My Sleep Number Is (e)(pi)(i)

[elfs]

But what is most distressing at the Radisson Hotes are the beds. They're Sleep Number beds, and they suck. Radisson has a deal with them so that Sleep Number can pimp their beds at the hotels, and the hotel gets their bedding at a discount.

The beds work by having a segmented air bladder between the relatively thin mattress and the box spring. The bladder helps redistribute weight and control how much give the mattress has. The flexible segmentation zones of the bladder give it a water-bed like feel at "low" settings, and a solid mattress-like feel at "high" settings.

I don't know if it's because they're hotel beds and have been abused, but these are hard to get working right. They seem to stop and start at random. They deflate a little every day.

But worse, they're just damned uncomfortable. At the low setting, it's like sleeping on a lumpy jello-filled waterbed, and given our difficulties with getting the compressor working, we were forced to sleep like that. Later, we had more luck, and got it up to a solid feel, but it's still annoying. Worse, the mattress and the bladder are combined in a single unit, so the frame of the top piece is a solid metal bar you bump up against in the night.

Most of all, I just don't see the point. Sorry, Garrison Keillor. Once you know what firmness of mattress you like, just go buy one of those. If you have a set preference, you're going to set it and forget it. Why spend double of an ordinary bed, or more, for the one-time experience of going through days of back pain until you find the solidity you like?

Comments

[dossy.livejournal.com]

We had one of those Select Comfort beds for years - a queen-sized model - and it was EXPENSIVE and it SUCKED.

Regarding getting it to inflate: you're supposed to inflate it to 100 with *no one on the beds*, then get on, and then deflate them gradually until you reach the firmness you desire.

Thanks to a friend who was moving, we acquired her old foam mattress - Tempur-Pedic style - and LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE it. We also have similar foam pillows and they have always been great and our two daughters love the pillows, too.

[ladyerin.livejournal.com]

I've had a select comfort for years, a king size with dual chambers. One of the chambers now deflates a bit, but the other is fine. I got it when I was married and the ex likes water beds and I hated them. The best thing, to me, about them is when I move, the mattress fits into two garbage bags. A great thing when moving into and out of a third floor walk-up. I will say that I do think they are a bit fragile to be using in a hotel environment. The side that leaks a bit is the side the ex liked to 'flop' on, and he wasn't a small guy....

your millage may vary....

~E

[dossy.livejournal.com]

Hmm, well, ours isn't an actual Tempur-Pedic brand mattress ... it's just a foam mattress that's like the Tempur-Pedic ones ... and it's like sleeping on a firm marshmallow.

Of course, I love firm mattresses, so yeah, if that's not your thing, well ... yeah.

[memegarden.livejournal.com]

Yeah--every guest will have to play with it and adjust to their tastes, so it will get a ridiculous amount of wear.