Dormeo mattress review—is the S Plus the ideal mattress for couples?

For our Dormeo mattress review, expert tester Linda Clayton reviewed the S Plus, to see how this option—arguably their most crowd-pleasing mattress—fared when it was actually slept on.

Dormeo’s mattresses are Italian-designed and made in Europe, and the brand has been a major player in the memory foam market for the past decade.

Specializing in the latest open-cell viscoelastic memory foam, which is basically more breathable than first-generation memory foam, Dormeo’s mattresses are designed to suit “everybody”, according to them. A bold claim, given that everyone’s sleep preferences are individual—but the best mattresses should be personalized as much as possible, so we were keen to put it to the test.

The S Plus mattress we tested has a better chance than most at appealing to the masses, thanks to its dual comfort flexibility. In short, the mattress is split into two, and each half can be flipped between a firm side or soft (we found it medium firm). So, if one partner prefers plank-like firmness and the other needs cloud-like softness, the S Plus mattress could be the solution. We assessed whether or not this functionality really works and if it could help couples sleep better...

WHAT’S THE DORMEO S PLUS LIKE TO SLEEP ON?

The S Plus mattress has a USP we’ve not come across before or since. The cover unzips and the mattress inside is split into two. Each mattress can be flipped over and from end to end, providing the following four iterations: 

• firm with shoulder support
• firm with hip support
• soft with shoulder support
• soft with hip support

Once the two mattresses are zipped back inside the cover, you can’t tell they are two separate entities and there’s no annoying ditch in the middle, which is plus. We trialled all four comfort levels to give a comprehensive report. Starting with the firm mattress side on the shoulder support setting, our final verdict was—way too firm. Our shoulders were hurting in the mornings, and we ended up sleeping on our back, which is not great for snoring. We persevered for a few more nights, before rotating the mattress to firm with hip support, and the relief was palpable. Neither of us need much hip support but we both slept considerably better in this mode. Seeking even more yield, we flipped to the soft side. First in shoulder mode which, oddly, was once again too firm, and then in hip mode, which is where we finally found the softness the brochure mentions.

As the S Plus is all foam, and fairly robust foam at that, motion transfer was minimal whichever way we positioned the mattress. It was a little more noticeable in hip mode, but not excessively so. On the weight test, where we put a heavy cast iron weight onto the mattress to see how deep it sinks, it was interesting to note that there was only 1cm difference between the firm side and the supposed soft side. The weight also sank more on the edges than we’d expect, which means the edge support isn’t as good as it could be. 

When visually checking for spine alignment during our Dormeo mattress review, we could see quite clearly how the hip is supported when you sleep with the mattress at one end, and then the shoulders when it is turned (from top to toe). Overall, the spine looked comfortably aligned with no awkwardness around the neck or shoulders. In summary, it took a few nights, but we eventually found our perfect comfort and support levels—which it turned out were actually the same, so the ingenious split mattress idea was rather wasted on our tester and her partner! We can confirm though that the Dormeo S Plus mattress delivers a decent night’s sleep, without any sweatiness or overheating, and we would happily have kept it on our bed forever.

HOW FIRM IS THE DORMEO S PLUS MATTRESS?

On firmness, we would concur with Dormeo’s assessment that their mattresses (and their best pillows) are slightly more firm, even on the 'soft' side of their products. On the firm side, you should be able to sleep on your front or back without putting undue stress on your neck. On the reverse side, which Dormeo says is soft, we would rate it as medium-firm—and it was on this side we slept soundly on our side. Your experience of firmness is most likely to directly correlate with bodyweight. The heavier you are, the softer you will find a mattress.

WHAT DO YOU GET FOR YOUR MONEY?

Dormeo's S Plus memory foam mattress is pretty much middle of the road when it comes to price—it's neither super affordable nor too expensive.

A breakdown of the prices per size:

• Single (90 x 190cm)—£599.99
• Double (135 x 190cm)—£799
• King (150 x 200cm)—£999.99
• Super King (180 x 200cm)—£1,199.99

It’s worth keeping an eye on Dormeo’s website for sales, as this mattress is often sold with a 50% discount. Dormeo will also throw in a free Octasense pillow when you buy direct from its website. You also get a 60-night sleep trial (refund or exchange), a generous 15-year warranty and free delivery.

WHAT IS THE DORMEO S PLUS MATTRESS MADE OF?

The best way to understand how one mattress offers four comfort levels is to watch this video from Dormeo, which shares an explanation of the adjustable parts of the mattress.

In terms of the actual materials used to achieve this, there are two layers of Ecocell memory foam, one soft, one firm, sandwiching “springs” (Octasprings) made from memory foam, which are designed to provide bounce. The Climalite cover is all about wicking away moisture (great for good sleep hygiene), and in fact, the foam layers and springs are breathable too, which accounts for why we both enjoyed a sweat-free sleeping experience. This bodes well for when the time comes to clean the mattress, but we'd still recommend investing in a good mattress protector for your bed too. 

WHAT DOES THE DORMEO S PLUS SMELL LIKE?

This is a foam-based mattress, so you can expect a degree of off-gassing odor, but when we unboxed it, it wasn’t too strong at all and wouldn't put us off buying whatsoever. The new-mattress smell took just over a week to disperse. And best of all, the smell wasn’t strong enough to register once we got into bed and did not affect our sleep.

WHAT DID WE NOT LIKE?

During ou Dormeo mattress review, flipping the mattress around and rezipping the cover was a bit of a faff, but worth the effort in the long term. It is also only 20cm deep, which made standard fitted sheets feel loose and the bed, overall, a little low down. 

But aside from that, there really wasn't much we could fault!

WHO IS THE DORMEO S PLUS BEST FOR?

It's ideal for couples who like to sleep in different sleeping positions, and generally prefer different firmness levels when it comes to your mattress, as well as anyone seeking flexible comfort, as it's adjustable in a way no other mattress is.

There is an option to suit all types of sleeper, so if you are prepared to spend time finding your perfect position, you shouldn’t need to make use of the 60-night sleep guarantee.

IS THE DORMEO S PLUS WORTH IT?

The idea is absolute genius. If you and your partner have been locked in battle over the perfect mattress, we would definitely recommend that you give the Dormeo S Plus mattress a go. It’s also a good solution for people who haven’t got the time or energy to be messing about sending mattresses back—with four comfort options there’s a much higher chance you will find one that suits you. 

However, we would have liked a bigger difference between the firm and soft sides. We had to watch the above video twice to work out which side was firm and which was soft (pink = firm, grey = soft). We didn’t find flipping the mattress about inside the cover particularly effortless. Zipping them back up again required two people and some muscle work. However, that’s the price you pay for ensuring they fit together really tightly, and you don’t fall down a gap between them. Once you’ve found your perfect setting, you probably won’t need to touch the zip again, which we found during our Dormeo mattress review.

WHAT DO ONLINE SHOPPERS THINK?

At the time of writing, 86% of Dormeo customers (nearly 600 of them) recommended the S Plus mattress with lots of enthusiasm about reducing aches and pains, sleeping soundly and even curing insomnia. Most people declared it to be well made and great quality, while others found it took a little while to find their perfect side/position but are happy they took the time. There are a few complaints that the soft side isn’t as soft as expected.

WHAT IS ORDERING AND DELIVERY LIKE?

Delivery is free, from Monday to Saturday, to mainland addresses. The delivery is trackable online, which is always useful, and the mattress arrives tightly rolled in a box, so getting it into your bedroom should be easy (it is ready to sleep on within six hours of opening). Currently, delivery is just to the doorstep, with no recycling option for your old mattress.