DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress: Review In Brief
DreamCloud mattresses are perhaps better known in the US, but with the brand’s original mattress, the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid, earning a place in our best mattress of 2024 guide for all sleepers and budgets, these beds are worth considering this side of the pond too. Originally just selling the one mattress in the UK (you can read our DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid mattress review to find out about the original bed), DreamCloud has recently introduced the DreamCloud Hybrid as a slightly cheaper alternative. How does this new version stack up against its big brother and other competitors? Our testers slept on the mattress for a month to find out more.
Our main tester experiences lower back pain and is permanently on the hunt for the best mattresses to ease aches and pains. Having just come off sleeping on another mattress that they felt was a little lacking in lumbar support, she was initially concerned that the DreamCloud Hybrid would be too soft, as the brand rates it as a medium firmness mattress at 6.5 out of 10. However, after sleeping on the mattress for just one night she immediately noticed how much firmer the bed felt. Over the course of testing, she rated the bed at a medium firm to firm feel, feeling it slept at around 7.5-8 out of 10, and other testers agreed with this rating.
Type: Hybrid
Materials: Memory foam, coils and other foams
Firmness: Medium firm to Firm (DreamCloud rate it at 6.5/10, we rate at 7.5-8/10)
Depth: 25cm
Trial period: 365 nights
Warranty: Forever
RRP: from £966 at DreamCloud
Because of this firmer feeling, we feel that the DreamCloud Hybrid is particularly suited to back sleepers, but the mattress still has plenty of cushioning, meaning side sleepers should also enjoy sleeping on it. We even felt that lighter and average weight stomach sleepers would find the mattress comfortable, but we don’t think it’s supportive enough for heavier sleepers, who may find they sink too far into the mattress for adequate support.
What really impressed our main tester though was the reduction of her lower back pain after sleeping on the mattress. Despite being made up of only four layers, the combination of foams and coils does an excellent job of keeping the spine aligned and the lumbar region adequately supported. We did feel, however, that the durability of this mattress might not be quite as good as more expensive options, but it should certainly provide plenty of support for the natural lifespan of a hybrid mattress (around seven to 10 years).
Temperature regulation was impressive – none of our testers overheated or felt too hot sleeping on the DreamCloud, probably due to the fact that it’s quite a simple design without masses of foam layers in it. Edge support was also good, thanks to a reinforced perimeter on the coil layer to add more support. The only tiny niggle with the mattress, and the main point that stopped it from receiving five stars, was a tiny amount of motion transfer. We do feel that many people won’t notice this at all but, if you’re a particularly light sleeper or share your bed with a restless partner, you may be disturbed occasionally. Overall though, the DreamCloud performed well above expectations considering its cheaper price bracket and simpler design.
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Price & Trial
- Never sold at full RRP
- 365-night trial and lifetime warranty
- Bundles and discounted bedding often available
An evergreen DreamCloud mattress sale means that you’ll never pay full RRP for the DreamCloud, with the mattress always being sold with 50% off. This takes the mattress down into the mid-range bracket, making it extremely good value for money. Add to this the fact that you’ll get a 365-night trial period and forever warranty, and the bed really is a good investment. There’s free shipping to your door, or you can pay £15 to have it delivered to a room of your choosing, and there’s also the option for old mattress removal for £45 (but you will need to drag your mattress outside for collection.
Here are the official prices for the DreamCloud Hybrid, and the prices you can expect to pay:
- Single: RRP £966 (usually available for £375)
- Double: RRP £1,132 (usually available for £525)
- King: RRP £1,299 (usually available for £599)
- Super King: RRP £1,432 (usually available for £699)
The downside of this permanent discount is that you won’t usually see any changes during the Black Friday mattress sales. However, DreamCloud do have the occasional flash sale, taking a further 5% off prices, so bookmark our DreamCloud Black Friday mattress deals page to check in on the day for further offers. DreamCloud also offer various bundles, and you can currently save on bedding when you buy a mattress – for instance, you could save up to £110 on a duvet.
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Materials & Design
- A 25cm mattress with four layers
- Quilted and breathable cover
- Pocket springs for support, with a reinforced perimeter
Like the best hybrid mattresses, the DreamCloud mattress is crafted from high quality foams and coils. Mattress production is certified climate neutral, the foams used are CertiPUR Certified (meaning they are free from heavy metals, harmful dyes and ozone depleters) and packing is FSC approved (using only forest products from verified or recycled sources). Plus, if you don’t get on with a mattress DreamCloud will donate it to the British Heart Foundation.
The design of the new DreamCloud Hybrid is fairly simple, with just four layers making up the mattress. The mattress starts with a quilted cover, providing a touch of softness along with breathability to stop sleepers overheating. Underneath this is the brand’s DreamPlush memory foam, providing comfort and a little contouring around the body.
This is followed by a layer of premium foam to help promote spinal alignment, with the mattress finished off with the spring unit. This consists of 15cm premium pocket springs with reinforced edge support, with each spring being individually encased to allow them to move freely and adapt to a sleeper’s movement.
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Comfort & Support
- DreamCloud rate this mattress as 6.5/10, but we rated it as 7.5-8/10
- Particularly suited to back sleepers, but is a jack of all trades
- Simple design still offers plenty of support
Our main tester previously tested the DreamCloud Luxury Hybrid and, whilst she thought it was a fantastic mattress in many ways, she found it a little soft when it came to lumbar support. So, she was expecting more of the same with the DreamCloud Hybrid. However, this new mattress is quite a different beast on the firmness front. DreamCloud rate the mattress at 6.5 out of 10, but all our testers agreed that it slept closer to a 7.5-8 out of 10. What does this mean in practical terms? We think the DreamCloud is particularly suited to back sleepers, as there’s lots of support around the lumbar region to keep the spine aligned. In fact, our main tester, who suffers with lower back pain, noticed a marked improvement in back pain from the first night of sleeping on the mattress.
Perhaps surprisingly, despite this firmer support, the mattress was also extremely comfortable for side sleepers. The top layer of memory foam provides plenty of cushioning comfort, with just a little bit of contouring around the body. Our main tester is of a lightweight build and has often woken up with the dreaded dead hip when sleeping on their side, having become more of a combi sleeper as she’s got older. But the DreamCloud Hybrid provided enough padding and comfort to avoid any pressure points building up. Our secondary tester, who is of light to average weight, is also a combi sleeper and found the mattress equally comfortable for both back and side sleeping.
The firmer support of this mattress also means that light and average weight stomach sleepers will also get on with the DreamCloud, as their hips will be kept lifted. However, we expect that heavier sleepers will find the mattress a lacking in enough support, meaning they may sink through the foams and end up sleeping on the coils. We’d recommend a firmer mattress for stomach sleepers, such as the Otty Firm mattress.
We also tested the sinkage of the mattress by placing a 20kg weight on it and measuring how far it sunk in. Sinkage was 9cm, which is far less than with many hybrids, backing up our findings of this being a firmer mattress. Remember though that mattress firmness is subjective – that’s why trial periods are so important with a mattress.
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Performance
- Motion isolation is decent but very light sleepers may feel movement from a restless partner
- Temperature regulation is excellent, with all our testers staying cool overnight
- Edge support is solid around the bed
Our main and secondary tester slept on a UK DreamCloud Hybrid mattress for a month, inviting other adults of varying body types and sleeping styles to try it out to get a wider view of how the mattress feels. As well as recording our own personal experiences, we also carried out a number of tests to gauge motion isolation, temperature regulation and edge support.
Motion isolation
Decent motion isolation is particularly important on a mattress if you’re sharing it with a restless sleeper. Motion transfer can reverberate across the mattress and disturb sleep, plus you don’t want a mattress that shifts markedly when someone gets in or out of it.
We think most people will be perfectly content with the motion isolation on the DreamCloud Hybrid but really lightweight sleepers or those who share their bed with a restless sleeper may notice a little movement through the night. This is down to the fact that there’s not masses of foam in the DreamCloud to absorb motion and that the coil layer obviously adds a little ‘bounce’.
We also carried out an objective drop test, using an empty wine glass and dropping a 4kg weight from a low height to simulate a sleeper’s movement at night. There was no movement at 60cm, but we did see a very slight wobble at 25cm, followed by the glass falling over at 10cm.
Score: 4.5/5
Temperature Regulation
We tested the DreamCloud Hybrid through what can only be described as a ‘changeable’ period of weather. Some nights we slept under a summer duvet with a 4.5 tog duvet, often combined with a fake fur throw. At other times, the duvet was upgraded to a breathable wool winter version, with a 11 tog rating.
Although our main tester is of a fairly reptilian disposition when it comes to sleeping temperature, her husband is a hot sleeper and is always used as the guinea pig for temperature regulation. He slept comfortably on the mattress, no matter the temperature, feeling that it kept him cool and comfortable at all times. On the other end of the scale, the mattress wasn’t uncomfortably chilly for our reptile, who also felt comfortable temperature wise.
The DreamCloud Hybrid doesn’t have any specialist cooling materials but does have both a breathable cover and breathable memory foam layer. But there isn’t much foam overall in this mattress – just a layer of memory foam and transition foam, and this helps to prevent heat from getting trapped in the mattress. Add in a layer of well-spaced coils and you get excellent airflow, making this a great option for those who sleep hot.
Score: 5/5
Edge Support
The DreamCloud Hybrid has a reinforced perimeter around the edge of the bed, which is designed to help with edge support. We tested the edge support of the mattress using our 20kg weight, noting sinkage of 9.5cm. This is 0.5cm more than in the centre of the mattress, but the difference was negligible. When sleeping on the mattress, our testers were able to utilise the full width of the bed, without ever feeling as if they might slide of the edge. Sitting on the bed was also supportive and stable. This is a mattress with excellent edge support.
Score: 5/5
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Delivery & Setup
- Free named day delivery
- Upgrade to a room of your choosing delivery for £15
- Takes at least six hours to inflate enough to sleep on
Our DreamCloud Hybrid arrived via the brand’s third-party delivery service, with our mattress being delivered to our bedroom. This is a service you can add on for £15, otherwise the bed will be dropped off at your front door. The night before, we received a three-hour delivery slot via both text and email (you can opt in for either / or if you prefer) and, on the day, the delivery team kept us updated when they were running slightly late. At checkout you have the option of choosing a day for your delivery and, for £15, you can upgrade delivery to a room of your choosing. Mattress removal is also available at a cost of £45, but you will need to take the old mattress to your front door for collection.
The mattress arrived boxed and rolled up. Many of these mattresses in a box are obscenely heavy, but the DreamCloud wasn’t too bad and was relatively easy to shift about. Inside the box you’ll also find an instruction leaflet and a cutter – for once this actually did its job and didn’t snap on impact with the plastic wrapping.
Unboxing was easy, we cut through the plastic layers carefully and the mattress immediately started expanding. However, we did notice that it was a little slower to expand than some other brands – we’d suggest it needs a full six hours to expand before you try and sleep on it. We did notice a little off gassing for an hour or two, but it wasn’t particularly pungent and faded quickly.
Another plus point of the DreamCloud is that it has handles on the sides, making it easy to move about and rotate regularly (read our guide on how often to rotate your mattress for more information on this).
Score: 4.5/5
DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress Review: Customer Reviews
- DreamCloud currently has 1,229 reviews on its website
- DreamCloud has a 4.4 out of 5-star rating
- Unfortunately reviews are all lumped together and not divided by mattress
As well as sleeping on a mattress ourselves, we also always look at customer reviews to get a broader picture of the brand. Reviews for DreamCloud are mainly extremely positive, with the brand having a 4.4 out of 5-star rating.
Unfortunately reviews are all lumped together on the DreamCloud website and there aren’t many, as yet, for the newer mattress. But for those reviews that do exist, the mattress earns high praise for both its support and comfort, with customers saying how much of an improvement they’ve seen in aches and pains. Of those that didn’t like the mattress, the main complaints are that it’s either too soft or too firm, proving the adage that one size definitely doesn’t fit all. Customer service is also routinely praised, with many saying how helpful DreamCloud staff have been.
Should I buy the DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress?
If you’re looking for a mattress that belies its price tag, offering a far more luxurious look and finish than you might expect in this price bracket, the DreamCloud Hybrid should be on your shopping list. This is a well-made and nicely put together mattress, with a finish that gives it a high-quality look. But, of course, far more important than its looks is how the DreamCloud is to sleep on. It doesn’t disappoint there either, with a medium firm to firm feel that somehow manages to appeal to a wide variety of sleepers.
There’s enough cushioning from the top layers to allow side sleepers to sink in a little and avoid pressure points, whilst back and light / average weight stomach sleepers should find the bed supportive enough to keep their spines aligned and hips raised. We did feel, however, that the mattress was not supportive enough for heavier bodies, who could end up sinking too far into the mattress and sleeping on the coils.
This bed also performed really well across all our tests – just losing a tiny percentage for a small amount of motion transfer. Add in the fact that that mattress has incredibly generous extras with a 365-night trial period and a forever warranty and there really is lots to recommend it.
