Premier Inn mattress review & alternatives
The Premier Inn Mattress is a 1000 pocket sprung mattress with a permanently attached pillowtop. We have written extensively about the issues of using a pillowtop on a mattress and how it dramatically reduces the life of the mattress. Great if you’re a multinational hotel who changes the beds every 12 months but not so great for the consumer who changes their bed on average every 7 years. Let’s look into why.
What exactly is in a Premier Inn Hypnos mattress?
Sadly we were wrong and the information provided has turned out to be as ‘wooly’ as everyone else.
What does the Premier Inn Hypnos mattress compare to?
The closest comparative model from our range would be the Origins Pocket 1500. We say closely comparable but the information on the Hypnos mattress is quite scant so we have had to take an educated guess to this. The comparison is based on the contents, the usage as a potential guest bed and lastly the price point of around £500 for a king size.
A 1500 nested pocket spring unit, giving the mattress overall medium support. We have also included butterfly clips to the perimeter to aid edge support.
First Layer: 300 gsm Wool: This component is blended with (nominal amount) silk to give the primary layer beneath the fabric a gloriously soft cushion.
Second Layer: 750gsm Very soft Polyester: This coupled with the layers below brings the level of upholstery quite high. However, when compressed through tufting gives these layers a medium comfort but also has sufficient support by use of the springs.
Third Layer: 500gsm Polyester: This is the cushioning layer that acts as the dampener between the insulator layer below and the soft polyester that will follow.
Fourth Layer: One-inch foam insulator: Directly on top of the spring unit we use a one-inch layer of HD foam. This cushions you from the spring unit but also works with you enabling the pocket springs to rise and fall as you move.
The stretch knit mattress side panels are machine stitched. Traditionally hand-tufted. Even though the mattress side panels are 9″ deep, the undulations caused by the abundant upholstery brings the mattress depth to a more realistic 13″.
| Origins Pocket 1500 | Premier Inn Hypnos | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 300GSM Wool | 200GSM Wool & Polyester Blend Topper (estimated) |
| 2 | 750GSM Very Soft Polyester | 300GSM Polyester (estimated) |
| 3 | 500GSM Polyester | 300GSM Polyester (estimated) |
| 4 | One Inch Foam Insulator | NA |
| 5 | 1500 Spun Bond Pocket Springs (1.4 Gauge) | 1000 Spun Bond Pocket Springs (Unknown Gauge) |
| Total GSM: 1550 | Total GSM: 800 (estimated) |
Spring unit
Our Origins Pocket 1500 has a 1500 spun bond spring unit in a medium gauge spring. These are bonded together and we then use an insulator on top of the spring unit which is a 1-inch foam insulator. This keeps the spring unit and upholstery layers separated which reduces sag and is good design practice for handmade mattresses.
The Premier Inn mattress lists the following “king-size Premier Inn bed has over 1,000 pocket springs, providing individual, contoured support throughout the mattress – wherever and whenever it’s needed – for that “floating on a cloud” feeling” Sadly this gives us no idea of the material that covers the pocket springs, whether its stitchbond or another material. It also gives us no idea of tension or gauge.
Comfort layers
Our model utilises three comfort layers against the unknown quantity of the Hypnos model. The first layer directly above the insulator is a 500 GSM polyester pad, followed by 750 GSM of very soft polyester to give resilience to the mattress without too much compression which can occur if just wool is used, finished with a 300 GSM wool layer for that soft sinking feeling in the very top later.
The only information about the upholstery layers for the Premier Inn mattress is that it has a pillowtop. We have written warning of the drawbacks from pillowtop mattresses as they are permanently stitched to the mattress so you can’t remove them. Due to the fact pillow tops are usually made from very soft upholstery materials they degrade very quickly especially if they can’t be turned, shaken and rotated.
The pillowtop is described as “a super-comfortable, thick wool mattress topper, creating a luxurious, extra-cosy layer. It also helps to regulate body temperature for a truly serene sleep“. Wool is a highly breathable natural material which is one thing we agree on with Hypnos. However, the rest of the description is too vague to give any detailed analysis. The fact it is a pillowtop mattress should cause you concern given our explanation on the drawbacks of this construction style. The photo below shows how it is attached.
Mattress detailing and covers
We use butterfly perimeter clips along with machine stitched stretch sides to stop the mattress from what’s known as ‘bulging‘. This is when you compress near the edge of the bed, say you sit or lean on it, and the cover and side panels bulge out separating from the internal components and spring unit.
Higher quality hand made mattresses always have either hand stitching, which attaches the spring unit to the mattress side via hand stitching, or entry-level mattresses should use butterfly clips to ensure that this does not happen. The image below shows a clear example of bulging on the Premier Inn mattress. This could be due to overuse or damage caused by a previous guest but is a good example of what to watch out for when buying a new mattress.
We use a stretch knit fabric for the top mattress cover and a stretch knit machine-stitched side panel with handles. We also traditionally hand tuft our mattresses and the mattress side panels are 9″ deep though with the undulations the overall depth is 13″. The pillow top seems to be tufted but it does not state which method, ie by hand or machine tufted, this mattress uses.
The Premier Inn lists cover states that “the hypoallergenic mattress fabric means that allergy sufferers can enjoy a great night’s rest too”. We have written on the issues around allergies and the use of hypoallergenic materials in detail which is an entirely different post in itself! It would be nice to see the GSM or the material type used as well, as this though.
Having slept on this mattress we can testify that it is quite a soft tension, especially given the wool pillowtop. However, sleeping on this full time may prove too soft for most peoples bodyweights. We would ask you to carefully consider buying a pillowtop mattress, given its one-sided. We advise a mattress and separate topper is a better longer lasting alternative to this.
If you want to view our Origins Pocket 1500 please visit our shop or get in touch for more tailored recommendations from our expert team.
