Dormeo S Plus mattress review

I've been sleeping on a vast range of mattresses and putting them through their paces to bring you a true picture of how comfortable each one is and how much support it provides. I've also roped in my husband Nick to create a balanced view of what each mattress is like for women (so often the purchasers) and men, persuaded friends and family to try them out, and have conducted some semi-scientific testing so that you can buy your mattress online with confidence. 

If you're looking to find the best mattress for your needs, you'll find plenty of choice in our pick of the best buys – but don't miss our deep reviews first. Here, we review the Dormeo S Plus Mattress, after a week spent sleeping on it. 

S Plus mattress specifications: 
Type: Comfort foam / memory foam
Sizes: Single, double, king, super-king

Who will the S Plus mattress suit?

Couples who are not compatible beneath the bed covers (from a mattress firmness point of view that is), and anyone seeking flexible comfort.

What's the S Plus mattress like to sleep on?

The S Plus mattress has a USP I’ve not come across before, aka a genuine USP, which is as rare as hen’s teeth in the interiors world where everything good is copied before you can say ‘trademark me up, Scottie’. In a nutshell, 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 permutations: firm with shoulder support; firm with hip support; soft with shoulder support; and soft with hip support. So if your partner prefers to sleep on a board, while you’d be happy drifting on a cloud, neither has to sacrifice. Innovative. Furthermore, unlike zipping two sprung mattresses together, you cannot tell the S plus isn’t one complete unit (i.e. nobody winds up in the ditch if they want a cuddle – we’ve been there and it sucks). 

This did mean Nick and I had to trial all four comfort levels to give a comprehensive report. Fortunately we share very similar mattress preferences so we were able to do the same ones together, which helped me keep track of things. I’ll give you an overall report of our experience, rather than bore you with the minutiae of each night’s sleep. 

Starting with the firm mattress side on the shoulder support setting, our final verdict was: way too firm. We both prefer the firmer side of medium but my shoulders were hurting in the mornings, and my poor wide-shouldered husband had to sleep on his back. Or should I say ‘poor me’ because naturally he ended up snoring his head off. We persevered for a few more nights, before rotating the mattress to firm with hip support and the relief was palpable. 

Neither of us needs much hip support – my figure was once described as ‘like a pencil with boobs’ – a little harsh yet accurate – 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. And relax… 

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 nothing to worry about. The kids did their bounce test, which sometimes sees Kitty boinging Bonnie into the next room but she stayed put, much to the disappointment of them both. 

For firmness (see graphs below), I had to properly get my bake on, as our testing team (three male, three female, ranging from 10-17 stone) were here for most of Saturday afternoon. I may need to adjust their weight ranges for the next review, and possibly pay them in beer, too! The results confirmed my suspicions that this mattress is pretty firm in nearly every mode. There was also a direct correlation between weight (of the tester) and the firmness rating they gave – the heavier the body the softer it felt. Not exactly a mind-blowing revelation but it’s worth thinking about your own weight when trying to decide if this mattress will feel too firm for you. 

The weight test (see below) is always done in the middle of the mattress so we didn’t feel the need to do all four versions, phew! The results supported my belief that there wasn’t a significant difference between soft and firm. In the middle of the mattress, there was only 1cm difference in sinkage between the firm and soft sides (firm was 6.5cm and soft was 7.5cm). And on the edge, the sinkage was only a little more with 1.5cm difference (firm was 5cm and soft 6.5cm). 

The posture tests were more interesting (if you’re a mattress nerd, which I have fast become). We tested in the four positions and the remarkable thing is how similar the lines were in their straightness. And a straight spine is the goal for a perfectly supported body. 

However, you can see a noticeable difference (albeit slight) between the shoulder and hip alignment on the firm side, proof that the S-shape foam really does zone differently at each end. On the soft side, there wasn’t any difference really, which could have been disappointing if it weren’t for the fact that the spine was obviously so well supported in either hip or shoulder. 

How does the S Plus mattress rate online?

This is a reasonably new launch. The only online review I could find is on Dormeo’s own website. It isn’t good. The reviewer gave it one star because she found it uncomfortable in all positions. She rated much higher on quality and customer service. She doesn’t appear to have taken them up on the 60-night trial though, which is strange…

What do you get for your money?

A 60-night sleep trial (refund or exchange), 15-year warranty, free delivery. Finance available. And a free Octasense pillow when you buy direct from Dormeo.

Is the S Plus mattress worth it?

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

However, I would have liked a bigger difference between the firm and soft sides. I had to watch the video twice to work out which side was firm and which was soft (FYI, pink = firm, grey = soft, go figure). 

Speaking of faffing, we didn’t find flipping the mattress about inside the cover particularly effortless. Zipping them back up again required two people and some fairly ripe language. However, I would guess that’s the price you pay for ensuring they fit together really tightly and you don’t fall down between them. I broke a fingernail but I’ll live. Once you’ve found your perfect setting, you probably won’t need to touch the zip again.

S Plus mattress fillings

The best way to understand how one mattress offers four comfort levels is to first study the picture below, and then watch this video. In terms of the actual materials used to achieve this, we’re talking two layers of Ecocell foam, one soft, one firm, sandwiching memory foam springs, which are designed to provide bounce. The Climalite cover is all about wicking away moisture, and in fact the foam layers and springs are breathable too, which accounts for why we both enjoyed a sweat-free sleeping experience. 

Ordering and delivery

• Delivery is free, from Monday-to-Saturday, to mainland England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Wight. 
• Gibraltar is a no, sorry guys. 
• The delivery is trackable online, which is always useful. 

• Shop with a Dormeo discount code

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