamy' night's sleep.

2. Responsiveness

Because the Emma Original mattress is an all-foam mattress without any springs, it does lack bounce. That means it doesn't feel as responsive as a hybrid or pocket spring mattress, and can feel a bit 'dead' to lie on.

This movement dampening is great for motion isolation – more on that in a minute – but does mean that turning over can feel a bit 'sluggish', as it takes a few seconds for the foam surface to reshape around you when you roll over or change position in the night.

This could be a problem for anyone who lacks mobility, as it makes shifting your body in the night a little harder work.

3. Motion isolation

Before testing the Emma Original mattress, my partner and I had previously been sleeping on an old sprung mattress. It wasn't great when it came to motion transfer as if one person turned over too dramatically vibrations could be felt on the other side of the bed.

Thanks to the Emma Original's all-foam design, there's no sign of that at all. The foam and memory foam layers absorb a lot movement, so it's a great option for couples in that regard.

My partner can be a restless sleeper sometimes, and I find that I can feel his movements a lot less when sleeping on this mattress which means that I can sleep undisturbed for longer.

I did a very non-scientific experiment to see how close I could stand next to a glass of water placed on the mattress surface, and as you can see my weight barely unbalanced it.

4. Temperature regulation

Synthetic mattresses – in particular those that use memory foam – can tend to cause overheating at night unless they employ special technologies to combat excess warmth, as the materials they're made from lack breathability.

I consider myself to be a cold sleeper, but I noticed that I slept pretty warm on the Emma Original mattress. For me, this wasn't too much of a problem, although at times I definitely woke up warmer than I'd like. However, my boyfriend, who is a certified hot sleeper, found he slept a lot warmer than on our old sprung mattress and woke up sweating a few times.

If you're also a hot sleeper, then I'd suggest a hybrid or pocket sprung mattress will likely deliver a cooler sleep. If you still want to benefit from the cushioning of memory foam, then the great value Simba Hybrid Original mattress with its graphite-infused open cell memory foam is a good bet, or the more expensive Emma Luxe Cooling mattress and even more breathable Simba Hybrid Pro mattress.

However, the coolest mattresses tend to be made from natural materials, such as the wool-filled Hypnos Pillow Top Select mattress or Woolroom Hebridean 3000 mattress.

5. Edge support

No matter what size bed I'm in, I always tend to gravitate to the edge of a mattress, so good edge support is very important to me.

Emma doesn't make any claims about edge support in the Original's product description, and on unzipping the mattress cover it's clear that it doesn't have reinforced side walls. Which would explain why I found the Emma Original very soft at its edges.

The mattress dips quite significantly when I sit on the edge to get up in the morning – which could be a bigger concern for anyone with mobility issues – and although I can't say I've felt like I could roll out during the night, if I sleep close to the edge I can feel myself sink more than I'd like.

When you're choosing the right mattress size, we'd always recommend opting for the largest mattress you can to avoid anyone sleeping on the edge, but if you co-sleep and are limited to a double mattress by budget or room size – or you're a parent with kids who regularly climb into the bed – then this could be a factor to consider.

6. Ease of care

Because the Emma Original mattress only has memory foam on one side, that means it can't be flipped. Instead, Emma recommends rotating the mattress once a month for the first six months, and then once every three months to ensure even wear and tear. This is made easier thanks to side handles that help with the mattress' manouevrability.

A one-sided mattress could perhaps lack some longevity compared to a high quality two-sided mattress. After all, only one side means that side will get more wear and tear. However, I've only owned this mattress for a few months, so it's as yet too early for me to comment on its durability.

Instead, I delved into third-party customer reviews to see how those who had owned it for longer were getting on. A selection of John Lewis user reviews do seem to mention some issues with sagging or dips that have created 'valleys' within their mattresses after a while, which can sometimes be a problem with older all-foam mattresses as they lack spring support to keep their shape.

As of writing, Emma's Trustpilot score is 3.0 out of 5, and some similar concerns with dipping also crop up there. However, it's difficult to know whether these customers have followed the instructions to regularly rotate the mattress, how long they've owned it for, and whether bodyweight is also a factor. But, it's worth mentioning in order to provide a balanced view as durability isn't something I've yet had enough time to test out.

One thing I do love about this mattress is that it has a removable cover that you can unzip and machine wash. You can add a mattress protector to any mattress of course, but it's a nice extra touch to help keep the mattress clean.

7. Sleep trial

It can be difficult to judge if a mattress is the right one for you – especially if you're ordering online, as you likely are with an Emma mattress as the brand doesn't have its own showrooms.

This is where a sleep trial can come in very handy. It's important to check the small print before you make a purchase, as all sleep trials can differ slightly in their terms and conditions, but generally a sleep trial means that you get to test a mattress out in your own home – usually for anywhere between 30 and 365 nights – with the option to return the mattress for a refund if it doesn't suit you.

As of writing, Emma offers a generous sleep trial of up to 200 nights on the Emma Original mattress. This isn't quite as long as Nectar's 365 night sleep trial, but it is on a par with the likes of Simba and Brook + Wilde, and should be plenty of time to assess whether the mattress is a good fit for your needs.

8. Delivery

The Emma Original mattress was one of the first mattresses-in-a-box. That means that your mattress will arrive rolled and vacuum-packed into a cardboard box rather than being delivered flat.

It's a very useful option if you have an awkward delivery route to navigate inside the house, as the compact box can be a lot easier to get up the stairs than a flat mattress.

However, it's worth noting that, as of writing, Emma only offers delivery to your doorstep, so you will need to take over manhandling the mattress into the house at this point, and, a mattress can be a heavy item to manouevre.

If you know you'll struggle moving a mattress on your own, then both eve and REM-fit offer delivery to the room of your choice as standard, and Simba offers the same, plus white glove delivery which means the mattress will also be removed from its packaging, installed onto your bedframe, and all packaging taken away.

Once you've got the mattress into the right room, it's time to wrestle it out of the box and its thick plastic packaging. It's fairly easy to figure out what to do, and there's a box cutter included so you don't need to use scissors which could risk damaging the mattress.

There's also a QR code on the top of the box which offers instructions on how to unbox the mattress. However, it would have been nice to have the advice printed somewhere for those who don't have access to digital devices.

Once out of its packaging, you then need to leave the mattress for around four hours to expand to its full height of 25cm. Initially I was a bit concerned about its slightly sad-looking out-of-the-box form, but it soon plumped up into something that looked good enough to sleep on, so I got rid of my old mattress and fitted the Emma Original to my bedframe for that night.

I'm not that sensitive to smells after a few bouts of Covid, but I'm aware that foam and memory foam mattresses can initially have a strong odour, so I enlisted the help of my housemate to judge She agreed that any smell wasn't really that noticeable, but if you're especially sensitive to odours it might be a good idea to open a window and air everything out anyways.

9. Environmental impact

Mattresses, especially synthetic mattresses, can pose a lot of environmental problems. Largely because many of the materials used in their manufacture – such as foam and memory foam – are derived from from non-renewable petrochemicals. At the end of a mattress's lifespan these synthetics can also be difficult to recycle responsibly leading to many mattresses ending up in landfill where they can cause more environmental harm.

Thankfully some synthetic mattress manufacturers, such as Simba, are becoming more aware of their environmental impact and leading the way in introducing more sustainable production practices.

Emma is less clear on any efforts to reduce its environmental impact, at least based on the information we could find on its website. For instance, we couldn't see that the Emma Original mattress utilises any recycled materials in its construction, which is a shame, and the brand doesn't seem to offer a mattress recycling service.

We also couldn't find a lot of information on what happens to those mattresses returned via its sleep trials. The brand does state that those mattresses that can be refurbished (that means the mattress is carefully examined, the cover is replaced, and the foam is subjected to UV light decontamination) are sold as Second Life for a discounted price, but is less clear on what happens to any that aren't deemed suitable for resale.

10. Value for money

As a rule, all-foam mattresses are generally more affordable than hybrid mattresses as they contain less expensive components.

The Emma Original mattress is particularly good value. As of writing, a double Emma Original mattress costs £499 at full price. In comparison an all-foam Nectar mattress costs £600 and a Tempur all-foam mattress will set you back £1499 for a double.

On the flip side, a Tempur mattress is available in a range of different tension options to help you find the right feel for you, whereas the Emma Original mattress takes a one-tension-fits-all approach, so it may not be the best bet for heavier sleepers.

It's price is hard to beat though, especially when you consider that Emma runs regular discounting events that can see the price reduced even further. Our mattress deals page has a wealth of information on the best time to shop for an Emma mattress, with Black Friday usually seeing the lowest prices.

How I tested

Usual sleeping position: side and back
Tension preference: medium firm
Sleep problems: lower body aches, hip pain
Height & weight: 5ft 6 & 70kg (myself) 6ft 1 (my partner)

During testing I assessed ten factors that the Ideal Home team deem vital to any mattress purchase.

I assessed the mattress for comfort, responsiveness, motion isolation, temperature regulation, and edge support through at home testing. This means that I slept on the mattress for a minimum of two weeks before writing my review.

I also took into consideration durability, any sleep trials available, the delivery process, and the mattress's environmental impact and its value for money.

Where possible, I also took into account 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.

Our Emma Premium mattress review puts one of the brand's most affordable hybrid mattress through its paces to see how it compares to the best mattresses Ideal Home has tested so far.

Quick review

The Emma Premium mattress is advertised as a medium-firm hybrid mattress that combines pocket spring support with a memory foam comfort layer.

In reality I found it to feel more firm than medium-firm, but that could be because I weigh in at around 70kg, so I'm at the lower end of the 50-130kg weight range the Emma customer service representative I spoke to recommended the mattress was most suitable for.

I predominantly sleep on my side, so I found this mattress lacked a little cushioning around my shoulders and hips, although when sleeping on my back that firmer feel was more comfortable.

However, the main issue I had with the Emma Premium mattress was its tendency to make me overheat at night. I usually consider myself to be a cool sleeper, but the Premium mattress caused me to wake up sweating in the night on numerous occasions, and my warm-blooded partner really struggled with the body heat the mattress reflected back towards us. Read on to find out more.

Emma Premium mattress review

Overall we consider ten factors when we test mattresses. We then use these to score each mattress out of 5. The Emma Premium mattress scored 4 out of 5. Read on to find out why.

Specifications

Type: Hybrid
Construction materials: Pocket springs, foam, memory foam
Number of springs: 2000
Sizes: Single, Small Double, Double, King, Super King
Comfort level: Firm
Height: 25cm
Side handles: Yes
Manufacturer sleep trial: 200 nights

1. Comfort

Emma rates the Premium mattress as a 6.5 on the firmness scale, which should make it a medium-firm tension.

This is often the tension recommended for people who sleep predominantly on their side or back – like me – and medium-firm mattresses are also the most recommended as the best mattress for back pain.

However, I defintitely found this mattress firmer than I was expecting from the online description. The Premium features a pocket spring base topped with a memory foam layer to add cushioning. Perhaps it was because it was cold when I started sleeping on this mattress so the memory foam didn't soften up as much as it might have done in warmer weather, but I definitely didn't find there to be enough cushioning to begin with.

In fact, I found myself having to change position frequently on this mattress to try and get comfortable as after lying on my side for a while I'd get pain in my hip from the firm sleep surface.

It was better when laying on my back, and obviously weight will make a difference to how a mattress feels for you. I spoke to a customer advisor at Emma and they recommended the Premium mattress is a good choice for those weighing 50kg to 130kg. I weigh in at around 70kg, so that suggests I would find it firmer than someone at the upper end of the scale who will sink further into the mattress – something worth bearing in mind if you're also a side sleeper on the lighter side.

2. Responsiveness

On the plus side, the Premium mattress's firmer feel does mean I found it pretty responsive, meaning that it was easy to turn over and change position.

I've slept on memory foam mattresses before – like the all-foam Emma Original mattress – where the memory foam layer moulds around your body so much that it makes it hard to roll over and out of the body-shaped dip that's formed around you.

Not so on this mattress, although personally I'd be happy to exchange a bit more lag when changing position for some more cushioning for my joints!

3. Motion isolation

One noticeable improvement between the Emma Premium and our old sprung mattress is that now when my boyfriend gets up in the night, I find my sleep is less disturbed. In fact, there have been times since we've been sleeping on the Emma Premium that he's gotten up and gotten back into bed without me realising, which I didn't really think was possible before.

I'm not a light sleeper by any stretch, but I just always thought that I'd be able to notice that kind of movement in the bed, so the motion isolation of this mattress has really impressed me. Probably this is down to that memory foam top layer, as it does a great job of dampening surface movements and stopping them from travelling from one side of the mattress to the other.

I did a non-scientific test by placing a glass of water on the mattress and seeing how close I could walk towards it without tipping the glass. I came very close and the glass stayed upright, which was impressive.

4. Temperature regulation

Other than finding the Premium mattress a little too firm for me when I laid on my side, the main issue my partner and I encountered during testing was finding it regularly made us too hot at night.

Though I consider myself to be a cold sleeper, I was waking up in the night sweating whilst sleeping on this mattress, whilst my boyfriend (who is constantly the approximate temperature of the sun) was beside himself after a few weeks due to broken sleep caused by the heat.

A little research seems to indicate that we're not alone. Emma is one of the UK's go-to mattress brands, however, one niggle that seems to emerge time and time again in (otherwise happy) customer reviews, is that the memory foam top layer on some Emma mattresses can reflect more body heat back towards the sleeper than is desired.

This can be a common problem with memory foam mattresses as the elasticated structure of memory foam means it lacks breathability, and a lack of breathability means a lack of air circulation which is what helps the body to regulate its temperature. All of our bodies release heat and humidity during the night, and if this can't dissipate and is instead reflected back towards us by non-breathable surfaces (like memory foam) that's what causes us to wake up at 3am and desperately throw the duvet off in a bid to cool down.

As advised by Emma, we solved the overheating problem with the Emma Premium by acquiring the Emma Premium Mattress Topper. As soon as it arrived and we added it on top of the Premium mattress our problems with temperature regulation were solved, plus it added a layer of extra comfort that I thought was much needed.

However, that topper costs £550 for the double. Almost as much as the mattress itself. And whilst you can get cheaper cooling mattress toppers, it's definitely still an unwanted extra expense.

If, like for us, overheating is a problem for you, but you still like the idea of a hybrid memory foam mattress, then I'd definitely recommend opting for the great value Simba Hybrid Original mattress, the even more breathable Simba Hybrid Pro mattress, or the Emma Luxe Cooling mattress – which does actually deliver on its cooling promise.

5. Edge support

Even though my partner and I share a king size bed, so I have plenty of space, I often still find myself sleeping on the edge of the mattress, so good edge support is very important to me.

The Premium mattress does have built-in edge support in the form of foam outer walls, but I wouldn't say that support is particularly sturdy. I find the mattress can still dip if I lie very close to the edge – more of an issue if you have a small bedroom so you're sharing a smaller mattress, or if you have kids who like to pile into bed too.

Lack of edge support can also be an issue if you find it a little harder to get out of bed, as you have less support to push against to stand up in the morning. In this case, this may not be the mattress for you.

6. Ease of care

The Emma Premium mattress is one-sided, meaning you can only sleep on the top of the mattress. This means the mattress can't be flipped. Instead, Emma advises rotating it regularly to ensure even wear and tear. This is made easier thanks to side handles that help with the mattress' manouevrability.

A one-sided mattress could perhaps lack some longevity compared to a high quality two-sided mattress. After all, only one side means that side will get more wear and tear.

However, I do like the fact that you can unzip the cover of the Premium mattress and wash it. Of course, you can add a good mattress protector to any mattress to keep it clean and fresh – and you should, because it's a lot easier to wash a mattress protector than it is to figure out how to clean a mattress (especially how to clean a memory foam mattress, as these can require a little more TLC) – but it's a nice feature, and will potentially appeal to anyone with allergies who wants a way to make sure their bed is free from pollen or pet dander on a regular basis.

7. Sleep trial

A sleep trial is a great way to test out a mattress in your own home before you commit to purchasing it. Usually a sleep trial means you get anywhere from 30 and 365 nights to sleep on a mattress, with the option to return the mattress for a refund if it doesn't suit you.

It's important to check the small print of a sleep trial before you buy as these can differ between retailers, but, as of writing, Emma offers a generous sleep trial of up to 200 nights on the Premium mattress, which should plenty of time to assess whether, like me, you find it too firm or too hot.

Of course a sleep trial does come with some downsides, the main one being what happens to those mattresses that are returned. Simba, for instance, is explicit that all mattresses returned during a Simba sleep trial are fully recycled and given a new life to avoid landfill. Emma doesn't offer the same clarity, although it does mention that some mattresses are refurbished and resold via its own website. More on that in the Environmental Impact section.

8. Delivery

The Emma Premium mattress is delivered rolled and boxed, which could be a bonus if you have awkward delivery access to negotiate.

However, it's worth noting that, as of writing, Emma only offers delivery to your doorstep. That means that you'll need to get the mattress inside and into your bedroom by yourself, and although the box is relatively compact, it's still heavy. I wouldn't have been able to lift this mattress by myself.

In our experience, this is unusual in the world of mattresses. Even if it means paying extra for it, you can usually you can opt for delivery to the room of your choice, and even 'white glove delivery' where the mattress is removed from its packaging and placed onto the bed for you, ready to go.

This may not matter to everyone, but if you live alone or are less able-bodied then this is an important consideration.

It's also worth noting that Emma doesn't provide an instruction manual in the box, instead there's a QR code which takes you to instructions on how to unbox the mattress. Again, this won't be accessible for everyone, and although it's not too hard to figure out on your own, it would be nice to have the advice printed somewhere.

There's a cutting tool inside the box to cut through the thick plastic the mattress is vacuum packed into, and once released the mattress will spring open and start to reinflate.

Emma recommends it will take around five hours for the mattress to inflate to its full height of 25cm, so don't panic when it initially looks wrinkly and flat as a pancake! It soon plumps up and becomes smooth and taut. I found the inflation process only took four hours or so, which meant I was able to sleep on it the first night it arrived.

I didn't notice a smell with the Emma Premium either in the wrapping or out of it, but I am admittedly not at all sensitive to smells after a few bouts of Covid. If you're sensitive to offgassing then it's probably best to air the mattress out by opening up your closest windows.

9. Environmental impact

The National Bed Federation estimates that 6.4 million mattresses were disposed of between 2017 and 2021, and only 14% recycled. The rest are likely to have ended up in landfill which is a big problem for the environment. So, buying from a mattress from a manufacturer that considers its ecological impact can be a very important purchasing decision.

As opposed to a mattress made predominantly from natural materials – such as the Hypnos Pillow Top Select mattress or Woolroom Hebridean 3000 mattress that Ideal Home has tested – a synthetic mattress made from petrochemicals can also take a significant toll on the environment.

Thankfully some synthetic mattress manufacturers, such as Simba, are becoming more aware of their environmental impact and looking to use recycled synthetic materials within their mattress's construction, alongside considering how their mattress can be recycled at the end of their lifespan to avoid landfill.

However, I couldn't find any information that suggests any of the materials used in the production of the Emma Premium mattress came from recycled sources, which is a shame. The brand also doesn't seem to offer a mattress recycling service, or provide much publically available information on any measures it may be taking to reduce its environmental impact.

Emma does state some of the mattresses returned via its sleep trial offer are refurbished (that means the mattress is carefully examined, the cover is replaced, and the foam is subjected to UV light decontamination) but I couldn't find any details online as to what happens to those Emma mattresses deemed unsuitable for resale.

How I tested

Sleep position: side and back
Tension preference: medium firm
Sleep problems: lower body aches, hip pain
Height & weight: 5ft 6 & 70kg (myself) 6ft 1 (my partner)

During my mattress testing process I assessed ten factors that the Ideal Home team deems vital to any mattress purchase.

I assessed the mattress for comfort, responsiveness, motion isolation, temperature regulation, and edge support through at home testing. This means that I slept on the mattress for a minimum of two weeks before writing my review.

I also took into consideration durability, any sleep trials available, the delivery process, and the mattress's environmental impact and its value for money.

Where possible, I also took into account 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.

If you’ve been researching a new mattress lately, then you’ve likely come across the Emma vs Simba debate.

These brands are perhaps two of the best-known names in the UK sleep market, at least if online searches are anything to go by. ‘Emma mattress’ averages a whopping 110,000 online searches per month, and ‘Simba mattress’ is a close second with 74,000 online searches per month.

Both brands also regularly feature Ideal Home's guide to the best mattress money can buy. But which brand comes out on top in the Emma vs Simba battle? We dig into the nitty-gritty to find out.

Emma vs Simba

On the face of it, these two sleep brands have a lot in common. Both are online only retailers, both offer mattress-in-a-box delivery, and both offer a choice of memory foam hybrid mattresses at a range of different price points. However, dig into the details and there are some key differences between the two retailers.

Emma mattress range

Emma offers four mattresses, and has the most affordable pricing of the two brands, with its lowest priced mattress, the Emma Hybrid Original, starting at £359 for a double.

All prices below are correct as of writing, and reflect the full recommended retail price for a double mattress.

• Emma Hybrid Original | £359 | 22cm : hybrid memory foam and pocket springs
• Emma Hybrid Premium | £528 | 25cm : hybrid memory foam and pocket spring
• Emma Hybrid Thermosync | £799 | 27cm : hybrid graphite-infused memory foam and pocket spring
• Emma Hybrid Airgrid mattress | £999 | 27cm : hybrid AirGrid foam, memory foam, and pocket spring

Simba mattress range

In contrast, Simba's most affordable mattress, the Simba Hybrid Essential, starts at £649 for a double. The brands collection is much larger, and features the 'Earth' range, which incorporates more natural materials.

All prices are correct as of writing, and reflect the full recommended retail price for a double mattress.

• Simba Hybrid Essential | £649 | 20cm : hybrid open-cell graphite-infused memory foam and micro springs
• Simba Hybrid | £799 | 25cm : hybrid open-cell graphite-infused memory foam and micro springs
• Simba Hybrid Pro | £1199 | 28cm : double layer springs, open-cell graphite-infused memory foam, wool
• Simba Hybrid Luxe | £1699 | 31cm : triple layer springs, open-cell graphite-infused memory foam, wool and bamboo
• Simba Hybrid Ultra | £2299 | 34cm : triple layer springs, open-cell graphite-infused memory foam, kapok, wool and bamboo
• Simba Earth Source | £1199 | 25cm : double spring layer, wool, hemp and flax
• Simba Earth Escape | £1699 | 28cm : triple spring layer, wool, hemp, and flax
• Simba Earth Apex | £1999 | 30cm : triple spring layer, cashmere, mohair, wool, hemp, and flax

Mattress comparison

First, and probably most importantly, how do Emma mattresses rate against Simba mattresses? We’ve now put multiple Emma and Simba mattresses through Ideal Home's mattress testing process, and, overall, we've found the Simba Hybrid mattress to be the best all-rounder.

The Simba Hybrid (previously known as the Simba Hybrid Original) offers a winning combination of good cushioning, medium-firm support, decent temperature regulation, good motion isolation, and good value for money. It also benefits from Simba's room of choice delivery and excellent customer service support.

Emma's closest match to the Simba Hybrid is the Emma ThermoSync mattress, but with this mattress you only get doorstep delivery, there's no option of removal of your old mattress on delivery day, and in our experience, there's a lot less communication during the delivery process than Simba offers.

You can see how each Simba and Emma mattress Ideal Home has reviewed ranks below. Click through to read the full review.

• Simba Hybrid Original review | £799 : a great all-rounder 5 out of 5
• Simba Hybrid Pro review | £1199 : added breathability and a firmer feel 4.5 out of 5
• Emma Hybrid ThermoSync review | £799 : Emma's coolest mattress 4.5 out of 5
• Emma Hybrid Premium review | £528 : an affordable memory foam hybrid 4.5 out of 5
• Simba Hybrid Essential review | £649 : an entry-level memory foam hybrid that's just a bit pricey 4 out of 5
• Emma Hybrid Original review | £359 : a basic but budget-friendly hybrid mattress 3.5 out of 5
• Emma Hybrid Airgrid review | £999 : AirGrid support that proved a bit too bouncy for our reviewer 3.5 out of 5

Simba and Emma deals and discounts

Of course, the full price of the brand's mattresses is less relevant when there are deals on, and both Emma and Simba offer deals and discounts throughout the year, with Black Friday deals usually offering the lowest prices.

In 2025, Emma is offering Black Friday discounts of up to 30% off selected mattresses, whilst Simba's Black Friday deals are also offering 30% off selected products.

Customer satisfaction comparison

As of writing, Simba has over 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot, with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars. 78% of reviewers gave the brand 5 stars, with customers raving about the comfort of the mattresses, the ease of setting them up from the box, and the speedy delivery service. 7% of reviewers rated the brand just 1 star.

In contrast, Emma has just under 50,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an average rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars. 61% of reviewers gave the brand 5 stars, but 23% of reviewers only gave the retailer 1 star, with complaints about poor communication and poor customer service being the main theme.

Sleep trial comparison

Both Emma and Simba are online only retailers. That means there are very limited brick-and-mortar stores where you can go to test out their mattresses in person. However, Simba has now launched its mattress range in Bensons for Beds stores nationwide.

Instead, if you buy direct from Simba or Emma, then, as of writing, both manufacturers offer sleep trials that let you test out a mattress within your own home, and then return it (even after it’s been slept on) if you find it isn’t the mattress for you.

You must pay for the mattress first, and you need to ensure that you follow any terms and conditions set out by the retailer. However, both Emma and Simba currently allow you to change your mind within 200 nights of sleeping on their mattresses.

So, in the Emma vs Simba battle, both brands are neck-and-neck in terms of the length of the trial they offer. The only problem is what happens to those mattresses that get returned. But more on recycling and sustainability in a moment.

Delivery comparison

It may not seem as important as how a mattress feels to sleep on, but a mattress is a heavy and bulky item, and for many of us, that means that the delivery process is a key part of the mattress buying puzzle.

Both Emma and Simba are known for their mattress-in-a-box delivery. Several years ago, this was something of an innovation, especially if you lived in an apartment block where access to your home was up several flights of stairs. Rather than negotiating getting a flat double or king-sized mattress up tricky stairwells or down awkward hallways, instead the brand’s mattresses were vacuum packed and rolled into a conveniently-sized, and far easier to manoeuvre, cardboard box.

Most of the brand’s ranges are still delivered this way. However, there is some discrepancy between the two brands in other parts of the delivery process.

As of writing, Simba offers free delivery of its mattresses to your front door or the room of your choice. For a £50 charge, you can also have your old mattress removed and recycled at the same time, and for an additional £50 fee you can opt for VIP delivery whereby the team will ‘install your mattress or bed for immediate use and remove all packaging’.

In contrast, Emma does offer free delivery, but only to your doorstep, and unfortunately there’s no option to pay more for delivery to the room of your choice. Not ideal for anyone who isn’t able to heft a mattress into their home by themselves.

Emma also doesn’t offer to take your old mattress away when they deliver your new one. You can find out how to recycle a mattress independently, and there are lots of alternative ways to get rid of a mattress responsibly other than relying on the manufacturer delivering your new one. But, it's extra hassle that Simba solves on delivery day.

So, for ease of delivery and customer service options, we think Simba wins in this particular Emma vs Simba scenario.

Sustainability comparison

In 2022, the National Bed Federation released a report that stated in the UK only 24% of all discarded mattresses were sent for recycling between 2014 and 2022. More worryingly, the ‘real’ rate of recycling (meaning majority of the mattress components were salvaged and repurposed) was only 14%.

According to the NBF that means ‘around 4.75 million mattresses every year end up in landfill or are incinerated in the UK, that’s equivalent to an area almost four times the size of the City of London and enough to fill Wembley Stadium twice or the Royal Albert Hall 22 times’.

The Simba website currently offers a lot more clarity on how the brand avoids contributing to mattress landfill than we could find on the Emma website. Plus, Simba has the Simba Earth mattress collection. This range vetoes non-biodegradable memory foam for more eco-friendly materials, including welded springs for easier recycling at the end of the mattress' lifespan, and comfort layers made from natural and biodegradable materials such as wool, hemp, and flax.

This is a really positive step forward from Simba, in particular because it acknowledges the huge problem that memory foam and synthetic mattresses can cause to the environment, especially if they end up in landfill.

In fact, Simba now operates its own recycling initiative. For £50 you can book the collection of any mattress from your home via the Simba website. The brand and its partners will then recycle this mattress responsibly to ensure as many components are salvaged and repurposed as possible.

Verdict

So, all things considered, which brand should you opt for in the Emma vs Simba debate?

Well, if affordability is a key criterion in your search, then, as of writing, Emma offers mattresses at a lower price point than Simba. Simba's lowest-priced double mattress, the Simba Hybrid Essential, currently costs £649 at full RRP. In comparison, Emma offers the more affordable Emma Hybrid Original mattress, which retails at £359 for the double.

However, if you're able to invest a little more, then at £799 for a double, we rate the Simba Hybrid mattress as one of the best mattresses you can buy, and investing in this choice means you benefit from shopping with a brand with a high TrustPilot rating and excellent customer service record.

If you don't want to get all hot and bothered before you even get the mattress onto the bed, Simba also offers that all-important delivery to the room of your choice, as well as the option of white glove delivery. If you opt for an Emma mattress, the delivery team will only get the mattress as far as your doorstep and the rest is down to you.

If you're concerned about sustainability and want to invest in a mattress that either utilises natural materials or helps consumers to recycle their mattress responsibly at the end of its lifespan, then Simba also comes up trumps here. The brand is investing in greener biodegradable and recyclable materials in its new Earth mattress range, and offers customers the ability to recycle not only Simba's own mattresses, but any mattress, at the end of its life.

Hopefully this has helped you to determine some of the differences between an Emma and a Simba mattress, and will help you to decide which is the right choice for you.

Finding the best mattress for your sleep needs can make a huge difference to the quality of your sleep. I should know, I spent years considering myself a 'bad sleeper', tossing, turning, and overheating in bed, before I realised it was my mattress to blame.

What I've learned, both as Ideal Home’s Sleep Editor and during the past five years as a professional mattress tester, is that one size doesn't fit all when it comes to finding the right mattress. However, if you don't live near a mattress showroom and you don't want to order an online mattress unseen, mattress shopping can be tricky.

That's why I’ve spent the last five years testing the comfort of over 150 mattresses – including bestsellers from Simba, Emma, Silentnight, Hypnos, TEMPUR, and many more – to find the best mattress for side sleepers, back sleepers, hot sleepers, and all sorts of budgets.

Overall, the great value Simba Hybrid mattress remains one of the best that our team and I have tested. However, there are more great options on the market, and this guide will narrow down the best fit for you.

Best mattresses 2026: shop now

• Best mattress overall: Simba Hybrid, £799
• Best budget mattress: DreamCloud Hybrid, £525
• Best mattress for back pain: Sealy Newton Posturepedic, £1,499
• Best mattress for side sleepers: TEMPUR EASE, £799
• Best mattress for hot sleepers: Hypnos Pillow Top Select, £1,998
• Best memory foam mattress: TEMPUR Pro Plus SmartCool, £2,399

How I test

As Ideal Home's expert mattress tester, over the past five years, I've personally lain on over 150 mattresses in-store, at trade shows, and through at-home testing. Following this research, I selected only the top candidates to put through our rigorous Ideal Home mattress testing.

This means that over 45 mattresses have been slept on at home for a month, by either myself or one of our expert testing panel, to assess cushioning, support, temperature regulation, motion isolation, and edge support in real-life conditions. I also assess any sleep trials, the delivery process, value for money, and, where possible, take into account third-party reviews and environmental impact.

Each mattress we test is then rated out of 5 stars, and I've chosen the six best mattresses overall to include in this guide. However, you can find all the sleep surfaces we've tested on our mattress reviews page.

Best mattress overall

The Simba Hybrid is Simba's bestselling mattress, and once I got it onto my bed, I could easily see why.

This is technically a hybrid mattress, but the memory foam top layer is paired with micro rather than full-sized springs. Before testing, I wondered if this would mean it felt too soft, but it feels bang-on medium-firm, with just the right mix of support and cushioning pressure relief around my hip and shoulder when I sleep on my side.

No wonder our expert testing panel has dubbed it the 'Goldilocks of mattresses – not too soft or too firm'. Although if you're a heavier-weight sleeper, I would recommend opting for the Simba Hybrid Pro mattress instead. This feels a little firmer, but has more spring support.

As a hot sleeper prone to overheating on memory foam, I've also been impressed by its temperature regulation. The synthetic fill isn't as breathable as a mattress filled with natural materials, like the Hypnos Pillow Top Select further down this list, but Simba's graphite-infused open-cell memory foam sleeps cooler than any other memory foam mattress I've tested.

Add to that good motion isolation that makes it a great option for couples as you won't be disturbed by a fidgety bed partner, a decent amount of bounce that makes it feel nice and responsive, a sleep trial that allows you to test out the mattress for 200 nights in your own home, great third-party reviews, a hassle-free delivery process, Simba's ongoing commitment to lowering its environmental impact, *and* great value for money, and I think the Simba Hybrid rightly deserves its 5-star rating.

Tested by: Amy and Linda – Linda's full Simba Hybrid mattress review has more detail.

Best budget mattress

Our expert tester, Rachel, slept on this mattress for a month, and having compared it to numerous other budget-friendly options – including the £649 Simba Hybrid Essential, the £449 REM-Fit Hybrid Pocket 1000, the £418 Emma Hybrid Original, and the £219 IKEA VALEVÅG Pocket Sprung mattress – she rated it as the best affordable mattress she slept on.

It's a hybrid mattress with a pocket spring base and memory foam top layer that impressed with its medium-firm tension. This is something I've struggled to find in mattresses below the £500 price point – generally, a lower price point means fewer springs and a softer feel. 'I slept so well on my side, and on my back, I found it was firm enough to prevent my hips and lower back from dipping too low,' says Rachel.

The DreamCloud Hybrid's motion isolation also scored well, meaning we think it's the best mattress for couples in this price bracket, 'my husband often comes to bed later than me,' says Rachel, 'and on some mattresses the movement reverberation of him getting in wakes me, but not on this mattress.' Rachel also found its edge support to be the best of all the affordable mattresses she's tested. 'That meant when the kids climbed into our bed, I could lie right on its edge without any feeling I was about to roll out,' Rachel shares.

Overall, I still think my first choice, the Simba Hybrid Original mattress, is the best value mattress you can buy. But if you're on a strict budget (and there are no Simba deals on when you come to shop), then you might want a cheaper alternative. In which case, at £525 for a full-price double, the DreamCloud Hybrid mattress is my top choice for best budget mattress, plus, its 365-night sleep trial is the longest in the business.

Tested by: Rachel – her DreamCloud Hybrid mattress review has the full lowdown.

Best mattress for back pain

If your current mattress is causing you back pain, then it may be the wrong tension for you. Most likely, it will be too soft and lacking in support.

Research by the Journal of Orthopaedics and Traumatology says that the best mattress for back pain is one that's medium-firm. However, our weight has a significant impact on how firm a mattress feels for us. The best way to solve this is to opt for a mattress that comes in different tension options so you can find the right feel for you. Like the Sealy Newton Posturepedic, which is available in both medium or firm tension to suit your build.

The Newton is also my top recommendation if you love a firm mattress in general. Thanks to its mix of latex comfort layer and spring support, this is one of the few mattresses I've found that feels firm without feeling *hard* (there's an important difference).

That latex comfort layer means that, unlike many memory foam mattresses, I felt I was lying 'on' the mattress rather than 'in' it during testing. This is important if you have back pain, as you don't want to be struggling to fight out of a memory foam 'hug' to change position in the night. (If you *are* a memory foam lover, the Brook + Wilde Ultima mattress is another good option that comes in a choice of three tensions).

Plus, this mattress has another vital feature if you're prone to back pain, and that's the best edge support I've come across in any mattress. This means there's no dipping (and painful spinal adjustments) if you roll too close to the edge, and there's firm support for getting in and out of bed.

Tested by: Amy and Rachel – find the full details in Rachel's Sealy Newton Posturepedic mattress review.

Best mattress for side sleepers

Side sleepers need good cushioning around the hip and shoulder joints to sleep comfortably, which is why a memory foam mattress like the TEMPUR EASE can be a great choice.

'I found that I slept more comfortably on my side than on any other mattress I've tested,' says our tester Jennifer during her four-week test of the TEMPUR EASE. 'My shoulders and hips were relieved of pressure, and I wasn't waking in the night with pins and needles down my arms. The mattress contoured around me, cushioning and supporting each inch of my body.'

This mattress comes in three depths, 20, 22cm, and 25cm. We tested the most affordable 20cm depth, but Jennifer recommends paying the extra for the deepest 25cm option so you get a little more support – fitted sheets will also fit more snuggly.

Jennifer also loved this mattress's motion isolation, saying, 'My husband and I agreed this mattress exceeded our expectations in how well it absorbed movement. We have a young family, so one of us is often in and out of bed during the night, and we were a lot less disturbed by each other's movements on this mattress.'

Jenny also appreciated TEMPUR's 100-night sleep trial. The only downside, other than the mattress's weight, which means some heavy-lifting is required to rotate it, and a lack of edge support, is the fact it only comes in one tension option: medium-firm.

Jennifer and her husband were more than happy with the medium-firm feel, and found it suited their approximately 13 stone builds well for both side and back sleeping, but lighter weight side sleepers are likely to find it feels a little firmer and not sink in as much, and heavier weight side sleepers may find it feels softer and sink in more.

If you want to be able to tailor your mattress's comfort to your exact body type, as an alternative, TEMPUR's Pro Plus SmartCool mattress comes in four firmness options. As it is, if you're a side sleeper who loves the cocooning feel of memory foam cushioning or you have a fidgety sleep partner whose movements you'd like to mask, this could well be the mattress for you.

Tested by: Jennifer – Jenny's full TEMPUR EASE mattress review has more detail.

Best mattress for hot sleepers

I've always been a hot sleeper, prone to waking at 3 am in a sweaty mess, thanks to my hormonal cycle, and even more so now I'm officially in the perimenopause age bracket. If you too are prone to night-time overheating, I can't tell you what a game-changer this mattress has been.

That's because this is a pocket spring mattress (pocket springs mean good airflow throughout the mattress's core) finished with a pillow top comfort layer that's packed with natural, breathable, temperature-regulating materials – such as wool, kapok, and cotton.

In the three years I've been sleeping on the Hypnos Select, I've found it the coolest mattress I've tested by far, and that's meant a far deeper, less disturbed sleep than I tend to get whenever I switch back to a synthetic or memory foam mattress and my body struggles to regulate its temperature again. Plus, I love the fact that those natural materials are a far more environmentally friendly option and will biodegrade at the end of the mattress's lifespan.

It's also *comfortable*. I tend to find that a lot of traditional pocket spring mattresses can feel very firm to sleep on – especially if you're a side sleeper, like me – as there isn't a lot of cushioning on the top for the hip and shoulder joints. However, Hypnos solves that problem with the Select's sewn-on 'pillow top' which is packed full of natural cushioning materials.

I find the padded top is perfect for side sleeping, offering just enough comfort and pressure relief to avoid any tension in my shoulder or hip during the night. Thanks to its medium tension, the mattress also has a little give to it, which helps me to get more comfortable on my side than a firmer mattress would.

If you too are a hot sleeper, I definitely recommend this mattress. The only downsides as far as I'm concerned or some motion transfer if you have someone tossing and turning next to you at night, and the fact

Tested by: Amy – my Hypnos Pillow Top mattress review has more detail.

Best memory foam mattress

This is the best memory foam mattress I've tested. That's partly because, unlike most all-foam mattresses, it comes in four tension options – soft, medium, medium-firm, and firm – making it much easier to find the right tension option for you, no matter your body weight.

Every time I lie down on this mattress, I let out a sigh of contentment – it's that comfortable. I actually tested this mattress's predecessor, the TEMPUR Sensation mattress, whilst I was moving house. Every muscle in my body ached from lugging heavy storage boxes around, but this mattress moulded around me to cushion every joint at night, making for a pain-free sleep. If you have joint pain, it's a great choice.

However, as a hot sleeper, I did struggle with overheating on that older version of the mattress. Thankfully, TEMPUR took note, and this new-and-improved version comes with a SmartCool cover to offer better temperature regulation. My colleague, Jullia, tested out the 25cm deep Tempur Pro Plus SmartCool, and testifies that it does indeed offer a cool sleep.

That movement-dampening memory foam is also brilliant at motion isolation, so it's one of the best mattresses for couples, as you're less likely to be disturbed by your partner tossing and turning in the night. The downside is that I did find its cocooning memory foam 'hug' could be difficult to get out of. Because it moulded around me so well, it was sometimes an effort to change position in the night. Plus, both Jullia and I found its edge support lacking. Sit down to put your socks on, and it's hard to get up.

Do I forgive those niggles for the comfort it offers? Yes. Everyone I've enlisted to lie down on this mattress has made the same 'ooooh' of delight. That said, it's very expensive. If your budget won't stretch, you might want to give TEMPUR's entry-level EASE mattress above a try, or the £499 Nectar Memory Foam mattress and its 365-night sleep trial. The Nectar option is much softer, so it won't be suitable for heavier-weight sleepers, but it is much more affordable.

Tested by: Amy and Jullia – Jullia's full Tempur Pro Plus SmartCool mattress review has more detail.

Mattress comparison at a glance

Best of the rest

I've kept our main shortlist to just the six very best mattresses that we've ever tested. However, you might be considering a mattress that didn't make the shortlist and be wondering how we rated it.

As such, I've rounded up some of the key runners-up below, including the best Emma mattress we've tested, the best mattress under £250, and our top IKEA recommendation.

You'll also find details of all the mattresses we've tested at Ideal Home's testing on our mattress reviews page.

How to choose a mattress

Finding the best mattress for your most comfortable night's sleep can be tricky. That's because we each have different needs, and things like our preferred sleeping position, our weight, and any aches and pains can all affect which sleep surface will suit us best.

Here's my quick guide to what you should consider before you shop.

• Sleeping position: If you're a side sleeper you need a mattress with a well-padded surface that will cushion your shoulder and hip joints and support your waist. A back sleeper generally needs a firmer mattress that doesn't allow the hips to dip too low. The same goes for front sleepers. (However, stomach sleeping is best avoided if you can. 'Sleeping face down is generally advised against, as it significantly increases the likelihood of straining your neck muscles and irritating your lower back', explains Dave Gibson, registered osteopath, sleep expert, and founder of The Sleep Site).

• Motion isolation: If you sleep with a partner, look for a mattress with good motion isolation. This means that when one of you rolls over or tosses and turns in bed, those movements won't vibrate through the mattress and disturb your co-sleeper.
• Responsiveness: If you're an active sleeper who changes position a lot in the night, or you have any mobility issues, the responsiveness of a mattress can be important. This means how easily the surface of the mattress allows you to change position in bed. You may want to steer clear of memory foam which moulds to your body to cradle it and can make turning over more difficult.
• Edge support: A mattress with good edge support will have an even tension across the whole mattress surface. This means that when you sit or lie on the edge of the mattress, it shouldn't dip down too much. This increases the usable sleeping area of the mattress and makes it easier to push off the bed and stand up.

• Weight: Our weight can affect how a mattress feels and the level of support we need. As osteopath Dave Gibson explains, 'heavier individuals may require a firmer support, while lighter individuals might find a softer mattress more comfortable'. Our guide to what type of mattress is best for heavier people has more info.
• Depth: Mattresses differ in depth, with the most affordable options starting at 20cm and luxury models reaching 30cm and above. And as Martin Seeley, sleep expert at MattressNextDay explains, 'thicker mattresses generally offer better support and comfort.' I would say 25cm is a decent depth for someone of average weight, but if you're of a heavier build, more depth can mean more layers and better support.
• Aches and pains: 'Research generally suggests that a medium-firm mattress is best for alleviating lower back pain' says osteopath Dave Gibson. Alternatively, if you're a side sleeper and find your shoulder or hip joints become sore or get pins and needles during the night, you may sleep better on a mattress a pillow top, latex, or memory foam top layer to relieve pressure on the joints. (If your aches and pains are new or temporary, you may also find one of the best mattress toppers can transform the feel of your existing mattress).

• Temperature regulation and breathability: In a study published by the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that being too hot at night can contribute to poor sleep quality. A mattress that offers good breathability makes it easier for your body to maintain a steady temperature and prevents overheating. Breathable mattresses tend to be filled with natural materials, in particular wool, which is well-known for its temperature-regulating properties. In contrast, synthetic materials, like memory foam, lack breathability and can be a bad choice for hot sleepers.
• Ease of care: Mattresses come in two types, one-sided mattresses that will need rotating every few months to ensure even wear and tear, and two-sided mattresses that can be both rotated and flipped upside down. If you live alone or struggle to lift heavy weights a one-sided mattress can be easier to care for, but some people think a two-sided mattress has better longevity.
• Mattress size: If you have a small bedroom you may not have as much choice in mattress size as you'd like. However, when choosing the right mattress size, bigger is usually better, especially if you share a bed. As sleep expert Dave Gibson points out, couples would need to opt for 'a super king to give you the same room as two single mattresses'.

Sleep trial: If possible, look for a mattress with a sleep trial that allows you to test out the mattress at home, on your own bed. This is important because, as sleep expert Dave Gibson explains, 'it can take about four weeks to fully adjust to a new mattress'.

Bed base: Your bed base will affect how a mattress feels. This is why an at-home sleep trial is important. If you're testing a mattress in store, ask for it to be put on a sprung divan bed base, an ottoman bed, or a slatted bed frame that's similar to the base you'll be using at home.

Delivery process: Will your new mattress be delivered as a mattress-in-a-box (super useful for those of us with awkward access) or delivered flat? Our guide to everything you need to know about mattress delivery has more details.

Disposal of your old mattress: You might also want to check if the retailer you're buying your mattress from offers collection and disposal of your old mattress. You can organise this separately – our guide to how to dispose of a mattress explains how – but it's often easier to have the old mattress taken away on the day of delivery.

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