The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons: Heaven Needn’t Wait
Written: Jan 17 '07 (Updated Apr 30 '07)
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Pros: Plush but firm feel, isolates movement, exceptional value, can try it out for a night
Cons: Relatively short warranty (10 years)
The Bottom Line: We absolutely adore this bed. Have recommended it to friends who now love it. Check into a Westin Hotel and try one!
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| rudixeno's Full Review: The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons |
Background
Most of us can’t tell you how we spent a particular day in the past unless it had some special significance. For the Xeno family, that day would be October 24, 2005. We woke to warnings that Hurricane Wilma had made landfall on the west coast of Florida and was actually strengthening as it raced across the peninsula towards the east coast. Within hours, we were huddled down on the first floor in our safe room as the storm howled all around us. Suddenly, from the second floor there was an explosion. Racing up the stairs, I encountered a cyclone in progress. The storm had blown out our master bedroom windows and was now in our house.
For moments I seemed to be frozen in my place. And then there was Mrs. Xeno who screamed “the bed!”. Snapping out of my trance I responded, “who the hell (not the real word I used) cares about the…..”, and then I knew what she was suggesting. We grabbed our king-sized mattress and threw it up against the void. Then came the box spring. And finally, for the next 4 ½ hours I threw my weight behind this barricade holding out the storm. House saved, mission accomplished, we needed a new bed.
Most bed purchases are made with slightly less melodrama, but then this is life with the Xenos. So, we removed this soggy lumpy mess, inflated our Aero Bed, and over the next couple of weeks among other things went looking for a bed. What to buy?
The Search
After a thorough and bewildering internet study of mattresses we headed over to City Mattress in Boca Raton. We had now read so many reviews of mattresses, our brains were on temporary overload. So, we gave ourselves over to our salesman and over the next several hours we tried just about every king-sized bed in the store. You name the type or manufacturer of the bed, and yup, we tried it. Conclusion? In the store all new beds feel great! Have you ever noticed that? So we left the store, probably more confused than when we had entered. However, we did seem to like the Simmons line of beds. It was something about the way they isolated movement. I could get in or out of bed without disturbing the Mrs. She liked that. But we still weren’t ready to make a decision.
That evening, while speaking with my newly married daughter on the phone, I recounted the experience. And, that’s when she introduced me to The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons. She and my son-in-law had purchased one just a couple of months earlier. “You know dad, it’s the bed they have in all the Westin Hotels.” My brain began to clear. Of course! The precious Mrs. Xeno and I had stayed at Westin Hotels several times and in fact had always commented on just how comfortable we found their beds. Suddenly this purchase decision seemed like it was going to be a whole lot simpler than it was only hours before.
The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons.
According to company lore, The Heavenly Bed was conceived by Barry S. Sternlicht, former Chairman and CEO of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., and modeled after his bed at home in Connecticut. Smart guy, that Barry is.
The Heavenly Bed is manufactured for Starwood Hotels & Resorts by Simmons. It features a no-flip 13” pillow-top mattress utilizing Simmons patented pocket coil design. The mattress is matched to a set of either 8 ¾ inch or 5 ½ inch low profile box springs. The mattress is described as medium firm.
Pocket Coil Construction
Most traditional mattress are constructed around a core of attached coiled springs. These springs are usually about 4 inches in diameter and are attached to one another at both top and bottom. Simmons describes their patented pocket coil construction thusly: “Our system of individually Pocketed Coil springs is a distinguishing features of the Beautyrest mattress. Each coil is made of heavy gauge steel, precompressed, then placed in a pliable, durable, non-allergenic fabric pocket. The fabric is called duon. In assembling the mattress, the Pocketed Coil springs are not joined at the top or bottom of the coils like ordinary mattresses, but along the side of each fabric pocket. This allows each coil to adjust individually to the weight and contour of the sleeper's body. It's as if the surface of the mattress exactly follows the changing profile or shape of each sleeper's body, providing undisturbed rest as he or she turns and moves during the night.”
Where most traditional mattresses utilize perhaps 200 springs, the Heavenly Bed utilizes approximately 850 of the smaller pocket coil springs. Movement of one occupant of the bed (that sounds cold) is unfelt by the other. Being a very early riser and not wanting to disturb the beautiful slumbering Mrs. Xeno (the other occupant), I, and she like this feature.
To Pillow-Top or not to Pillow-Top
Pillow-Tops have become increasingly popular and controversial over the last several years. These usually down-filled layers add a plush softness to the underlying firm mattress. You usually love that feeling or hate it. We really love it. It feels like it’s coddling your body. The controversy seems to center around the question of whether or not the pillow-top compresses and mats down, potentially creating permanent impressions and lumps. In the little over one year that we’ve owned this bed, we’ve noticed none of these problems. But, this could be an issue down the road and that might explain the warranty.
The Warranty
The Heavenly Bed is warrantied against manufacturing defects for a period of 10 years. This struck me as a surprisingly short period for a premium mattress. My first bed, by Stearns and Foster was warrantied for 30 years or until the Rapture (whichever came first). Perhaps the 10 year warranty period reflects anticipated problems down the road with the pillow-top. Nevertheless, we decided not to let this warranty issue influence our purchase. (If you’ve ever tried to exercise a mattress warranty after owning a bed for several years you probably know it’s about as productive as peeing into a gale-force wind.)
What we really liked
Remember how we were discussing how good all beds feel in the showroom? Well, with The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons you can give it a test drive. Just check into any Westin Hotel (or other Starwood Resort Properties) that features The Heavenly Bed and actually sleep on it for the night. Given that you’re going to be sleeping on this bed for a number of years this could be a night away that is extremely well spent.
The Price and Where to Buy
At the time of our purchase you could buy the Heavenly Bed only at Westin’s at home web-site (westin-hotelsathome.com). We chose the King-sized mattress with the 8 ¾ inch box spring set priced at $1,650.00 including shipping. It can be ordered in any of six sizes from twin to California King. The bed can now be purchased at a number of sites including those speedy guys at 1-800-Mattress. And hey! Look! They have a convenient link at the right of this review (or is it the bottom). How convenient! Click it now!
Summing Up
In the little more than a year that we’ve owned this mattress set, we’ve continued to talk about just how much we love it. We’ve had not a moment of buyer’s remorse. We’ve recommended it to a number of friends who have gone on to purchase it and it’s been, well, a love-fest.
These days when you can spend upwards of $3,000 for a glorified air mattress, The Westin Heavenly Bed by Simmons is a gem to be treasured.
Now go get a good night’s sleep.
Some helpful bed & mattress links:
Your Mattress: Care for it, it’ll care for you. Read, turn, flip….
So You're Thinking About Buying a New Bed
The Cloud Nine Bed by Serta
Aero Bed
Regards,
Rudi
© Rudi Xeno 2007
Recommended:
Yes
Mattress Size: King
Mattress Firmness: Somewhat firm
Amount Paid (US$): 1,650.00
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Member: Rudi Xeno
Location: Boca Raton, FL
Reviews written: 208
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