Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow review: If you want a cooling pillow then look no further

A composite image shows the Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow with its cover pulled back to expose its blue cooling layer in one shot, and wrapped in its bag in the other shot.

We've all experienced nights where we've struggled to drift off to sleep due to feeling uncomfortably hot – whether it's on a hot summer night, when having hot flushes, or even when staying at your in-laws’ generously heated house.

The Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow is designed to solve this problem, with one side of this foam pillow covered with a cooling layer of gel beneath an "ice fabric", and the other made of bamboo fabric. It also claims to offer "orthopaedic qualities" due to the firmness of its CloudTec filling. Of course, firmness is a factor that's personal to all of us when choosing the best pillow, and something that varies among the best cooling pillows on the market, so I made sure to consider this in my testing process.

It's an expensive pillow but is sometimes discounted, so it's worth keeping an eye out on the prices below for the best current offers. It also comes with a generous 100 day trial period, which is a competitive offering. I tested it to see if it really was as cool as it claimed.

Luff Sleep The Mayfair Gel Pillow

Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow review

Specifications

• RRP: £129.99
• Size: 40x60x11cm
• Sleep position: Side, back
• Filling: Solid CloudTech foam
• Firmness: Firm
• Trial: 100 nights
• Guarantee: 10 years (when bought direct)

Once out of its carry bag, you can easily see the Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow's blue gel layer on this side, through the semi-sheer bamboo cover that's included (Image credit: Future)

First impressions of the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow

The Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow looks hi-tech even before you remove it from its clear bag. One side is covered with a bright blue gel layer. It’s this side that’s cooling to sleep on. Though if you don’t like the feel of the gel, you can flip the pillow over and sleep on the soft bamboo fabric instead.

And the gel really is cooling; impressively cooling. I made sure to test it on a hot night, and I could honestly imagine I was resting my head on ice.

Meanwhile the foam is CloudTech, which promises “all the benefits of memory foam, with none of the drawbacks”. When quizzed about this claim, the makers said the main improvements are its pillow's heat retention (regular memory foam can leave you with a hot head, but the Luff’s cooling layer avoids this) and an initial smell of foam (which its bamboo pillow cover combats).

I liked that I could flip the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow over to enjoy the firmness of its CloudTec foam – though it wasn't as cool on this side (Image credit: Future)

What’s the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow like to use?

I was really impressed with the cooling power of Luff’s gel. Each time I lay my head on it for testing purposes, I felt like taking 40 winks, which is a good sign. But once you do fall asleep, the cooling power only lasts so long. I slept soundly but, when I woke up, I found myself moving my head to a new cool patch. I wasn’t overheating, it had just lost that lovely ice feeling.

Also I found that adding a pillowcase dramatically cut its cooling properties. The Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow has a washable cover, so the smartest move is to just stick with that. The cover is organic bamboo, breathable and washable. It washes and dries quickly, or you could buy a second one. But if you really want to make the most of this pillow’s cooling qualities then it won’t be in a pillowcase that matches your duvet cover.

The foam pillow is firm but I found it very comfortable as a side-sleeper. It’s too thick to be comfortable for back-sleeping though. It’s officially 11cm deep but I measured it at 13cm.

Here's the Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow's blue cooling gel up close – it even looks like blocks of ice in a tray! (Image credit: Future)

How does the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow compare?

The closest comparative pillow I've tested is the Bensons for Beds iGel Side Sleeper Deep Pillow. The Bensons is a really good memory foam pillow that offered perfect support for me as a side sleeper, and subtly helped me regulate my temperature. Bensons explained its "phase change crystals" inside the iGel can store or release energy, to cool you when you’re hot and warm you when you’re cold.

In comparison, the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow offered a much more cooling experience that helped me to fall asleep in comfort, even when I tested it on hot nights.

I slept with the Luff Sleep The Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow for several nights, including during a hot weather period, to get a good handle on its cooling claims (Image credit: Future)

Should you buy the Luff Sleep Mayfair Cooling Gel Pillow?

If you want one of the best cooling pillows, then look no further. It is pricey, but worth it if you need a cooling pillow. This is a brilliant tool for coping with the hot nights we’re increasingly getting in the summer, and the hot flushes that most women endure during perimenopause and menopause. When I first laid my head on the pillow, it really felt like I was resting it on a block of ice. But when I surfaced, I did need to move my head to feel the benefit again. Or flip the pillow over to sleep on the bamboo side.

Also it’s sometimes discounted. At the time of writing, it was £67.99, down from £129.99. At that price, it’s absolutely worth it. And with a long trial period of 100 days, you can’t go wrong – there's plenty of time to return it if it’s not right for you.