Sleep Innovations Mattress Topper Review

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The search for a new mattress topper begins

After sleeping on the same mattress for just over 18 months, my partner and I recently decided it was time to experiment with the way the surface feels.

We have the Emma Original mattress, which is typically described as medium firmness, but I’ve always felt it was on the firmer side of medium. Don’t get me wrong – we like the mattress a lot, but we’ve both been wondering if it would be better to soften it a bit.

The other point to mention in our decision making process is that we also like to use a cooling/heated mattress pad. The one we currently use is quite thin and flexible, so it barely changes the firmness of the mattress. More importantly, it can handle being on top of a softer mattress topper if we prefer.

It might sound like a lot of faffing around (and it is) but I decided to take the job on of trying out some new mattress toppers, both on their own and with the cooling pad on top, until we find the best combination.

Get a topper. Remove the cooling pad. Add the topper. Sleep. Add the cooling pad. Sleep. Remove the pad and topper if it’s not right. Get another topper. Repeat until happy!

Why the sleep Innovations Dual Layer

Several years ago, I tried a different version of the Sleep Innovations when I lived in New York. While it was obvious to me that it wasn’t as premium as some other topper brands I tried there, I did think it was a good price and very soft to sleep on.

So, I thought I’d give a different version a go in the UK to see how well it might work with our current bed set up.

I also know that it’s quite a popular mattress topper on Amazon, so I wanted to try it myself and describe it accurately, with photos, for anyone that might be considering it.

Choosing from the 3 dual layer versions

When I bought mine, there were several Sleep Innovations mattress toppers to choose from.

And if you live in the US, there are currently three variations of the dual layer topper:

• Cooling comfort: 2 inch ‘cool to touch’ fiberfill cover + 2 inches of gel memory foam.
• Enhanced support: 2 inch plush fiberfill top + 2 inches of cooling gel memory foam.
• Plush support: 1 inch pillow top cover + 3 inches of gel memory foam.

In the UK, however, only the plush support version was available, which was lucky as it was the one I was most interested in anyway as it has the thickest memory foam layer. I was very curious to find out if our cooling pad would cope with being on top of that much foam.

I paid £127.28 on Amazon, which I felt was a good price for a king size mattress topper with three inches of memory foam. You can certainly find much more expensive brands, both on Amazon and from bedding companies.

Delivery, packaging, and unwrapping

As I expected, the topper had been tightly compressed in the factory. It therefore arrived in an impossible small cardboard box, complete with squished corners (which is how I can tell it’s an Amazon delivery from 20 meters away).

Inside, the memory foam layer was in an impressively compact roll, with the fiberfill layer neatly folded into a plastic bag next to it. There was also a little user manual, and a ten year warranty leaflet (neon pink, so you can’t miss it).

The bag of the cover was simple to open, but the memory foam layer was bulging inside the plastic wrapper. They don’t include a safety cutting tool, which you often get with bed in a box mattresses and would have been useful. Instead, I inched my way along very slowly with some scissors so as not to damage the foam.

Once I managed to open it, the memory foam layer unfolded easily into a giant blue and white sausage roll.

There was a thin layer of protective fabric around the memory foam, which is good. But I think it would have been better if the entire layer was securely encased like the cover was, rather than just being wrapped in a fabric layer and compressed into the plastic cover with the ends essentially exposed to the elements.

On the plus side, that may have helped with the off-gassing smell, which memory foam is notorious for.

Amazon, we have a problem…

In the photo below, you can see the thick memory foam layer and the fiberfill top layer folded in half. It all looks good, except for the fact that the dimensions aren’t what I was expecting.

The user guide said that it could take up to 48 hours for the memory foam layer to fully expand. But I measured it at the full 3 inches deep after just one hour.

I’m glad I set it up straight on the bed rather than leaving it in another room for a while for any smell to dissipate, as it was immediately obvious that the topper was bigger than my mattress.

The problem? They sent me an American king size instead of a UK king.

In the photo above, the memory foam layer is actually hanging over the opposite side of the bed. I was almost too embarrassed to show it in the photo because I should have read the dimensions further down in the listing before I bought it.

The question is, why are they selling an American king size topper on Amazon UK? How many people have an American king size bed in the UK? Not many, would be my guess. And I doubt there are many Americans who buy one while on holiday and take it home with them!

Here’s the difference in size:

• American king: 76 inches × 80 inches (193 cm × 203 cm).
• UK king: 60 inches × 78 inches (150 cm × 200 cm).

So that’s a lot of extra topper. In hindsight, I could have gotten away with an American queen, which is this size:

• American queen: 60 inches × 80 inches (152 cm × 203 cm).

Let’s test it anyway!

I could have asked for an exchange, but as we’ll see later when I talk about returning the topper, it can be tricky to return large bedroom objects that were compressed. And honestly, I really didn’t feel like exchanging it, knowing there was also a possibility I would eventually return the topper if I wasn’t happy with it.

So, I decided to keep calm and carry on. I let an equal amount hang over each side of the bed, and tried my best to tuck it in tightly with a bed sheet. Unsightly, yes. But at least we’d get to test the topper out for a few nights.

That said, if you’re in the UK and were thinking of getting a Sleep Innovations mattress topper, I recommend checking the current dimensions they offer, and deciding from there whether to remove it from your shortlist or to read the rest of this article.

If you’re in the US, then you don’t have the size to worry about, and the description of how the topper actually feels will hopefully be helpful.

The memory foam layer

The memory foam layer is three inches thick, flat on one side, with ridges on the other. Sleep Innovations say it’s gel memory foam, made in the USA, hypoallergenic and CertiPUR-US certified.

The idea of the gel is that it helps reduce heat build up, which some people complain about with memory foam. More on that later.

What I liked is that the memory foam is soft, but doesn’t compress to nothing. As you can see in the photo below, if I grip it strongly in my hand, there is still a substantial thickness of foam left.

This is great if you’re a heavier person, if you lie on your side, or if you have a very firm or lumpy mattress that you’re trying to improve.

The foam layer also seemed well manufactured, with no loose bits or missing foam. I think a cover would have been nice, but that probably would have increased the cost.

Off-gassing and smell

I know some people are particularly sensitive to the off-gassing smell of memory foam. Personally, I’m not so it’s hard to say how bad it was. I didn’t think it smelled strongly, but there was of course a bit of smell to it.

I was happy to sleep on it the first night I got it though, which is also what the user manual suggests doing.

The top fiberfill layer

I was unimpressed by the fiberfill layer, for several reasons.

Firstly, it’s supposed to be one inch thick. That may be the case if you fluff it up, but as soon as you pinch it or lie on the topper, the fiberfill compresses a lot.

Secondly, while I thought it was good that this layer works like a fitted sheet that helps keep the memory foam layer in place, the skirting was made of what looks like quite cheap polyester.

It’s very thin, which makes me wonder how long it will last, and it was incredibly creased. The photos online make it look a lot nicer, but the entire layer looked a mess once I’d got it all in place.

I stuck it in the washing machine, which helped a bit with the creases, and I recommend washing a fabric topper before using it if you can anyway.

In the photo below, you can see that it doesn’t exactly look neat out of the box! I put it straight on the bed for the photo, but washed it before using it.

There was one thing I did like about the top layer, however. When I tried just the foam layer, I found it was slightly cumbersome to change positions and roll around in bed. This is typical of memory foam, especially if it’s this thick.

The top layer helped a lot to negate that problem though, and I was able to move much more freely. So it may even be worth it just for that counterbalancing effect.

How the mattress topper feels to lie on

I’ve covered a lot of criticisms of the Sleep Innovations mattress topper so far in this article, so what I say next might surprise you.

We actually thought it’s very comfortable to lie on – if you like a soft bed.

Without wanting to sound too cliché, it really does give you that ‘sleeping on a cloud’ feeling. The first night my partner and I lay on it, we both remarked on how we literally couldn’t feel any pressure at all on any body part. The cushioning was very, very good.

Below, I’ve folded the fitted skirt back under the top layer so you can see how the two layers compress and cushion my body. I’ve been impressed by how well they hold my weight (currently 83 kg / 183 lbs).

When I lie on my side, I sometimes have to adjust my position to get comfortable with the base Emma mattress. That’s one of the main reasons I wanted to try some new toppers. But with the Sleep Innovations, I found I could turn over, roll around, and in pretty much any position I found myself, just freeze (in position, not from cold!) and feel comfortable.

So if you want to create a soft surface, this is a topper that will do exactly that.

One problem, as my partner has been complaining about this week, is that it’s hard to get out of bed and go to work in the morning. But that’s another story.

The temperature

It’s November and the nights have been steadily getting chillier here, so it’s hard to judge how hot the topper might feel in warmer climates or seasons.

To us, it feels very snug and cozy, which is fine because it’s cold outside. My feeling, however, is that so much memory foam could feel too warm in the summer months if you’re a naturally hot sleeper. Even with gel beads, memory foam has a tendency to be warm, which is important to keep in mind if you’re a hot sleeper.

Final verdict

In the end, we spent a week sleeping on the Sleep Innovations dual layer mattress topper, but ultimately decided to return it, for several reasons.

Objectively, I think it’s a mattress topper that some people might really like. For a reasonable price, you can get a very soft topper that will still cushion your body effectively. With three inches of memory foam under an additional fiberfill layer, you can significantly change the feel of your current mattress – especially if it feels too firm right now.

If you’re specifically looking for a soft, cozy, relatively warm topper that will provide a good amount of support across the length of the body, then it’s one to consider.

However, I’m going to return mine. The most obvious reason is that it’s the wrong size. Even though it was fine to overlap the bed temporarily for the purpose of testing it and writing a review, that’s obviously not normal.

Secondly, I wasn’t able to test our cooling mattress pad because it wouldn’t fit over the top. And I really didn’t want to go through the process of getting a replacement size just to test the cooling pad. My suspicion is that it may be a bit too soft for the cooling pad anyway, so I’d rather try a different one.

Finally, I wasn’t impressed by the fibrefill layer. While the memory foam layer was good, especially for the price, I felt the top layer was too thin. Yes, it adds some extra softness and helps stop you from getting ‘stuck’ in the memory foam, but I would have liked a bit more from that top layer.

The returns process

When it comes to returning a large item that no longer fits in the original box, I always recommend bypassing the standard returns process or communication with the seller and hopping onto the Amazon live chat.

It can be a bit confusing to actually get to the live chat and past the initial bot, but once you do, I find they are much more helpful.

In this case, their first suggestion was to return it in the original box (not so helpful). When I pointed out that I didn’t have a magic wand, they said I could return it in any box or packaging. Eventually, they agreed to pay for a large enough box to put it in. They also arranged for a collection to my door when I told them it wasn’t possible to take it to the post office.

They had no idea that I review sleep products, so this was all based on being a typical customer, in case you’re wondering.

So there you go. The saga of the incorrect mattress size came to a fairly swift end.

Note to self: read the product description before buying the next one.