In this Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress review, I put the brand's top of the range mattress through its paces to see how it performs compared to the best mattresses on the market.
In a nutshell
The Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress is a very affordable hybrid mattress-in-a-box. As its name suggests, it's the brand's most premium and therefore most expensive mattress, but compared to its competition, that 'expensive' price tag is actually pretty budget-friendly.
For comparison, the Simba Hybrid mattress (which is still the most comfortable mattress I've slept on) costs £799 for a double, compared to £649 for a double in the Nectar Premier Hybrid.
During the four weeks we tested it out, my husband and I also found that the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress offered us a really good sleep. Its medium-firm tension is on the more medium side of medium-firm, but I found this suited me well, especially when I slept on my side as it cradled my hip and shoulder nicely.
It also has a decent 28cm depth, offers great motion isolation, which meant my husband and I disturbed each other less at night, and offers decent temperature regulation.
My only few niggles were with the delivery process – there's no option to have this mattress unboxed and installed onto the bed frame for you, and you have to pay extra for it to be delivered inside your home rather than to your doorstep. Collection of your old mattress is also kerbside only.
Plus, its edge support was a little lacking. Although this has been the case with every mattress we've tested at this kind of price point.
Overall, though, I think this is a good value mattress. Plus, you can often snap it up for cheaper during one of Nectar's sales, and the brand's lengthy 365-night sleep trial means there's plenty of opportunity to test it out for yourself before you commit.
Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress review
Specifications
- Type: hybrid (springs & foam)
- Construction materials: 4-layers of CertiPUR certified foam, open-cell foam for enhanced breathability, premium memory foam and 2 x CertiPUR(TM) certified foam encapsulated spring units
- Sizes: single, double, king and super king
- Tensions available: medium-firm
- Height: 28cm
- Side handles: yes
- Flip or rotate: rotate every 3 months
- Manufacturer sleep trial: 365 night
1. Comfort
The Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress is a hybrid mattress that combines deep springs and micro springs with memory foam. It's the brand's top-of-the-range mattress, and one that Nectar promises will deliver the 'optimum sleep experience'.
I've now been sleeping on it for the past four weeks, and during that time, I've genuinely looked forward to getting into bed. I've found this mattress incredibly comfortable when sleeping on my back and side. I find it cushions my shoulders perfectly and adapts to my spine for even weight distribution.
Although, this wasn't the case on night one of testing. That first night I overheated, and the mattress felt firm, I think because I hadn't given it time to fully 'inflate' after it arrived rolled and vacuum-sealed. However, I'm glad I stuck it out, because come night two, I got comfy.
When it comes to firmness, Nectar rates this mattress a 6-6.5 on a scale of 0-10 (with 10 being the firmest feel). That makes it medium-firm, although I'd say it's a tad more medium than medium-firm, depending on your weight.
I'm 13 stone, and I found the Nectar Premier Hybrid's slightly softer support felt perfect for me. My go-to tension is medium-firm, yet I've found that some brands put more emphasis on the 'firm' part of medium-firm, and the mattress ends up too hard for me.
However, if you're heavier than me, you may find it a little on the soft side; if you're lighter in weight, it will feel a little firmer. It only comes in one tension option, so it's designed to be a crowdpleaser and sit somewhere in the mid range, and that it does well.
Ultimately, I found sleeping on the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress an absolute dream.
I'm a side and back sleeper, and when I lie on my side, I find my shoulders and hips are relieved of any pressure, and I don't wake up in the night with pins and needles down my arms when lying on my side like I sometimes do on a firmer mattress.
And when I sleep on my back, I feel weightless, so I'm relieved of any tension that has built up throughout the day (it's a wonderful feeling). My husband also agreed he had a great night's sleep on this mattress.
2. Motion isolation
My husband and I also agreed that the Nectar Premium Hybrid Mattress's motion isolation was excellent.
As parents to two young children, we're frequently in and out of bed during the night to cuddle our 14-month-old, who wakes every few hours, and we both commented that we didn't realise when either one of us was moving around to get up and out of bed in the night.
Similarly, if either of us switched up our sleeping position through the night, there was no motion transfer to the other side of the bed. And we didn't roll into the middle of the bed at any point either; we both stayed on our respective sides of the mattress.
I am used to sleeping on a hybrid mattress, and I must say that this mattress is one of the better hybrid mattresses I have tested for motion isolation.
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3. Responsiveness
We also found the responsiveness of the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress to be great.
I found that what Nectar calls the foam 'Dynamic Support Layer' bounced back almost instantly after pressure was removed. This meant that any contouring around my body could reshape as I moved around on the bed, and I didn't feel like I was lying in a memory foam 'dip' that I needed to struggle out of to change from my side to my back.
The foam springs back every time I get in and out of bed, making it feel like a new bed all over again and giving it a nice bit of bounce compared to your average pure memory foam mattress.
4. Temperature regulation
Now, on my first night of testing, I did overheat on this mattress. However, as I mentioned, I think that's because I hadn't allowed enough time for its layers to decompress after unboxing it.
Nectar says that 'within 48 hours, it'll be in its final, glorious form,' and I only gave it 24 hours. My mistake. That would likely have meant that air wasn't able to flow through the foam or springs as optimally as possible.
However, I found subsequent nights were totally cool. This is a synthetic mattress that utilises memory foam, so it's not as cool and breathable as a natural-fill mattress such as the Hypnos Pillow Top Select mattress, but it does seem like Nectar has made efforts to increase breathability as much as possible.
The cover is designed to draw heat away from the body, the support layer is a breathable foam layer that enhances air flow, the micro-spring layer is designed to draw heat away from the sleeper and circulate fresh air, and the 12cm encapsulated pocket spring layer also offers breathable, comfortable support.
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5. Edge support
Overall, I found the edge support on the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress pretty decent.
I didn't find that I was falling off the mattress when pushed to the edge by my co-sleeping son, and I could easily stand up from a sitting position on the edge.
However, I was a little surprised by how much the side collapsed when I sat on it, especially considering that the mattress has a 28cm depth overall. I only weigh 13 stone, and the side compressed by a good amount when I sat on the edge.
I don't see this as being a dealbreaker for everyone, but if you prefer a firmer surface to push against when you get up in the morning, you may find it has a little more give than you'd like.
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6. Sleep trial
Nectar has one of the longest sleep trials in the business, offering 365 nights to try out its mattresses at home.
Whilst I doubt you'll need that long to decide whether you like this mattress or not, experts usually say it can take around 30 nights for your body to adjust to a new sleep surface, so this gives you plenty of time to check it's the one for you.
If you decide it isn't the right fit, then Nectar says it will collect the mattress free of charge and issue you with a refund. Returned mattresses in good condition are then donated to the British Heart Foundation.
7. Ease of care
Whilst it looks like the zip on the cover of the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress means that the cover can be removed and washed, Nectar says not to. In fact, it can void the mattress's warranty.
Instead, Nectar recommends spot cleaning the cover with a safe, mild detergent or hand soap if you need to.
Personally, I always recommend popping a good mattress protector over any mattress to keep it clean in the first place. These can be removed if anything gets spilt, and put into the washing machine, too.
Nectar also recommends rotating the mattress 180 degrees once every three months to keep it in good shape. The two handles of each side of the mattress will help with this, but you may need an extra pair of hands to shift the 5 stone weight (for a double) into position.
8. Delivery
In my experience, the delivery of the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress was very quick with fairly good communication.
You can select a delivery date when you check out, and Nectar says you'll receive an email with a tracking link and a 3-hour delivery window for the mattress the evening before. Delivery is to your doorstep as standard, but you can pay an extra £15 to get the mattress delivered to your room of choice.
However, unlike fellow mattress-in-a-box brand Simba, TEMPUR, or retailers like Bensons for Beds, there is no option to upgrade to white-glove delivery with Nectar.
White-glove delivery means the mattress is removed from its packaging and installed onto your bed frame for you. If you're not able to manhandle a mattress into position by yourself, this would be a reason to avoid investing in a Nectar mattress.
In practice, my time frame for delivery was between 07:00 and 21:00. With two young kids and school runs to do, I couldn't guarantee that I would be home all day, so I opted to have the mattress delivered to our super safe place, the garage.
On the day of delivery, I received a phone call advising that the delivery team was 30 minutes away. However, I missed this phone call. And where did the mattress get delivered to? The porch.
Fortunately, the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress is a mattress in a box, so I managed to haul the box inside by myself. But note that it does weigh a fair bit (it's 5 stone for a double), so you may prefer to wait until you have an extra pair of hands at to help you maneuver your new mattress into the bedroom.
Once I managed to drag the mattress out of its box, I found it was rolled tightly and wrapped in plastic. A cutter was provided to cut through the plastic safely, which was useful.
However, be warned that the mattress starts to inflate as soon as air enters the vacuum-seal, so proceed with caution. It sprang open on me, so I quickly cut through the plastic in a straight line and got out of the way, fast.
There was some chemical off-gassing smell whilst the mattress was 'inflating', but this faded overnight, and I didn't notice any smell the morning after.
It's also worth noting that Nectar advises leaving the mattress for 48 hours to inflate fully before sleeping on it. I didn't because we had nowhere else to sleep that night, and as I mentioned, I didn't have a great first night's sleep for this reason. So, if you can, plan in somewhere to camp out for the first few nights after unboxing.
If you're wondering how to get rid of your old mattress, Nectar says that it will remove your old mattress for you if you pay an extra £45 at checkout.
However, it's worth noting that, unlike a brand such as Simba, where your new mattress delivery and old mattress removal are sorted on the same day at the same times, collection is not provided by the team delivering your mattress but by Nectar's collection partners.
They will also only collect your old mattress from outside your property, so you'll need to get it downstairs and out of the house yourself.
9. Third-party reviews
Aside from a few third-party stockists, such as Land of Beds, the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress is mostly only available to buy directly from Nectar, where it can be a little difficult to distinguish which mattress reviewers are discussing.
I also had a look at Nectar's TrustPilot score, where Nectar currently averages 3.7 out of 5 stars based on the nearly 15,000 reviews it's amassed.
That's higher than its mattress-in-a-box competition, Emma, which only scores 3.1 currently. But lower than Simba's score of 4.3 stars, or Nectar's sister brand, DreamCloud's 4.4 stars.
10. Environmental impact
I can't see that any of the components used in the construction of the Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress are made from recycled materials, which is a shame.
However, Nectar's sustainability page does state, 'we currently use polyurethane foam in our mattresses, but we’re working hard with our suppliers, and on a constant hunt for circular, low-emission alternative materials that allow us to maintain our accessible price point.' So maybe watch this space.
And the brand is making the effort to engage with sustainability experts ClimatePartner to calculate and reduce its manufacturing, waste, and corporate footprint.
The brand also assures shoppers that mattresses returned via its sleep trial don't go straight to landfill. Instead, Nectar says, 'we refurbish and re-sell those that are good as new. We donate the rest to the British Heart Foundation, giving the products second homes. To date, Nectar Sleep Ltd has helped raise over £1.2 million.'
11. Value for money
Overall, I do think that this mattress offers good value for money. A double Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress costs £649 at full price, and I found it offered me a great sleep. I've also seen it on sale for quite a bit less during events like Black Friday.
For comparison, one of the most comfortable mattresses I have (ever) slept on is the Simba Hybrid mattress, which I found gives a very similar level of squish and support to Nectar's Premier Hybrid. However, the Simba Hybrid mattress costs £799 for a double, which is £150 more.
That said, I found Simba's customer service options – for example, the ease of arranging white-glove delivery and old mattress removal – superior to Nectar's. And when you compare TrustPilot scores, Simba scores quite a lot higher than Nectar with shoppers.
Simba is also now a Certified B Corporation, which is a company verified by B Lab to meet high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. So if you're concerned about the environment, that may be an extra £150 well spent.
If you're looking for an affordable hybrid mattress, the £525 DreamCloud Hybrid mattress is also a competitor. Nectar and DreamCloud are owned by the same parent company, Resident Home, and this DreamCloud mattress steals the crown as the best budget mattress we've tested.
Overall though, I think the Nectar Premier Hybrid Mattress remains a good value buy. And that 365 night sleep trial does make it less risky to take the plunge and test it out for yourself – just make sure to follow all of Nectar's sleep trial terms and conditions if you plan to return it.
How I tested
In putting the DreamCloud Hybrid Mattress through Ideal Home's mattress testing process, I assessed the eleven factors that we deem vital to any mattress purchase.
I tested the mattress for comfort, motion isolation, responsiveness, temperature regulation, and edge support. This means that myself (and my husband) slept on the mattress for a month before I wrote my review.
I also took into consideration ease of care, any sleep trials available, the delivery process, environmental impact, its value for money, and, where possible, researched third-party customer reviews – to see if they aligned or were at odds with my own experience – before writing my own review and giving this mattress a star rating.
