Car and house aside, a quality mattress might be one of the biggest purchases you ever make – and committing to one can be a bit nerve-wracking. You could spend hours reading about independent tests and deciphering all the mattress jargon, but sometimes, all you want is a recommendation from a friend.
With this in mind, I was curious to know what mattresses team GH are sleeping on – and which brands my colleagues would recommend with genuine enthusiasm. After quizzing the office at length, I found there was one name that came up again and again as a fan favourite: Silentnight.
I delved into why the British brand, which still makes all its mattresses in Lancashire, has such a good reputation among my colleagues. Here’s what they said.
‘I have a bad back and need to be careful with mattresses – this one is lush’
Silentnight Memory Cool 2000 Pillow Top Mattress
Silentnight Memory Cool 2000 Pillow Top Mattress
When the Director of the GHI, Laura Cohen, recommends something, you’d do well to listen – and she has plenty to say about her old mattress. “I had a Silentnight mattress for nearly a decade and was gutted when we had to get rid of it,” she says, with genuine regret.
“It was a firm mattress that had a built-in pillowy topper on it – the combination was a soft-but-firm mattress, which was amazingly supportive. I’ve got a bad back – I’ve had back surgery in the past – and I need to be really careful with my mattress choice. This one was so much better than other mattresses I’ve had. I bloody loved it.
“I don’t really get on with the one we’ve replaced it with. If I could go back and buy the Silentnight again, I would. It was lush.”
While Laura’s exact mattress isn’t in production anymore, the Silentnight Memory Cool 2000 Pillow Top Mattress is a similar – and possibly improved – design. The cooling memory foam topper is designed to mould to your body and relieve pressure in your joints, while the pocket springs below keep you supported and comfortable. It’s classed as ‘medium’ on the firmness scale.
This mattress also scored a very strong 82/100 in our Good Housekeeping Institute testing. After sleeping on it for a minimum of six weeks, our panellists told us they loved the level of support, particularly around the hips and shoulders, while the cooling layer helped them maintain a comfortable temperature throughout the night. Just be prepared to buy a few extra-deep bedsheets.
‘It’s the best money I ever spent’
Silentnight Memory Pocket 1400 Mattress
Silentnight Memory Pocket 1400 Mattress
“I distinctly remember going into John Lewis with my partner to try out mattresses,” says GH multiplatform manager, Mel Giandzi, a little wistfully. “We were laying on one after another, but when we tried this one, we both said, ‘This is the one’.”
The One was the Silentnight Memory Pocket 1400 Mattress, which she’s now been sleeping on for nine years. “It’s a combination of memory foam and pocket springs, which feels so comfortable and supportive,” she says. “It’s on the firm side – I don’t like a mattress where you feel like you’re sinking in or rolling into the middle.”
“It’s still perfect after all this time – it hasn’t sagged or dipped at all. We don’t flip it, just rotate it about once or twice a year. Neither of us was working full-time back then, so the mattress was a big expense, but it was 100% worth it, especially when you think about the cost per use.
“The quality is amazing – compared to other mattresses I’ve had before, it’s a world of difference. If it was destroyed in a house fire, I’d definitely buy it again.”
The Silentnight Memory Pocket 1400 Mattress is a super-supportive combination of 1,400 pocket springs and premium memory foam, which Silentnight classes as ‘firm’. The support system is designed to spread weight evenly, isolate movement and align your spine, while relieving pressure from your muscles and joints.
‘It stopped my back ache’
Accreditation Sales Director, Liz Reid, didn’t realise how bad her old mattress was until she upgraded to a Silentnight one two and a half years ago. “I woke up most days with a sore back,” she says. “The old one was ancient, dipping in the middle and relatively thin. It wasn’t supporting me at all.”
“My Silentnight mattress is probably twice as thick as the old one, so I had to buy new sheets – well worth it though, because my back ache stopped!”
“It’s a pocket spring mattress that’s medium-firm and really supportive, which I much prefer to memory foam mattresses that you sink into. It’s super comfy and supports you right up to the edge. It hasn’t sagged at all either (even though I may have neglected to ever turn it).”
Liz has the Silentnight Lift Breathe Mattress, which is classed as a ‘medium’ firmness and is specifically designed for breathability and cooling. It supports your body with 1,600 pocket springs, which spread your weight evenly and help soothe aches and pains, while the Intense™ sleep surface supports a deeper, undisturbed sleep.
This mattress scored 76/100 at the Good Housekeeping Institute, with our entire panel confirming it was comfortable to sleep on, and they didn’t overheat. “As a lower back pain sufferer, I appreciate the orthopaedic support this mattress provides,” one of our testers said, adding: “I wake up without lower back pain now.”
More tried-and-tested mattresses
We’ve tested a whole range of mattress brands at the Good Housekeeping Institute and other brands, including Silentnight, have also scored highly with our test panel. To see our top scorers and find out how our testing works, read our full best mattresses roundup.
Jasmine is the Good Housekeeping Institute’s homes writer. With a background in design, she is committed to sorting the good products from the great –and helping Good Housekeeping readers do the same.
Throughout her career, Jasmine has written extensively about product quality, craftsmanship and sustainability, and is passionate about consumer rights. She previously worked as a writer and researcher at the product longevity platform Buy Me Once.
If she isn’t reviewing the latest gadgets for your home, you can probably find Jasmine cooking elaborate meals or crafting something weird and wonderful!
