Interested in buying the Brook & Wilde Elite mattress? Then this is the review for you. I've been sleeping on a wide range of mattresses and trying them out to bring you a true picture of how comfortable each one is and how much support it provides – and this is one of the best I've tried. I've persuaded my husband Nick to take part, to create a balanced view of what each mattress is like for women (so often the purchasers) and men. I've also talked friends and family into trying them out, and have conducted some semi-scientific testing so that you can buy your mattress online with confidence.
I also wanted to share a feel good factor about this particular mattress, which you don't often get with many other mattress brands, and that is for every Brook & Wilde mattress bought, they plant a tree to help contribute to reforesting the planet. It's these little things which can make a big difference, in so many ways...
If you're looking to find the best mattress for your needs, you'll find plenty of choice in our guide of the top picks (which includes the Brook & Wilde Elite mattress) – but don't miss our in-depth review first.
*We have an exclusive Real Homes discount code for this mattress: use the code RH40 at check out to claim a huge 40% off! The prices below include this discount code...
Brook & Wilde Elite mattress specifications
Type: Foam hybrid
Sizes: Single, double, king, super king.
Firmness rating: Soft, Medium or Firm (we tested medium)
Cost: £899–£1,399
Who will the Brook & Wilde Elite suit?
This is strictly for the master bedroom, don’t go wasting it on guests! Seriously, it is perfect for anyone who values their sleep.
What’s the Brook & Wilde Elite like to sleep on?
So, the first thing you need to know about the Brook & Wilde Elite mattress is that you can choose the firmness. This may not sound revolutionary but in the one-size-fits all memory foam industry, it’s as rare as hen’s teeth. In fact, we can’t think of another company in this sector that allows for the reality that everybody is different. I chose a medium as we are of average weight/size and suffer from Goldilock’s Syndrome, i.e. we like things not too soft and not too hard. And I’m not just talking about mattresses…we feel the same about meringues and our tennis serve (get your mind out of the gutter!).
The second thing you need to know is that this mattress is called Elite for a reason, and that was evident from the moment it arrived. Once unleashed from its vacuum-sealed bag, the mattress inflated really quickly, far faster than any other memory foam I’ve tested. Some can take up to 10 hours but the Elite was good to go in three. Great news if you can’t be home for a morning delivery and/or you have nowhere else to sleep until it’s ready.
At 28cm-deep, the Elite is also much thicker than most other memory foams and that makes if feel more luxurious from first flump. Plus older people, like Nick, won’t struggle to get out of bed in the morning! Our first night was a resounding success; no disturbances, no overheating and no flailing about from side to side trying to get comfy. I particularly enjoyed the sense of softness when you first lay down (some memory foam can take a few minutes to give) but not so much your spine starts to ache.
We don't need to dwell too long on the subject of firmness, since our tame testers (three male, three female, ranging from 10-17 stone) agreed with unprecedented unanimity [picture 1 below] that it is indeed a Medium mattress – phew! One note though, if you do happen to have ordered the wrong firmness, Brook & Wilde will endeavour to exchange it for a different comfort level. So there’s no need to lose sleep worrying about which one to order if you are on the fence.
On the subject of support, our highly scientific, world-renowned (ahem) weight test [pictures 2 and 3] revealed just 1cm difference in sinkage levels between the edge and middle of the mattress. In short, this means you can expect pretty even support across the mattress. The sinkage was between 8-9cm, which is quite high compared to a pocket sprung mattress. However, on memory foam it is all good news and indicates there’s a hearty chunk of foam inside – yay.
Posture is (probably) the most important of my home-knitted tests, as it gives a reasonable indication of spine alignment [pic 4]. Sleep experts agree (ask any one of them) that the hips and shoulders should be supported in a way that keeps the spine straightest, especially if you are a side sleeper. Our laser level shows the Elite does an admirable job. Nick’s spine does raise a little at the shoulders but then he does have exceptionally wide shoulders (and he does a manual job so his arms aren’t too skinny either). All-in-all, we found the support really good and had no aches or pains after testing this mattress for two weeks.
How does the Brook & Wilde Elite mattress rate online?
This is a fairly new mattress brand (founded in 2018) so there aren’t many customer reviews for this specific mattress yet. There are a few product-testing reviews from other online media, all very favourable – but none as in-depth as you will find here at realhomes.com, obvs! However, there is plenty of love for Brook & Wilde as a company. On TrustPilot the company rates 4.9 out of 5, based on 127 customer reviews. The general consensus is that customer service is top rate – lot of admiration for Zach in customer services – and everyone, bar none, loves their mattress, whether it’s the Elite or the company’s slightly less expensive Lux. One reviewer hit the nail on the head with: “Lots of competition out there in this market but Brook & Wilde are definitely top of the tree”.
Fillings:
No less than eight layers make up the Elite mattress. Starting at the top, there’s a removable cover (washable at 30 degrees), which is so soft and lovely to touch. Next there’s a memory foam protector, which is a new one on me and 'allows the top cover to move freely while ensuring the first memory foam layer can work independently'. The idea is that there’s no friction between the two, so the foam is more reactive. Layer three is about coolness, or rather temperature regulation, which I did notice (no muck-sweats for two weeks = bliss) and includes a refreshing natural balm to aid a restful sleep (can’t say I smelt that though). Layer four is laden with mini pocket springs, 2,500 of them to help relieve pressure points. And then there’s another layer of foam, this time shaped in line with your shoulders for great spine alignment. Layer six involved 1,000 more springs, but these are bigger, which means they’re strong enough to carry the layers above and bounce without wobbling from side to side. Then there’s a support base to keep everything sturdy and, finally, layer eight is a non-slip base to stop the mattress sliding down your bed in the night.
Ordering and delivery:
Oh my days, the delivery was amazing. It’s free and fast (within 7-10 working days) and includes that Holy Grail of services – a text message confirming your delivery slot and a call when they’re an hour away. Not that I have ever been caught in my PJs at noon or anything...
Two super-polite and smiley men carried it upstairs to our bedroom, unwrapped and rolled it onto the bed, and took all the packaging away. What more could you ask for? Old mattress removal, you say? They’d have done that and recycled it in an eco-friendly manner, too, if I’d asked. Utterly faultless.
What do you get for your money?
A 10-year guarantee and 100-night sleep trial. If you no-likey, they’ll swap for a mattress with a different firmness level free of charge, or refund you in full.
Is the Brook & Wilde Elite mattress worth it?
Hell yes! It is not cheap, but you absolutely get what you pay for. We slept like babies (that have been pumped full of Calpol and Piriton – the one that causes drowsiness) for two weeks. When our existing mattress gives up the ghost, we’ll be logging straight onto brookandwilde.com (I’ll be waiting for the sales though – Xmas was 25% off). I also really like that the Elite is made in the UK, so it didn’t travel half-way round the globe and produce the result carbon emissions to reach us. And, as mentioned, Brook & Wilde plant one tree for every mattress sold (not personally, they do it via a reforestation charity), which might make me a sucker for clever marketing, but it also makes me feel all fuzzy inside.
More mattress reviews to check out:
About our review – and our reviewer
Linda Clayton has been writing about homes and interiors for nearly 20 years, working for publications such as Homes & Gardens, Country Homes & Interiors, Real Homes, Ideal Home, Livingetc and House Beautiful. Linda and her husband spend between five and 10 nights sleeping on each mattress. Find her on Twitter at @lindaclayton and @lindaclaytonwrites on Insta.
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