Sleep plays a vital role in our physical and mental health and emotional and
psychological wellbeing, so it’s important to choose a mattress that will help
you fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up rested, refreshed and ready to make
the most of the day. Luxury mattress models are usually more comfortable,
offer better support and use higher quality materials and construction, so
they won’t break down as quickly and won’t need to be replaced as often. Some
models are compatible with an adjustable base. Others have air chambers that
can be inflated or deflated to make the mattress firmer or softer to suit your
preference and sleeping positions.
Saatva manufactures and sells high-quality luxury mattresses directly to
consumers for significantly less than comparable models from big name brands
sold in department stores and mattress stores. In 2021, my husband and I
ordered a Saatva mattress and were extremely impressed with the entire
customer experience.
This is the first in a series of detailed reviews in which I will share our
customer experience shopping for, choosing, ordering and sleeping on a Saatva
luxury mattress, bedding and adjustable base, as well as the white glove
delivery and set-up, exchanging the first mattress we chose for a different
configuration, and in-depth product reviews of the Saatva Solaire customizable
firmness air bed mattress, Saatva Adjustable Base Plus (formerly Lineal
adjustable base) and bedding we ordered.
Disclosure: I have joined the company’s affiliate program, which means that
if you choose to make a purchase through one of the links in this post I may
be eligible to receive a commission, at no cost to you. I highly recommend
the Saatva company and its products for their excellent quality,
performance, price and customer service. The opinions, product reviews and
recommendations in this post are my own and are based on my personal
experiences. The decision to click on those links to learn more about the
company’s products or make a purchase is greatly appreciated, but entirely
up to you.
Why We Chose a Saatva Mattress
I first heard about
Saatva in 2017, about a year after our previous mattress purchase, when my
friend and former boss joined the company and asked me to do some freelance
marketing research for them. In the process, I gained a valuable and
eye-opening education about the mattress industry’s marketing and sales
practices as well as mattress types, materials, construction, quality and
pricing.
My husband and I had always bought good quality, moderately priced mattresses.
We couldn’t justify spending a lot more money on a high-priced luxury
mattress. We thoroughly researched product reviews before making a mattress
purchase, and they all felt comfortable and supportive after we brought them
home…for a while. However, John and I are “spooners” and after two or three
years, each mattress would start to sag around the edges and develop a trough
in the center. After I shared with him the new insights into mattresses and
mattress shopping I had gained from my research project, we agreed that we
wanted our next mattress to be a Saatva and started saving up for one.
Not long after our last mattress started breaking down and we were waking up
more and more tired and with muscle aches, I got a call from my friend Joe at
Saatva. His timing couldn’t have been better.
Joe and I had worked together closely for many years and conducted many
customer experience audits for clients, and he also was familiar with my
product reviews here on Review This Reviews. He asked whether I might be
interested in ordering a Saatva mattress of my and my husband’s choosing,
which we could keep, in exchange for providing detailed and candid customer
feedback on my Saatva purchasing experience that he could share with his team.
If we had a good customer experience and were pleased with the mattress, I
also would write an unbiased, in-depth product review to share on Review This
Reviews. If we were disappointed by the mattress or our customer experience, I
would not publish a review, but Saatva could use the candid feedback I
provided to improve their products and customer experience. Either way, the
mattress would be ours to keep.
Our Must-Have and Nice-to-Have Mattress Requirements
My husband John and I agreed on the following priorities for choosing our new
mattress:
- King size
- Excellent neck, hip and back support
- Areas where we are both prone to joint pain and muscle aches
- Durable materials and construction
-
Will resist sagging and furrowing, especially around the edges and in the
center, where we sleep in the spoon position
- Good for multiple sleeping positions
-
We both are side sleepers for the most part, but John also likes to take
naps on his stomach.
- Comfortable
-
Preferably cushiony enough to contour to our bodies, especially for side
sleeping, but also firm enough to provide good support in any sleeping
position
- Compatibility with an adjustable base preferred, but not essential
-
An adjustable base had been on our wish list for many years, since one or
both of us often need to lie on our backs with our heads elevated (because
of my bad seasonal and indoor allergies and John’s mild sleep apnea) or to
elevate our lower legs to relieve back pain. If we did end up getting one,
we knew we would make good use of it.
- Minimum 15-year warranty
-
This wouldn’t be a problem for any Saatva mattress we chose, thanks to the
remarkable
Saatva Friends for Life Lifetime Warranty.
“From the moment our white-glove crew delivers it to you, fresh from
the factory, we guarantee that it will be free from defects for as long
as you own it. And if you ever have a problem, we’ll take care of it
hassle-free.”
Product warranties, especially for big-ticket purchases, don’t get much
better than that!
- Generous in-home trial period
-
At the time we ordered our mattress last year, Saatva’s in-home trial
period was a generous 180 days. It has since been increased to a full
year, giving customers
365 nights to sleep on their new Saatva mattress at home before
deciding whether it is right for them! As a Saatva customer, if you decide to return or exchange your mattress
for another Saatva mattress during that home trial period, you can just
call the company and have them pick up the used mattress and refund the
purchase price, less a $99 processing fee (to cover the cost the company
pays to the carrier to have your mattress picked up and transported from
your home).
How We Decided Which Mattresses to Consider
Since we hoped to be sleeping on our new Saatva mattress for many years to
come, I wanted to be very thorough in my due diligence to make sure we chose
the best model for our needs. Armed with our requirements list, I decided to
start by refreshing my memory about the different types of mattresses Saatva
makes and the sleeping positions and preferences each is best suited to, as
well as learning about the newer products the company had added since I worked
on my research project for them in 2017.
At the time (February 2021), There were eight mattress models available (the
new
Saatva Memory Foam Hybrid Mattress had not yet been introduced). Three of the mattresses were easy to
exclude from consideration: The dual-sided
Saatva Youth (for kids), the
Crib Mattress and the
Saatva HD mattress designed for larger/heavier bodies.
That left five potential candidates to explore.
Saatva Solaire Precision Adjustable Air Mattress
I asked Joe which mattresses he and his wife had chosen Joe for their own
home, and he said they owned two Saatva Classic innerspring mattresses (one
“luxury firm” and one “firm”) and one Zenhaven all-latex on an adjustable
base, which let them elevate the head or foot of the mattress (or both). He
also suggested that John and I look at the
Saatva Solaire mattress, a newer model that I was not yet familiar with and the one that Saatva’s
president and CEO and his wife had chosen for their bedroom, along with the
“upper-flex” configuration and an adjustable base.
The Solaire's key feature is a layer of individual air chambers that can be
inflated or deflated with the remote control to make the mattress firmer or
softer. There are 50 firmness settings so you can fine-tune the firmness to
your precise preference if you wish. On a king Solaire each side can be
adjusted independently, so spouses or sleeping partners can customize the
firmness to their individual preferences on their respective sides of the
mattress.
In the “upper-flex” option (available for queen and king sizes only), the
upper part of the mattress is split down the center to allow the head of each
side to be raised or lowered independently when paired with a compatible
adjustable base, such as the Saatva Adjustable Base Plus, that has been configured for a top-split mattress. (“Upper-flex is Saatva’s
term for this upper-split configuration, which is more commonly referred to as
split-head, head split, split-top or top split).
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In the "upper-flex" configuration of the Saatva Solaire mattress, the
uppr portion is split to allow each side of the head of the bed to be
raised and lowered separately, when paired with a compatible
adjustable base
|
Since John and I often go to sleep and wake up at different times, the ability
to elevate the head of the bed on our side without disturbing the other’s
sleep was very appealing. Our only hesitation about getting the split-top,
upper-flex king Solaire instead of the standard, solid king was whether one of
us might end up with an arm stuck in the narrow gap along the top-center
split. In addition, since we had never slept on an adjustable air bed type, we
had no idea what it would feel like or how comfortable or supportive we would
find it.
Loom & Leaf Memory Foam Mattress
John and I preferred the feel of a memory foam mattress to any other type we
had tried, so we were pretty sure we would be comfortable on a
Loom & Leaf memory foam mattress…at least, until the sagging and furrowing started, if it behaved like our
previous memory foam mattresses. We liked that, unlike our previous memory
foam mattresses, the Loom & Leaf has a high-density foam base underneath
the memory foam layers, which are topped with a cooling gel-infused foam layer
for added comfort and spinal support.
Given our chronic joint pain and backaches, reading that the Loom & Leaf’s
ultra-premium 5-lb. memory foam, which adds durability and support, “conforms
to your body and helps to relieve joint and back pain while keeping your spine
in neutral alignment” definitely struck a positive chord. Maybe the
combination of this denser memory foam and high-density foam base would resist
sagging and furrowing better than our less expensive memory foam mattresses?
The Loom & Leaf mattress’s comfort level is described as “Relaxed Firm,”
combining “plush comfort and contouring support” with a medium firmness,
making it “a great option for solo sleepers or couples (especially ones who
snooze in different sleep positions).” So, the Loom & Leaf seemed to tick
several boxes on our wish list. It was also compatible with an adjustable
base.
Saatva Classic Innerspring
When we were kids, John and I slept on traditional innerspring mattresses.
We’ve also slept on them together during various hotel stays over the past 27
years and never found them to be particularly comfortable. However, we have
never tried a hybrid innerspring. I knew that the original, flagship
Saatva Classic innerspring mattress introduced in 2011 remains the company’s best-selling mattress and had
earned many thousands of rave customer reviews. So, we decided to keep an open
mind and learn more about this hybrid innerspring.
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This cutaway section shows the layers, materials and construction of
this Saatva Classic luxury hybrid innerspring mattress, from the
heavy-gauge tempered steel coils to the plush, 3-inch Euro pillow
top
|
The Saatva Classic’s dual-coil system includes a support base of heavy-gauge,
tempered, recycled steel coils that provide stability and resist sagging and a
second layer of individually wrapped, pocketed coils that conform to the body,
relieve pressure points and reduce motion transfer (so turning over or getting
out of bed is less likely to disturb a partner). John and I both have back
problems, so the pairing of the company’s patented spinal zone active wire
with premium high-density memory foam for enhanced lower back support and
pressure relief in the center of the mattress sounded great for us. The memory
foam and the 3-inch, organic cotton, quilted Euro pillow top layer filled with
a mix of plush fibers and comfort foams would likely make this hybrid
innerspring a lot more comfortable than the older, traditional innerspring
mattresses we had tried.
The Saatva Classic also offers a choice of two heights (11.5 inches or 14.5
inches) and three comfort levels (Plush Soft, Luxury Firm or Firm). Luxury
Firm, the most popular firmness level choice by far, was “designed to
replicate the comfort level used in luxury hotels” and provide “a perfect
balance of comfort and uplifting support,” which made it suitable for any
sleep style and a good option for couples like us who prefer different
firmness levels.
The 11.5-inch Saatva Classic is compatible with an adjustable base, although
the thicker 14.5-inch model is not.
Zenhaven Natural Latex
John and I tried a latex mattress (the one we were sleeping on at the time)
because latex is supposed to retain its resilience and supportiveness longer
than memory foam. Although ours had, indeed, held up a couple of years longer
than our previous mattresses, it was much less comfortable and didn’t provide
the contoured support of its memory foam predecessors and we were tired of
waking up with sore muscles and aching joints. Initially, I hadn’t planned to
include it on our list of potential candidates, but I decided to refresh my
memory about this model.
I remembered that, unlike our old latex mattress,
Saatva’s Zenhaven natural all-latex mattress
is dual-sided and can be flipped with either the softer Luxury Plush side or
the Gentle Firm side facing up. There was a good chance that at least one of
the sides would be more comfortable than our old latex mattress. Better yet,
if we found the other side reasonably comfortable as well, when the side we
were sleeping on eventually started to sag we could flip it to the other side,
effectively doubling its useful life.
In addition, natural latex is naturally hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and
resistant to dust mites, mold and other common indoor allergens, and the
natural latex used in the Zenhaven is also certified free of harmful
chemicals. Since John and I both suffer from a plethora of allergies including
pollen, dust and mold, that was an important consideration that earned this
natural all-latex mattress a place on our list of models to consider. The
Zenhaven was also compatible with an adjustable base.
Saatva Latex Hybrid
The last option we considered was the
Saatva Latex Hybrid mattress, which pairs a support base of individually wrapped recycled steel coils,
like the Saatva Classic hybrid innerspring, with a 3" layer of 5-zone natural
latex that conforms to and supports the body and provides enhanced lumbar
support and pressure relief. According to the product description, the Saatva
Latex Hybrid’s “luxury plush” feel and firmness make this mattress a good
choice for any sleeping position, which was one of our key requirements.
Even though we weren’t big fans of the latex or innerspring mattresses we had
slept on, we had never tried a latex and innerspring hybrid, so I decided to
keep this one on our initial list of options. It was also compatible with an
adjustable base.
Next Step: Culling the Herd
In my next post in this series, I’ll share the factors we considered, the
steps we took and our interactions with customer support that helped us narrow
these choices and, ultimately, finalize our decision on the best Saatva
mattress for our needs.
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Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper: The Journey Begins by Margaret Schindel
Posts in This Series
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 1: The Journey Begins
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 2: How to Choose the Best Saatva Mattress for Your Needs
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 3: Ordering a Saatva Mattress and Adjustable Bed Online — A Candid Review
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 4: Saatva Organic Cotton Mattress Pad and Sheet Set Product Reviews
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 5: Saatva Mattress and Adjustable Base White Glove Delivery and Setup
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 6: Saatva Solaire Mattress and Adjustable Base Plus Product Reviews
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 7: Exchanging a Saatva Mattress: My Personal Experience
Confessions of a Saatva Mattress Shopper, Part 8: Which Queen or King Saatva Solaire Mattress and Adjustable Base to Buy
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
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