We've all been there. We look forward to staying with a relative or a friend for the weekend. When we arrive, we share a meal and unpack our bags in the guest room. As we lay down, we experience a bed that is clearly a hand-me-down. It creaks, it growns, and our back aches. This is the last thing that anyone wants to do to their guests or family members. At best, we'll forget about it in a few days. At worst, it will become the rumor that spreads like wildfire throughout the family or friend circle.
This is one of the reasons it is so important not to give your guests a miserable night sleep. But, we aren't all made of money and spending thousands on a guest room bed is out of the question. This is one of the reasons why shopping for the right guest room mattress online is so popular, but beware not all of the deals out there are going to be good for your guests.
Take a look at the above chart of firmness levels for side sleepers. As you'll see, the sweet spot is medium or medium firm mattresses. That said, if you have larger or smaller members of your group, then something firmer or softer may be in order. Tailor your selection to those that will be using this bed the most. Inexpensive memory foam options may be the best option unless you have a large budget, but if you are leaning towards foam, consider allergies. Make sure that your mattress is CertiPUR-US certified which means that it doesn't offgas toxins into the air. Also, take a look at the durability scores. If you have larger folks sleeping on the bed, it could cause indentations with lower quality mattresses.
We've listed some of our favorites below. For those that are more budget conscious, Nectar is a very affordable and comfortable option. For those that want to make a statement, Dreamcloud is a great all around hybrid mattress that has a hotel pillow top feel that will be the envy of your guests. This is great if you think some guests may want different firmness options.
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One of most popular mattress brands, both the Nectar and the newer Nectar Lush are all-foam mattresses that focus on universally comfortable medium and medium-firm profiles, and most customers find these mattresses to be both pressure relieving and supportive. This is a brand to consider with great differentiators: a full year trial and a 'forever' warranty, quality materials for the price, optional white glove delivery, a competitive pricepoint, and 'Buy Now, Pay Later' financing through Affirm. From the UK? See our review for the UK version.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.7/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.7/10
Price Value: 9.8/10
Back Support: 9.4/10
Price: $499-$1799
DreamCloud is one of the most exciting mattress brands, with some of the best all-around hybrid mattresses available and one of the best pillow-top mattresses. They offer 2 mattresses: The DreamCloud, featuring the ultimate support and comfort of memory foam and pocketed coils with a quilted cashmere blend on top, and DreamCloud Premier, bringing luxury comfort with 1 extra inch of memory foam, 3x more cashmere, and the same pocketed coil system for support. Customers report their luxurious layers lead to deeper sleep, ideal for side sleeping. With 'Buy Now and Pay Later' financing through Affirm and a 365 day trial, this is one of the best luxury bargains anywhere.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.7/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.6/10
Price Value: 9.7/10
Back Support: 9.3/10
Price: $799-$1599
Suffer from tossing and turning? It could be because your current mattress doesn't support and align the spine properly. That's where Level's TriSupport™ technology can help. Their technology is a marvel in zoned support with a high-end all-foam design made in the USA. While the shoulders and hips are relieved of pressure, the middle spine is supported properly. With a patented design that is supported by chiropractors, Level Sleep is worth consideration for back and side sleepers needing well-aligned support.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.6/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.7/10
Price Value: 9.6/10
Back Support: 9.6/10
Price: $799-$1399
Bear mattress offers three amazing mattresses. Their original memory foam has won acclaim with athletes on a budget, the Bear Hybrid is great for those looking for a pressure-relieving higher end feel, and their Bear Pro is perfect for those looking for an ultra-cooling contouring feel. From Celliant® to copper cooling, these mattresses also are designed to be superior at cooling, alleviating muscle pain, and supporting the spine. Also, with their all-inclusive and low priced Bear Bundle, folks love these beds.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.5/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.6/10
Price Value: 9.5/10
Back Support: 9.6/10
Price: $590-$1690
Meet Awara, the pressure relieving latex hybrid mattress, featuring certified organic latex, and a sustainable mission for a price point that comparatively carries much more value for its 13'' thick mattress than many other latex mattress companies. Whether you are sensitive to chemicals or enjoy the invigorating feel of latex, you can rest easy that your purchase is eco-conscious since Awara holds a certification with the Rainforest Alliance and a partnership with Trees For The Future that plants trees for every mattress purchased. With a universally comfortable medium-plush feel, Awara brings a comfy sigh of relief to its sleepers.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.5/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.5/10
Price Value: 9.6/10
Back Support: 9.4/10
Price: $1299-$1799
Allswell is a mattress brand that launched in 2018 to take on the direct-to-consumer mattress industry and introduce some new innovations. They offer three mattresses: the Allswell, Allswell Luxe, and the Allswell Supreme. Each mattress features the adaptive and supportive benefit of pocketed coils with luscious layers of foam above for added pressure relief. For those on a hunt for a bargain, Allswell's mattresses are definitely a brand to consider.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.5/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.3/10
Price Value: 9.6/10
Back Support: 9.3/10
Price: $265-$1245
Brooklyn Bedding is a quality-focused mattress maker with multiple mattress types and firmness options. They make all of their mattresses end to end in their own factory, passing on more price value to customers. Also, read about their specialty brands: ultra-firm Plank Mattress, plus-size friendly Titan Mattress, customizable Rubix Mattress, latex Bloom Mattress, eco-friendly Ecosleep, and cooling Propel Sleep.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.4/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.4/10
Price Value: 9.5/10
Back Support: 9.6/10
Price: $499-$2899
Tuft and Needle made a big splash in the mattress industry when it offered one of the lowest cost all-foam mattresses in a box directly to customers, their T&N Original Mattress. Since then, they've elaborated on their initial concept with two more innovative designs: The Mint and The Hybrid, which provide high quality, superbly pressure-relieving offerings. On top of that, the Mint Mattress was recently upgraded to include antimicrobial protection embedded in its cover layer. With their three mattresses and 100,000s of positive reviews, customers have spoken in approval of T&N.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.4/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.5/10
Price Value: 9.4/10
Back Support: 9.4/10
Price: $350-$1570
Puffy is an online mattress brand that makes three mattresses: The Puffy Mattress, The Puffy Lux Mattress, and The Puffy Royal Mattress (Limited Time: Get $300 Off Mattresses). Each of these offer a high rated memory foam feel that are making a splash in the mattress in the box industry. With the recent addition of coil hybrid versions in their Lux and Royal, folks find these mattresses softer than other all-foam mattresses in a box, which is great for those with a lighter body type. With an aim at providing a higher end all-foam mattress for less than in-store, Puffy is a brand to consider and ships worldwide!
Overall Score for Guests: 9.4/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.6/10
Price Value: 9.4/10
Back Support: 9.1/10
Price: $795-$1995
Avocado is a high quality organic and latex mattress brand. Their flagship Green Mattress is an organic latex hybrid mattress that doesn't skimp. For chemical sensitive folks or those that suffer from airborne allergies, having an all-natural mattress is a must, but Avocado goes a step further. They are certified organic, not only using some organic materials, but going through a stringent process to have their source materials, factory and products certified GOTS organic. They also offer a Certified Vegan Mattress and a firmer organic all Latex Mattress.
Overall Score for Guests: 9.4/10
Customer Satisfaction: 9.5/10
Price Value: 9.5/10
Back Support: 9.5/10
Price: $899-$2589