This mattress is so good, I'd rather sleep at home than go on holiday

I used to dream of mini breaks and getaways because I love a fancy hotel bed. But after reviewing the Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress, I’d honestly rather stay at home - now, I sleep like I’m in a five-star suite every single night.

I’ve always spent most of my free time and spare cash planning my next holiday or weekend getaway. From sinking into the very best mattresses money can buy to slipping beneath premium bed sheets I'll never afford, I love everything about a minibreak. For me, nothing guarantees a better night's sleep than stretching out in an enormous hotel bed - and I’ve even picked up a few tips over the years on how to make my bed feel like a five-star suite.

But all that changed overnight when one of our Homes editors asked me to write this Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress review. After sleeping on it for six months, I now think twice about overnight trips, because no other bed is as luxuriously comfortable as mine. It seems this mattress hasn’t just vastly improved my sleep and eased my aching joints - it has also probably saved me a fortune in hotel fees.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress review

I used to think all mattresses were the same, until I slept on the Simba Hybrid Luxe. I now realise how wrong I was. But a quality mattress is a big investment, so it makes sense to do your research. To help you decide if it's the best mattress for you, here’s my honest review after six dreamy months of sleeping on it.

How we tested the Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress

I started taking HRT a couple of years ago, after a sudden onset of perimenopause symptoms - including night sweats - in my late forties. It helped, but earlier this year, I started waking up drenched all over again. So when our Homes Ecommerce editor, Laura Honey, asked if I’d like to test the Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress and review it for a buying guide on the best cooling mattresses, I jumped at the chance.

I took delivery of a King size model - supplied by Simba for testing purposes - and committed to sleeping on it with my husband for a minimum of six months. I noted all the key features of this mattress, like the zoned pocket springs and advanced cooling tech, and set out to discover whether they delivered on Simba’s promises.

While I was initially wowed by how comfortable it is to sleep on, I was interested to see whether the charm would wear off after a few weeks or if I'd still be gleefully looking forward to bedtime every evening, six months later. Read on to find out.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress review: Specifications

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress: What's inside?

Simba is a UK brand known for using advanced sleep tech to design mattresses that adapt to your body and offer exceptional support. They specialise in layered engineering and use materials like breathable foam, springs, and cooling fabrics to create premium mattresses.

Simba is the most five-star rated mattress brand in the world, and uses the data from more than ten million sleepers to test and design their products.

The Simba Hybrid Luxe, as the name suggests, is a hybrid medium-firm mattress that combines multiple layers of memory foam with 5,700 pocket springs for targeted support, pressure relief and comfort. Simbatex® foam infused with graphite helps keep you cool, while a breathable wool and bamboo cover wicks away moisture and aids temperature regulation.

It comes with a 200-night trial and a 10-year warranty, making it a low-risk way to invest in better sleep.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress: Unboxing and first impressions

The firm delivering my mattress had to cross the Irish Sea to get it to me in Northern Ireland. They actually broke down on their way, so its arrival was delayed by 24 hours, but the two-man crew were nothing short of heroic. They gave us an hour's notice before they (eventually) arrived and made no complaints about navigating endless rural country lanes on a wet and windy winter's night.

The box was pretty battered (thanks to an emergency van swap), so the QR code for setup and support didn’t scan, but that was no big deal. We used our common sense and worked out that we needed to release the rolled-up mattress from its confines and leave it on our bed for up to 72 hours. During this time, the mattress gradually expanded to its full size and shape, which the whole family enjoyed watching. The rest period helps the materials settle properly and allows any packaging smells to fade.

Simba offers free weekday delivery to most UK postcodes (7am–7pm), with optional weekend delivery or a four-hour time slot for £10. For another £10, they’ll unpack, set up the mattress, and take away the packaging.

As a certified B Corp, Simba is committed to sustainability and to prevent mattresses ending up in landfill, they offer mattress removal and recycling for any mattress, not just a Simba one, with no purchase necessary. They'll even collect it from the room of your choice.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress: Comfort and support performance

From the moment I first lay on the Simba Hybrid Luxe, I was smitten. It's difficult to find words to describe just how luxuriously comfortable it is without resorting to cliches about sleeping on clouds - but imagine sinking into the bed of your dreams in a five-star hotel.

My husband and I slept incredibly well, and when we woke up, the first words we exchanged were about how remarkably comfortable the mattress is. My 10-year-old daughter joined us for a cuppa in bed that morning and was similarly wowed by the cloud-like experience.

Our Sprockapoo puppy, who ignores my 'no sleeping on the bed' rule, sneaks up to lie at our feet when it's time for lights out. Clearly she is a fan of the Hybrid Luxe too and has to be dragged off the bed each morning. (I used to worry that getting a dog would mean no more lie-ins and instead brutal early starts, but I think I have the mattress to thank for turning her into a sleep-loving pup who just doesn't do mornings.)

What about all the technical wizardry that goes into creating this mattress? It's well worth paying extra for. Morning aches and pains that I thought were par for the course as a 40-something have all but disappeared since I started sleeping on this mattress.

One of my biggest bugbears about sharing a bed is being shaken awake by the ripple-effect of my husband putting on his gym shoes while perched on the edge of the bed. That is a thing of the past - the motion isolation is outstanding and edge to edge support means I haven't once had to cling to the edge. Neither of us has been disturbed by the other's tossing and turning. In fact. I barely notice he’s there, and sometimes have to roll over to check if he's even in bed.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress: Cooling and temperature regulation

It's not realistic, in my opinion, to expect a mattress to reduce night sweats. As anyone who has experienced them will tell you, they're more like a furnace erupting from within, rather than any external sense of overheating.

So, the most I expected from the Simba Hybrid Luxe was that it might have better airflow than my existing mattress, and I might cool down more quickly after a night sweat.

I still get occasional night sweats, and while I can't say they're any less frequent, I do think I have a cooler sleep experience overall. I suffer much less from a general sense of overheating easily in bed. The moisture-wicking elements of this mattress seem to work too, as I wake vaguely aware that I've had a hot flush in the night, rather than drenched or - worse - shivering from the after-effects.

Keep in mind that the bedding you use will affect the cooling properties of a mattress. While this one is designed with breathable materials and cooling technology to help regulate temperature, heavy or non-breathable bedding will trap heat and reduce airflow. To get the best cooling effect from the mattress, it’s a good idea to pair it with lightweight, breathable bedding made from natural fabrics like cotton, linen, or bamboo. This helps your body heat escape more easily and keeps you feeling fresher throughout the night.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress review: How does it compare?

It's difficult to think of a reason not to buy the Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress if it's within your budget. It would be money very well spent. But if the price puts you off, then the Eve Sleep Premium Mattress is a slightly cheaper alternative. It's a memory foam mattress rather than a hybrid, so won't have the cooling properties of the Simba, but our tester found it cooler than most foam mattresses.

And if money's no object, I'd bet that the Simba Hybrid Ultra mattress, which boasts 11 layers of natural materials and is a step up from the one I tested, is worth pushing the boat out for.

Simba Hybrid Luxe Mattress review: should you buy it?

I wouldn't typically spend £1,799 on a mattress, but that's only because it's beyond my budget. But if I had the cash, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this one. If good sleep means as much to you as it does to me, and you’re willing to invest in a mattress that makes bedtime and lie-ins a joy (with a 10-year guarantee), this is well worth it. You won’t look back.

When you purchase a Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress, you’ll also get two pillows, a duvet, and a mattress protector included at no extra cost - premium extras worth more than £600. I didn’t test these myself, so I can’t speak for their quality, but it’s a bonus that adds real value.

But here's the ultimate test of whether you should buy it. I recently stayed in a posh hotel and realised the trip wasn’t really worth it since the Simba mattress is way comfier. After writing this review, I’ve turned down other trips. Because why travel for five stars when you’ve got nine layers of luxury in your own bedroom?

Find out more about how we test mattresses on our dedicated page.