GhostBed Review

April 10, 2016

Disclosure: This site receives a payment from GhostBed when you purchase a product using any links to that company in this article

GhostBed is yet another one of the latest direct-to-consumer, mattresses-in-a-box to hit the market. I was skeptical about this one at first until I realized that it is made by Nature’s Sleep, which is a respectable company that’s been around for 15 years. This was not just another marketing company trying to get in on the new mattress-in-a-box fad; it is an established mattress company taking advantage of the new distribution model.

Construction

The GhostBed is an 11 inch memory foam and latex mattress. The top 1.5 inches is latex, followed by 2 inches of 4 pound density gel memory foam (which is stronger than average), and 7.5 inches of high-resiliency poly foam.

This is a fairly typical construction for these direct-to-consumer mattresses. The latex on the top layer will be more temperature-neutral than memory foam (meaning it won’t get as hot while you sleep) and it provides a little “bounce” in the top layer so you don’t feel like you get “stuck” in the mattress, which is a common complaint with memory foam mattresses.

The GhostBed as seen in my living room.

The memory foam underneath is designed to contour to your body and relieve pressure. Though, the memory foam is fairly firm, so you won’t sink very far into it.

How it feels

The more important thing is how the mattress feels. The mattress is pretty soft on the very top layer, but gets much firmer below that. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being concrete and a 10 being a marshmallow, this is about a 3.5. It doesn’t transfer much motion from side to side because of the memory foam layer, yet you don’t get “stuck” in the mattress because of the latex layer on top.

The Ghost Bed should be good for:

• People who like a medium-firm mattress. If you’ve tried mattresses that were called “luxury firm” or something similar, you may like this one
• Back sleepers. The soft part is only in the top 1.5 inches, and that’s all you really need a mattress to contour to if you’re on your back.
• Light to medium weight stomach sleepers. If you are very heavy and a stomach sleeper, this might end up being too soft. But if you’re average to skinny, and sleep on your stomach, this is fine
• Side sleepers without broad shoulders or wide hips. If you have really broad shoulders or wide hips, this might not contour enough to your body to keep you in alignment. Otherwise, it’s fine for most side sleepers.

Warranty and return policy

The Ghost Bed comes with a 10 year full warranty plus a 10 year prorated warranty. What that means is for the first 10 years, if it sags an inch from the surface or has any other structural defects, you get a new mattress for free. In years 11-20, you don’t get much back, but it’s a little added bonus if something goes wrong and you still have the mattress after so long. To protect the warranty, I recommend getting a mattress protector, because stains will void the warranty (not to mention human bodies are kinda gross, and you can’t wash your mattress).

It also comes with a 101 night return policy. The return policy is the main reason I am alright with the idea of buying a mattress online without trying it first. There’s no charge to return the mattress. The only restriction is that you have to keep it for 30 days to get used to the mattress and allow the foams to “break in.” (The mattress tends to be firmer at first). Ghost Bed will arrange for the pick up of the mattress, so you don’t have to worry about putting it back into a box or anything.

Price

The GhostBed is a bit lower priced than most direct-to-consumer mattresses on the market. Most end up being around $850 for the queen size. The GhostBed retails for $795 (but my readers get $50 off when you click on my link, automatically applied at checkout). Unlike most of these mattresses, the GhostBed has the option of coming with its own boxspring for $200. (More on that below). Instead of a boxspring, you can also get a platform bed or adjustable foundation.

This is one of the better values for a direct-to-consumer mattress out there. It’s about $50-100 less than a lot of its competitors, and for that you get a solidly-built mattress from a 15 year old company.

Boxspring

The GhostBed can come with its own matching foundation, but beware: it does not come assembled, and building the boxspring is not a pleasant experience. The queen comes in 7 pieces with 40 screws and a cover. I would not recommend attempting to build this boxspring unless you have an electric screwdriver and a friend willing to help you. It took me about 90 minutes to assemble alone.

This is how the boxspring is delivered. Quite a bit of assembly is required

The good news is it’s pretty sturdy. I know it uses real wood based on the pine tar that was all over my hands as I was trying to build it. This isn’t Ikea pressboard.

If you’re handy with an electric screwdriver and like building things, putting this together won’t be an issue. If you’re not handy and don’t have any friends that are, I’d recommend getting a platform bed. Some are easier to assemble and many places offer a furniture assembly service as part of their delivery.

Here’s what it looks like fully assembled. Steps included installing ~40 screws and flipping it over twice.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the GhostBed is a good choice for a direct-to-consumer mattress. At the $750 price range, I don’t know of any others that beat this one. If you’re willing to spend hundreds more, there are others out there that may be a bit better, but I don’t know of any other $750 mattresses that are this high quality.

Click here to buy a GhostBed and get $50 off

Disclosure: This site receives a payment from GhostBed when you purchase a product using any links to that company in this article

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