A mattress fit for royalty - The Regal by Grether & Wells lives up to its name

Grether & Wells Regal Mattress: £2,399.00 to £2,599.00 at Sleep.8 UK

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Grether & Wells is somewhat of a legacy brand in the world of mattresses. Since their founding in 1859 it’s quite likely that without realising you have already benefitted from their innovation in springs and tufting at some point in your life. This makes it unsurprising then, that the mattresses that they make themselves are the crème de la crème. The Regal is a shining example of what nearly 200 years of experience can produce. 

Nowadays it’s hard to know what a good mattress looks like. There are so many different types from pocket sprung, to natural fibre, to memory foam, or a hybrid of the lot. Brexit has further complicated matters as UK mattress manufacturers are no longer subject to the strict safety standards that were in place, for good reason, when part of the EU. In my ongoing search for the best mattresses out there, I will help clarify the haze for you. A stop at Sleep.8 on Kings Road, Chelsea is a good place to start, sleep, and end quite frankly. 

Sleep.8 are the UK distributors of Grether & Wells, they have other stores in Bluewater, High Wycombe, Spitalfields, Stratford and Thurrock. I find it odd that there is an increasing shift to buying a mattress online, without ever having tried it in person. Hence, I welcome, with open arms, the attempt to buck this trend by Sleep.8. Their stores allow customers to not be overly dependent on the 100 day sleep promises. More than 2,000 excellent reviews on Trustpilot cement my confidence in them and their products. For now. Let’s delve in deeper and sniff out whether the Regal is top tier or whether there are cracks beneath the surface.

Specifications

Opening Note

First and foremost, if this is your first time buying a mattress, you’re probably thinking “What happens if I pick the wrong one?”. Let me put your mind at ease. Virtually every company out there has a sleep promise. The majority of the time you have 100 days to make up your mind. Sleep.8 is no exception with the 100 days too. If you decide to return it, usually they get donated to charity, but in some cases will just end up in landfill. I mention the consequences of returning a mattress because the presence of the sleep promises can lead to a decision that isn’t fully thought out when you always have the fallback of a refund.

However, with Sleep.8 there are two key things I want to make you aware of. Firstly, you have to buy a mattress protector from them to qualify for the 100 night comfort guarantee. Easily done, slightly annoying if you already have a mattress protector. The second thing is that you can’t return the mattress for a refund under this policy. You would be making an exchange for a different mattress in their range, or vouchers for the store. Personally I think this is a good thing. It stops the system being abused. At least now you know too and you won’t get caught out. 

Comfort

If you read the specifications hopefully you already know that this mattress only comes in firm. If you didn’t, now you do. Why is this relevant? Well nearly 75% of sleepers opt for medium/firm. Personally, I think if you’re happy on a medium/firm, you’ll also be happy on this. I’ll get into that in a mo. I just want to briefly elaborate on why the majority go for medium. The main aim of a mattress is to give you good spinal alignment when you sleep - essentially translating into comfort for you. To achieve the right alignment, the support needs to be appropriately matched to the weight. If you’re lighter than average you may fall into the soft category, and if you’re heavier than average you might fall into the firm category. The best thing to do is to speak to the experts at Sleep.8, they will be able to guide you better than anyone on their products.

If you are certain that you will need something closer to the soft category then have a browse of the Sleep.8 selection. There are a number of other models from Grether & Wells for you to choose from at all stages of firmness. 

My verdict on the comfort, the Regal is complex. It’s like a fine wine where you get told to look for certain flavours that you would have never known were present if you hadn’t been tipped off. Personally, as long as there is a flavour of fermented grape I am satisfied. I make the comparison because the first thing I think anyone should do with the Regal, is just squish the top layer. It’s comparable to squishing a cloud. Ludicrously soft. Once you have experienced that you can go ahead and lie down, probably expecting to sink deep into the mattress like a memory foam. Oh no, not today. You are essentially cradled in heaven. Firm, but not too firm, nestled in a top layer of clouds. This is why I said I think it would still be worth considering for anyone who likes a medium/firm, the lines are very much blurred or redrawn here. I think the level of comfort I felt on the Regal may make the cut for my top 3 of all time. 

Support and type

The Regal is a hybrid mattress. This means it has both pocket springs and foam, whilst this does sound like a winning combination, if not done in the right way, can just end up in a mess. An example of this is where the edge of the mattress is foam and the centre is pocket springs. As you can imagine, the support from foam is not really comparable to that of springs, so it essentially melts away like butter when you lie on it. A lot, but not all, foam mattresses have reinforced sides, the Regal included.

I will say I was skeptical of the Regal at first. Another hybrid mattress, only 550 pocket springs, and weirdly lightweight. I thought it surely can’t possibly match up to mattresses that boast over 10,000 springs. I was wrong. The support is second to none. In fact I actually lay on my side on the very edge of the mattress and wouldn’t have known any difference to the support in the middle. It is just perfectly consistent. I imagine, but I don’t know for certain, that the reduced number of pocket springs is necessary for mattresses that are suitable for adjustable bed frames. All you need to know is that there is no lack of support at all. 

Now let’s talk about motion isolation. This is something that foam and natural fibres are better at doing generally. Springs on the other hand are good, but they have a limit. So here we have another place where a hybrid mattress can fill a gap. With the Regal, you can consider the gap filled. Excellent motion isolation. You literally cannot feel the other person on the bed. Perhaps you will have more unwelcome visits from your dogs as they creep aboard in the night without you knowing. It’s an acceptable trade off. 

Scent

If you’ve done your homework you probably know about off-gassing. Some mattresses release very strong smells when they first arrive. This could be down to a number of factors, one of the most common is the fire retardant chemicals used in the production process. The EU has very strict regulations that companies have to meet in this area. Whilst wool is naturally fire retardant many companies turn to cheap and nasty chemical alternatives (that somehow still pass the regulations). Clearly the brief to the regulatory body was “make sure they don’t catch fire” and not “make sure they don’t use carcinogens in the process”. It’s scary to learn what some companies use. More so now that the UK is not part of the EU allowing some companies to exploit the flimsy regulations that remain.

The Regal has some foam components which are also known for releasing smells of their own. But, thankfully, I have nothing negative to report. No smells whatsoever in fact. I would have liked to have seen more evidence on their website of a natural approach to both the foam and the fire retardance, especially with the price tag. You have more than paid for essentially an ‘organic’ mattress, but I couldn’t find any information on this front. You have to assume the worst otherwise it would no doubt be advertised. Maybe I’m wrong.

Delivery

I mentioned this briefly under the Support section - the Regal is bizarrely lightweight. Maybe it’s just me, but luxury and heavy are two things that go hand in hand in a lot of places, so I was caught off guard. As you already know the weight doesn’t impact the performance, for want of a better word, of the bed. I thought I’d say this straight off the bat, it’s easier than most to move around your house. 

Regarding the delivery, the team took mine to the fifth floor of a town house. They are pretty excellent and the mattress is well packaged for protection. Delivery is actually free to mainland UK, in other words, you have prepaid for it in the price of the product. I’m not sure whether this actually helps Sleep.8 because on the face of it the mattress is another £50 to £100 more expensive than competitors who add the shipping on later, as many do.

A white glove delivery service is part of any large item you buy. This service includes the removal of your old mattress. Another £30 to £50 you can deduct from the price as other companies frequently charge for this too! It’s hard to know whether Sleep.8 are doing themselves any favours by including all of these services in the price. 

Temperature Regulation

On this topic I think it’s important to say that I am testing in November in the UK. Needless to say, it is cold. One of the main concerns with foam or hybrids is overheating, not something I am well-equipped to comment on outside of summer. That being said, British summers are becoming increasingly well, non-existent, so perhaps it will never become an issue. 

The Regal is well prepared for the unlikely return of warmth in the UK with multiple layers of wicking and airflow technology. Firm mattresses are generally the go to for a more substantial cooling effect. You might be wondering whether the ultra soft top layer contributes to a memory foam feel, but it doesn’t. It is soft, but far from sticky or suffocating.

In any case, the truth is, you should pick the mattress based on the comfort and support, if you find you are sleeping hot there are alternative solutions. Don’t pick a mattress that you find uncomfortable just so you are cool. That is why fans exist.

Guarantee and durability

The Regal comes with a 10 year guarantee on the mattresses. Normally I delve into the terms of the warranty as part of my research, I couldn’t find anything on it, anywhere. It must be something that is covered in more detail with a purchase, but important to ask about before going ahead. Sometimes companies make it a bit harder than it should be to make a warranty claim, I have no idea whether this is the case here, I’m just reminding you to think about worst case scenarios before they happen. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.  

Eco-credentials

This is probably the only area I can say I am disappointed with. In this day and age everyone should be doing their bit to contribute to reducing waste, recycling where possible and using natural components instead of chemical ones. It’s hard to find anything on the Sleep.8 website that talks about what they are doing.

Yes they are picking up your old mattress, but it doesn’t mention anything at all about whether it is recycled. Sadly, the assumption is that it probably isn’t. The same goes for the process to make the mattress fire retardant, and the process for making the foam components. 

Clearly, Sleep.8 has the resources, and are charging the prices of a product that can and should be more environmentally conscious. If I’m wrong, and Sleep.8 is doing more, they need to talk about it. I would love to be able to re-write this section and give the Regal a perfect score. 

Value

The Regal in a Double is £2,399, with the 20% off it becomes £1,919. You can get 40% off if you buy a bed, and an extra £50 off if you sign up for the newsletter. There is a whole lot of money to be saved. Plus if you’re comparing it to others, remember to deduct the cost of postage and mattress collection for the sake of a fair fight. If you get all the reductions you are getting a truly incredible deal on a truly incredible mattress that more than deserves its place in my list.  

How we test

Why can I speak objectively about mattresses? You may be wondering. Well, as I write, I have 4 of them in my house that I am testing. This doesn’t include all the others I have tested before, and all that are to come next. When you start testing mattresses you realise that the words “I slept like a log” are not the result of chance, the calming podcast you listened to, or the cheese board you didn’t eat, but the bed you lay on.

Given that mattresses are neither seen nor heard (usually), you’ve probably never really broken down what separates a good mattress from a great mattress. Well I’m here to tell you the criteria and set you off on your journey as a newly qualified siesta scientist.

The top two most important factors I consider are comfort & support. These are closely followed by the type of mattress and the smell (yes you read correctly). Then we have delivery, temperature regulation, warranty/durability, earth friendliness and value. These last five don’t impact your sleep unless you really overpay and lie awake at night worrying. I also place lower significance on temperature regulation because in my opinion a duvet and your boiler system have a bigger part to play here. Of course a deep memory foam is going to be warmer than a firm pocket sprung, but you get my point.  

You can find out more on our dedicated page for how we test mattresses.

Grether & Wells Regal Mattress: £2,399.00 to £2,599.00 at Sleep.8 UK

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