Relyon mattress review: should I buy a Relyon Bed?

Hi Tim.

Harrods, as we all know, only stocks the best – their reputation depends on it.

Relyon, as a brand used to be pitched towards the higher end market and sits comfortably above and beneath the likes of Millbrook, Harrisons, PSBC etc. We recently reviewed the Relyon Balmoral bed which you may be interested in reading here.

Over recent years they have diversified their range, making them a much more entry to midpoint mattress brand. Anywhere from a £270 entry-level model up to around £2,500 model. It’s interesting to note that the Relyon guarantee is limited to 8 years even on their top model. As for whether you should buy another Reylon bed the answer lies in whether you can accurately ascertain whether the model in question is suitable for your requirements. To do this you need to know exactly what’s inside the mattress to compare. Let’s have a look at how you can do this.

Are Relyon beds any good?

There are an ever-changing number of Relyon beds. Every few years the range will add some, change some, tweak some and the names change accordingly. Unfortunately, Relyon like most bed makers don’t give the necessary details you need to essentially judge, compare and place value onto a mattress. In fact, most mattress manufacturers don’t.

To be able to accurately assess and compare how suitable a new bed is you need to know

• The Spring Type, Count, Gauge & Tension
• The Grams per square meter of all mattress fillings (ie how much is inside)
• Mattress detailing such as whether its hand-side stitched or simply machine stitched

Take the Relyon Balmoral 2000 Pocket Mattress, currently found on their resellers such as Land of Beds, Mattress next day etc.

The listing for this £1600 King sized priced mattress simply lists it containing Pocket Springs (no discussion on type or gauge, essential for to ensure its the correct support for your bodyweight etc).

It lists itself containing ‘Pure New Wool’ but no GSM or blend. Is it 100% wool or just 5% blended with something else like Polyester? Do they mean New Zealand Wool or British Wool? As they don’t disclose it makes it impossible to tell and for you the consumer to know how the mattress will ultimately feel, last and whether its good value.

It’s also listed as having Natural Cotton but again no amount. We also know just how quickly cotton compresses if not blended or supported by say Horsetail or Polyester in cheaper models. At this price point, we would imagine its polyester so the cotton doesn’t get completely crushed.

It’s the same with the mattress detailing, very little detail is given. Handles on a mattress are a standard the same with air vents. Whats the cover made of? It looks like this has been machine stitched not hand side stitched. You can start to see just how little is actually described or discussed!

Are Relyon beds hand made?

Which brings me to the term ‘Totally Hand Made’. Some care needs to be taken when looking at this term. Especially between entry-level and high-end beds.

A cheap economy mattress given free with bunk beds could be argued to be handmade ie someone passes the mattress along a production line whilst its glued, stapled and machine stitched together. If you have the image of a charming bespectacled wise old man in a rustic workshop sewing up your mattress then you will be sorely disappointed with the reality.

Then there high-end mattresses hand-tufted, stuffed with natural fillings that take anywhere between 7-13 days to make by hand with true skill. So when looking at the mattress you really need to consider this! Below is an image showing how a true hand made mattress is made and the time taken. You need to weight this off against the price, ie is a £400 mattress really going to have this much effort and skill spent on it? Most definitely not! Below is a guide that shows just how long it takes to make each of our Artisan Mattresses.

Natural fibres are indeed the best, and as you have vouched will pay dividends over the years.

Unfortunately, the price is usually the inhibitor and so compromises will have to be made to fit your budget. However, we have a full range of Natural Fibre mattresses at different price points which you can view here to see what your budget can afford you.

Thanks for your contribution Tim, some really interesting points raised.

If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to call the office on 0161 437 4419

John.