Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress Review

New to hybrid mattresses? The Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress is the perfect place to start. It actually delivers on its promise to give the best of both worlds: The responsive support of an innerspring and the body-conforming comfort of a natural latex mattress.

If natural and organic materials matter to you, you'll also appreciate this mattress's organic, Rainforest Alliance-certified Dunlop latex, 100 percent organic New Zealand wool, water-based adhesives, and zero chemical flame retardants.

Who will the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress suit?

• Back sleepers
• Stomach sleepers
• Side sleepers
• Anyone who wants an immediate response to changes in sleeping position

What's the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress like to sleep on?

It's been about a month since the mattress arrived on my doorstep. My verdict has not changed since the first week of using it: The Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress does a fantastic job of walking the line between being firmness/support and being pliant enough to gracefully accommodate the shape of your body without swallowing it.

That said, if you want a truly plush, sink-into-the-mattress sleeping experience, you might want to consider one of our best memory foam mattresses.

Here's what it was like

First, a word of warning: As you slice open the plastic around this mattress, expect it to spring open before you're completely done. In other words, make sure there are no pets, children, or breakable things in a way that might be squashed, broken, or injured.

The included instructions state that you can sleep on the Awara hybrid mattress as soon as it's open, although it may take a couple of days to reach its full "loft." So I went for it, tucking myself into bed only a few hours after I'd set the mattress up. 

I'm particularly sensitive to scents and fragrances, and I didn't notice any perceptible odors from this mattress. However, I did notice that the idea of climbing into bed was more literal than it used to be. At 13" thick, this mattress is tall — a solid 3" higher than the pillowtop latex mattress I usually sleep on. 

Give it a few days

It did, in fact, take about three days for the mattress to reach full plushness after its captivity inside the plastic; during that time it expanded a solid half-inch in height.

Not that plush is actually a word I'd use to describe the Awara hybrid mattress. It's classified as a 6.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale, or medium-firm, AKA luxury firm, and I'd say that's about right.

It had less give on those first few nights, which left me wondering if it might, after all, be too firm for me — especially since I often struggle to sleep on innerspring mattresses. Was a hybrid mattress giving me the best traits of the latex foam/innerspring worlds or the worst?

Buoyant support with a touch of bounce

It turned out to be the best of both worlds. By the third night, the amount of giving in the latex top layer had improved substantially and the Awara mattress started to feel like what I've recognized as "itself" — almost immediately conforming to my body as I laid down on it, then cradling me there in buoyant-feeling support, whether I was on my side, back, or front.

At first, I missed the feeling of sinking into the softer, pillowtop mattress I usually sleep on. But within a week I'd decided the Awara was every bit as comfortable, minus the sensation of getting "stuck" in the mattress.

Although I've had this mattress for a month, during that month I also spent about a week traveling, sleeping on a combination of one plush camp mattress, and two different hotel mattresses (one innerspring, the other a supportive memory foam). 

Coming back to the Awara mattress after that variety of experience was a real revelation, emphasizing the pleasantness of this mattress's balanced, responsive support. This is a hybrid that actually delivers on its promise to give the best of both worlds. 

Temperature regulation

In terms of temperature regulation, this mattress sleeps neutral — neither chilly nor sweat-inducing. It's breathable enough to be an excellent choice for anyone who sleeps hot (or shares a bed with someone who sleeps hot) but won't leave you shivering on a chilly night.

Is the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress good for side sleepers?

If you're a side sleeper, make sure you give this mattress a few days to expand fully before you judge. I tend to rotate between sleeping on my back, side, and stomach, and for those first few days, I was almost immediately comfortable on my back and stomach. 

By the time a few days had passed, the mattress developed enough to give that I'm immediately comfortable sleeping on my side, too. 

A few extra thoughts for side sleepers

Side-sleeping generally requires a softer mattress than sleeping on your back or stomach; the mattress has to give enough for your body to line up, without creating pressure points at the hips and shoulders.

I weigh about 150 pounds; side-sleepers who weigh significantly less than I do, or who sleep exclusively on their sides instead of changing positions occasionally in the night, probably won't find this mattress quite as appealing as I do.

Is the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress good for back sleepers?

Unequivocally, yes. It took me a few days to realize that the hybrid construction allows the mattress to truly conform to the shape of my body when I'm lying on my back — no more having to put something under my knees to keep my lower back from arching uncomfortably.

Is the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress good for stomach sleepers?

Yes, as long as you don't want a really soft, "sink into the mattress" sleep experience. This mattress is a medium-firm or "luxury firm" as described, so it's going to give to the shape of your body — no pressure points or discomfort when laying on your stomach — but it's not going to swallow you up. 

Weight test on an Awara mattress

To illustrate how the Awara mattress holds your weight, we tested it using two weights: a 40-lb. kettlebell and a 15-lb. kettlebell. 

As you can see, the black 40-lb. kettlebell immediately sank in about 3-3/8" at the center of the mattress. After letting the weight sit there for another 10 minutes, it sank another 1/8", to a total of 3-1/2", and stayed there. 

That echoes the actual sleeping experience I've enjoyed for the last month: The mattress gives to the shape of my body immediately, and it's pliant enough to give me that last touch of cradling if I stay put for a while — but it won't let me sink into oblivion and, in fact, is supportive enough that I don't feel like I need to build up momentum to roll out of bed.

If you're a lighter sleeper, you won't sink as far into the mattress. That's good because the mattress's real job is to keep your spine aligned in a comfortable, pressure-free position; not to swallow you to a designated depth. However, if a mattress isn't responsive enough, lighter sleepers may find that it doesn't give enough to correctly align their bodies. 

When I repeated the weight test in the center of the mattress with a much lighter (15-lb.) kettlebell — easy to recognize because it's a different color — the results show that you still get almost 3" of giving, but you also get that extra touch of support to keep the mattress from swallowing you up. 

While no single mattress is perfect for everybody, that bodes well for light stomach- and back-sleepers to get the same responsive comfort on this mattress as a heavier sleeper would. Side-sleeping generally requires more give in the mattress, however, so we're not sure it'll be a great fit for very lightweight or petite side-sleepers.

Awara mattress edge test

The Awara mattress performed phenomenally on the edge test. As you can see, the 40-lb. kettlebell sank in almost as much as it did in the center, with no trace of buckling, collapsing, or otherwise "shedding" the weight toward the outside of the mattress.

In other words, you get the use of the entire mattress. It's soft enough around the edges for comfortable sleeping, but just that extra touch firm enough that it won't collapse beneath you.

Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress layers

From bottom to top, an Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid mattress consists of:

• A cotton/poly base layer
• 9" of individually-wrapped (pocketed) coils
• 4" of Dunlop latex foam
• Euro-style top layer made of organic New Zealand wool and organic cotton

There are no chemical fire retardants in your Awara mattress; instead, it uses a silica-based fire retardant. Even the adhesives are water-based.

The word "foam," above, might set off some alarm bells — but the latex foam in this mattress is all-natural and free from an impressive string of potential toxins, including ozone depleters, PBDEs, mercury, lead, heavy metals, formaldehyde, chlorofluorocarbons, and phthalates regulates by the CPSC.

Awara mattress construction/quality

Obviously, it takes more than a month to really tell the tale of a mattress's construction. But on inspection, the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress is well-constructed, with solid, regular seams all the way around and consistent support throughout. You can't feel the individual pocket springs at all when you're laying on the mattress.

There was one interesting thing we noted when weight-testing the mattress: Although the top layer appears to be quilted in place to the latex below (the round circles of stitching), it's only quilted to itself. 

That became apparent when the top showed some wrinkling after the weight had been removed (see first image below). That smooths away quickly with a hand, and is absolutely unnoticeable when you're sleeping on it; the cover does not bunch beneath you. 

However, you can easily lift away the very top cotton layer of the mattress (see second image below), and feel another separate layer beneath — presumably the wool layer. 

That seems to leave some potential for friction between those layers as you move around at night and, although there's nothing to indicate a lack of durability (and I haven't seen any notable complaints along those lines from other users), it leaves me wondering if, after a few years, that friction might cause excessive wear on the top layers.

On the upside, if that happens you do still have the backing of Awara's forever warranty for anything related to the manufacturing process.

What do you get for your money?

The Awara mattress ships free, unless you live in Alaska, Hawaii, or any territories outside the contiguous US (more on that below). Once it arrives on your doorstep you have a full year — 365 days — to try it for free. If you end up not wanting the mattress, an Awara "sleep concierge" will coordinate the disposal or donation of the mattress for you.

This mattress is also backed by a forever warranty. That might seem a little vague, but Awara spells it out in plain language: "If there are damages to Awara that occur from normal use any time during your ownership, we will replace it for you at no extra cost." 

That promise is based on the idea that the Awara mattress is designed to last a lifetime — not "just" 10 years, which would be a more typical mattress warranty.

Ten trees are planted for every purchase

Awara partners with Trees for the Future to plant ten fruit trees in Kenya, Senegal, Uganda, Guinea, or Tanzania for every mattress sold. The trees are used to restore forests, improve food security, and boost financial stability for farmers and their families. 

Care and handling

The cover on this mattress does not come off for washing, nor does the top layer — so it's a good idea to protect your sleep surface with a mattress protector. We've written a buying guide to the best mattress protectors to help. 

If you don't use a mattress protector, mattress stains and general wear/tear/grunge happen to everybody — so this guide to cleaning a mattress may come in handy, too.

The mattress has two handles on each edge (for a total of eight), so it's easy to move around as long as you're ready for the weight: A queen-size Awara mattress weighs almost 130 pounds, while a king-size mattress is about 160.

Ordering and delivery

An Awara mattress typically ships within 24 hours of purchase, and the company says it typically takes 2 to 5 days to arrive by FedEx Ground. Unfortunately, I can't comment on the normal delivery time, because I live in Alaska. That means ground shipments usually take a week or two, anyway, and the mattress came at a time during the COVID-19 pandemic that I'd noticed a further slowdown in shipments.

What I can tell you is that when the mattress arrived on the front porch, compressed into a very tight cylinder inside a box, a bit of a pitched wrestling match ensued. You see, a queen-size Awara mattress weighs about 130 pounds — almost as much as I do — and my options for recruiting help were very limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

I did eventually get it into the bedroom but, if you're not into mattress-wrestling and don't have help ready to hand, you might find it worth paying a little extra for "white glove" interior delivery service. 

Shipping an Awara mattress to Alaska, Hawaii, Gaum, etc.

If you live anywhere outside the contiguous United States, you probably already know what's coming: While everyone else gets free shipping on their mattress, you get to pay a non-refundable shipping fee. Sorry.

Setting up the Awara hybrid mattress

The mattress came wrapped very tightly in plastic — so tightly, in fact, that before I'd finished slicing the plastic open with the enclosed tool, the mattress tore through the remaining plastic and sprang open on the bed platform. 

If I'd had any idea that was going to happen, I would have set up a video camera. Instead, I found myself simply grateful that there were no children or pets in the way to be hurt when 100+ pounds of mattress spontaneously unfolded like that.

I had to laugh when I noticed the mattress unfolded face-down. Despite the weight and natural floppiness of a latex or hybrid mattress, the grab handles made it relatively to yank the mattress up on edge and put it back in the correct orientation. 

Heads up: If you're planning to use any sort of mattress topper with this mattress, you're going to need special deep-pocket sheets. Its 13" thickness is right at the limit of depth for my usual sheets.

How does the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress rate online?

This mattress draws a lot of love from both experts and user reviewers who sleep on their stomach or back or move around between positions (including side sleeping).

Most self-described side-sleepers love this mattress too, but the feedback in this demographic is more mixed, with some saying it's too firm for dedicated side sleepers — especially if you're in the petite weight range of roughly 120 or less. 

I agree with the manufacturer's firmness rating of 6.5 out of 10, but about 20% of the expert reviews I surveyed actually rate the Awara mattress to be just a little softer, at 6 out of 10 or sometimes even a little less.

Is the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress worth it?

Absolutely, for anyone who wants a supportive and responsive, medium-firm night's sleep. There are some major bonus points involved if having a mattress free of VOC-based adhesives and chemical fire retardants is important to you. 

However, if you're looking for a mattress soft enough to swallow you up in a cocoon of softness, this isn't it; we definitely agree with its medium-firm/luxury-firm rating.

Where to buy the Awara Organic Luxury Hybrid Mattress