Mattress Type: Memory foam
Sleeper Style: Side and back
Pros: Pressure relief and CertiPUR-US
Cons: Initial firmness
“Up until now, I have only purchased mattresses the old school way, by walking around a store’s showroom with a supplied sanitary hanky to cover the pillow, and testing them one by one like a GD Goldilocks of the best mattresses. After crowning the winner, I’ve emptied out my checking account upwards of $1200 with an added white-glove delivery service charge since the coiled thing is so big and I am quite small at 5′ 1” and nary a hulking partner or roommate. This year though, after buying a new home (and truly emptying the bank account) I was on the search for an affordable mattress for our guest room during Covid times with no interest in visiting a store to snuggle up on multiple beds or paying for extra delivery services. Hence the weeks of online research began and ended with a Nectar mattress.
“First, while this is for the guest room, for reasons of both considerations for future guests like my mother-in-law who is asthmatic, a father who has back problems, and a few uppity close friends, I wanted affordable but not cheap in quality. Also, for this review, my partner and I did sleep on the mattress for just over 30 days which was a fun little escape within our own house. Oh, the times we live in — where spending a month in the guest room is considered an exciting adventure. I’m a side and back sleeper and have always slept on hybrid mattresses with coils and some foam. In consideration of health and the environment, I wanted something that has no to low emissions and also something that will last.
“All of this is what finally, after weeks of research, led me to the Nectar memory foam mattress. The company is always running promotions so the purchase not only included a nice discount on the memory foam mattress, but also came with a set of pillows, sheets, and mattress cover. This is the cost-conscious bundle I wanted right now. I did not order white glove delivery and the mattress came in three weeks (slightly over the 5 – 10 business day promise but, we’re in a pandemic) rolled up in a tall box about the size of a narrow refrigerator. I dragged the box in the house and into the guest room, opened it up, and by myself (!) unrolled it onto the platform frame. It was hefty but I did it. My first test was the smell test — I’m very sensitive to smells and while not scientific, I was sniffing for chemical scents. There was some slight smell so I opened the windows in the room and returned the next day to no smell at all. One of the reasons I bought the Nectar over other well-reviewed cheaper mattresses is that it had the CertiPUR-US seal which means it’s not made with any ozone depleters, toxic flame retardants, formaldehyde, mercury, lead, and other heavy metals.
“And now the sleep test. My husband and I slept on this mattress for a little over a month. We are both side and back sleepers although I would categorize him as a mover and a shaker sleeper. Since I’ve never slept on a foam mattress for more than a night or two as someone else’s guest, the feeling was pretty different than what I was used to with my hybrid coil pillow-top mattress. The first very positive thing I noticed was that I didn’t feel my husband’s movements as much. Practically not at all! I’ve grown used to his restless moving and this was nice, very nice. Not a con, but something to get used to for me, was a more firm feeling of the multi-layered foam. I did feel like the mattress contoured to my pointy little shoulders and wide hips but I’m not sure if I prefer this measured contouring to the pillowy smush I’m used to. For nights I fell asleep on my back however, it was perfect. The considered 5-layered foam construction felt sturdy — like it was cradling me into a meditative deep sleep and my back felt more supported than my current mattress.
“Final thoughts — this is the best mattress for guest rooms, back sleepers, someone who has a partner that moves around a lot, or someone who wants something on the firmer side but still needs good pressure relief and cares about quality. If I were to continue sleeping on the Nectar mattress every night, I personally would add a pillow top because that’s what I’m used to and I happen to like a little extra softness on my mattress. In fact, right before I filed this review, I did go ahead and buy this organic, washable wool mattress topper so it’s an option for any guests who may also want extra softness.”
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