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Tired all the time? Us too. Since counting sheep can only get us so far, it feels like we're all willing to try pretty much anything to get a few more z's each night. But when this goes as far as investing in a £2,000 mattress, the kind of thing you'd only find in a five-star, premium hotel, it begs the question; how much would you actually be willing to spend for the promise of a good night's sleep? Claiming to go above and beyond other mattress brands in almost every way, with ten layers, careful construction and innovative design structures, Brook + Wilde’s Ultima sounds like a luxurious cure to all sleep ailments. Ultima by name, Ultima by nature? The brand would certainly like you to think so.
Arguably just outside the ‘Big Three’ of the best mattress brands (if you could call the trio of Simba, Nectar and Emma by such a name), Brook + Wilde has a different approach to its competitors. If Simba is about innovation, Brook + Wilde is about careful construction. It's about finding the exact combination of materials, layers and systems to provide comfort and support in equal measure, and perfecting it to a tee.
But just how much of a difference does this make? Having now slept on Brook + Wilde’s Ultima for the best part of a year, we can say with confidence, a hell of a lot.
Whereas most mattresses we’ve tested incorporate between three and five layers, Brook + Wilde has gone for a frankly decadent ten layers here. And for once, it feels like the excess pays off. As a hybrid mattress, you’ll find both pocket springs and foam, combined to make sure it feels just as pressure-relieving and supportive as it does cloud-like and soft. Starting with a non-slip base on the bottom, you'll find an array of other layers that include 4,000 pocket springs, airflow systems, support layers designed to your chosen firmness, 2,000 nano springs, open-cell memory foam, and a range of covers, including one that focuses purely on temperature regulation.
Of all the components, it was the temperature controlling top-layer that really stood out to us. Aided by the extensive effort Brook + Wilde has taken to make things breathable and to encourage airflow, the cooling cover has been innovatively designed to actually cool your sleeping environment by two degrees using a thermic fabric that stores and releases body heat as needed. Having slept on it throughout the summer and winter months, we can confirm it actually works. Throughout the 30-degree heat waves of summer 2022, the cover still felt cool to the touch, and through winter, it maintained heat better than any I'd slept on before.
Firmness is probably the most talked about variability between mattresses, and rather than making each mattress only accessible to those who preferred one of a soft, medium or firm base, Brook + Wilde gives you the chance to actually customise each option from its range to your own preferences. We opted for the firm (rated at 7/10 firmness), which the brand recommends for anyone who sleeps on their front and found it to be one of the most comfortable ‘firm’ options we've tested. It had impeccable support, but without feeling like you're sleeping on a wooden plank. Far from it.
With so many other good, affordable mattresses and sleep hacks on the market, a £2,000 mattress isn't the answer to your everyday sleep problem. You can easily get a comfortable and supportive mattress from Simba or Emma for around half the price, and you'll be more or less sorted. But the Ultima isn't really about that. It's the next step geared towards making everything as premium and elevated as possible, for those who really want to feel like they're in a five-star hotel every night. It's the ticket to luxury sleep, and it's an impeccable investment. Ultima checks out.
Shop the Brook + Wilde Ultima mattress for 55% off with code SAVE55. From £1,099 in the sale at brookandwilde.com
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