How To Find The Best Mattress For A Guest Room 2023 Update

The 8 Best Mattresses for a Guest Room

Do you tend to get a lot of out-of-town guests? Old college friends who come in for the weekend? Grown children who call upon their parents from time to time? If so, then you probably want to make sure you have suitably comfortable accommodations. And that starts with getting the best mattress for a guest room. But with so many mattresses to choose from, how do you ensure the best option for your guests? In this mattress review, we’ll outline some of the top options, based on testing input from the pros at Mattress Advisor. Each mattress was put through their 14-point test and ranked on a scale of 1 to 10 on factors such as value, durability, and overall performance. Keep reading to find out which mattress is the most inviting for your guest bedroom.

Best Mattress for a Guest Room - Our Top Picks

Best Overall - DreamCloud Original Best Value - Nectar Original Best Twin - Brooklyn Bedding Bowery Best Luxury - Saatva Classic Best for Back Pain - Bear Mattress Original Best Under $1,000 - Nolah Original Best for Side Sleepers - Helix Midnight Best Hybrid - The WinkBed

Best Overall - DreamCloud Original

Material: Hybrid (foam and coils) Firmness: Medium-firm (6.5/10) Customer Rating: 4.6/5 Delivery: Within 18-21 business days Trial Period: 365 nights Warranty: Lifetime

Hybrid mattresses, or mattresses with a springy base and layers of comfort foam on top, are some of the most versatile mattresses available. So it’s no surprise that we landed on the hybrid DreamCloud Original as our best overall for accommodating myriad guests or multiple sleepers. Hybrids are such a beloved mattress class because they often provide a well-balanced combination of comfort and support, and DreamCloud is no exception. We love the DreamCloud for its soft, cashmere cover, point-activated foam, and robust coil system, all of which help make this mattress feel truly luxurious. It sleeps cool, works well for all sleep positions, and comes with both a year-long sleep trial and a lifetime warranty.

Best Value - Nectar

Material: Gel memory foam Firmness: Medium-firm (6/10) Customer Rating: 4.8/5 Delivery: 2-5 business days Trial Period: 365 nights Warranty: Lifetime

Are you stuck on which guest room mattress to get, especially when you’re trying to stick to your budget? The Nectar memory foam mattress is under $1,000 and throws in even more value with a lifetime warranty. We love this medium-firm, gel memory foam mattress because it offers ample support for all sleep positions. Its motion isolation capabilities make it a good pick for couples, and it’s responsive enough to work well for restless or combination sleepers.

Best Twin - Brooklyn Bedding Bowery Hybrid

Material: Hybrid (foam and coils) Firmness: Medium (5/10) Customer Rating: 4.8/5 Delivery: 4-8 business days Trial Period: 120 nights Warranty: 10-year

Looking for quality materials and a low price tag in the form of a twin mattress? Brooklyn Bedding is one of the top mattress companies on the market today, and Bowery Hybrid represents one of the best values in the bed-in-a-box space. The bed’s combination of coils and foam helped it achieve solid test scores for spine alignment, responsiveness, and cooling. We highly recommend a twin-sized Bowery Hybrid to anyone looking to create a humble but luxurious guest room, without breaking the bank.

Best Luxury Mattress - Saatva Classic

Material: Hybrid (foam and coils) Firmness: Soft (3/10), luxury-firm (6/10) and firm (8/10) Customer Rating: 4.9/5 Free white glove delivery Trial Period: 180 nights Warranty: Lifetime

Ready to say farewell to the days of blowing up an air mattress for overnight guests, but worried about blowing your guest room makeover budget? We suggest the Saatva Classic. Saatva delivers a ritzy five-star, resort-quality sleep experience—without paying the luxury hotel prices. If you’re looking to turn your guest room into a desirable destination, the Saatva’s hybrid build also makes it an accommodating option. The durable, breathable innerspring coil system supports the sleeper and elongates the lifespan of the mattress. Meanwhile, the plush comfort layers, including a quilted Euro top, keep guests uber-comfortable. Other luxury perks include multiple firmness options, eco-friendly materials, and free white-glove setup and delivery.

Best for Back Pain - Bear Original

Material: Memory foam Firmness: Medium-firm (6.5/10) Customer Rating: 4.7/5 Delivery: Ships free within 7-10 business days Trial Period: 120 nights Warranty: Lifetime

Whether you’re hosting Airbnb strangers from across the globe or grandparents from across the state, back pain is a universal affliction. Oftentimes, your visitors may need a quality mattress that provides extra lumbar support for back pain. If you’re questioning which online mattress to go with, the Bear Original offers a solid answer. This memory foam mattress is a nice medium-firmness that firmly supports the back while softly contouring sore spots. In addition to high marks for spine alignment, testers also awarded Bear 9 out of 10 in the cooling category. That’s thanks to the bed’s proprietary cooling tech, which lends a soothing cool-to-the-touch feeling.

Best Under $1,000 - Nolah Original

Material: All-foam Firmness: Medium-soft (4.5/10) Customer Rating: 4.8/5 Delivery: Free within 2-8 business days Trial Period: 120 nights Warranty: Limited lifetime

Another budget-friendly buy for your guest bedroom is the Nolah Original mattress. You won’t be compromising cost for quality, though. The mattress aced its testing lab scores in spine alignment (9.5 out of 10), responsiveness (9.25 out of 10), and motion transfer (9 out of 10). Those are exceptional results for any mattress, but especially one that almost always runs under-$1,000 when you take advantage of offers from the brand. The Nolah’s all-foam build can be stuffy, so Mattress Advisor testers recommend that hot sleepers pair the mattress with cooling sheets. Best for Side Sleepers - Helix Midnight

Material: Hybrid Firmness: Medium (5.5/10) Customer Rating: 4.5/5 Delivery: 3-7 business days Trial Period: 100 nights Warranty: 15-year limited

Helix manufactures a wide variety of mattresses that are tailored for each sleep position, so it’s no surprise that the Midnight, tailored to side sleepers, is the brand’s most popular mattress. After all, research reveals that side sleeping is the most common sleep position. When it comes to the best mattress for side sleepers, the Helix Midnight is supportive and pressure relieving. As evidenced by the mattress’s high scores in spine alignment (9 out of 10) and pressure relief (8.5 out of 10), Midnight gives side sleepers gentle but strong support of the back’s natural curvature. That way, your side sleeping guests won’t wake with soreness on the points of contact, like hips and shoulders. It also absorbs movement well, so co-sleepers are less likely to be rudely awakened by their partner’s tossing and turning (9 out of 10). The hybrid Midnight is topped with a temperature-regulating pillow top layer and gel memory foam layer, and held up by an innerspring coil base.

Best Hybrid - The WinkBed

Material: Hybrid Firmness: Soft (4.5/10), luxury-firm (6.5/10), firm (7.5/10), plus (8/10) Customer Rating: 4.5/5 Delivery: Within 7-14 business days Trial Period: 120 nights Warranty: Lifetime

It’s hard to believe that hybrid mattresses can come in a box and at such enviable price points. One favorite bed-in-a-box hybrid among Mattress Advisor testers is the WinkBed. Two coil layers keep the lower back propped up and supported while creating room within the mattress for airflow. A plush, cooling pillow top molds around pressure points and pulls away body heat. If you want to make your guest bedroom a retreat for visitors, WinkBeds can make that possible.

What Makes a Mattress Good for a Guest Room?

When you’re buying a new mattress for yourself, you can customize it to fit your specific sleep preferences; for example, you can select the firmness level and the mattress type that’s right for you. When buying a guest mattress, however, you have to pick something that works universally. Rather than get something hyper-specific, it’s important to pick something that offers a broad range of appeal. That usually means a medium-firm mattress that can accommodate different body types, sleep positions, and comfort preferences and fit any bed frame. Here are some factors and types of mattresses to consider while searching for your best mattress for guest room use.

Type of Mattress

Memory foam: Memory foam mattresses are popular options, providing outstanding motion isolation and pressure relief. They’re great for people who like to feel like they’re being hugged to sleep at night, though not always so great for sleepers who run hot. Innerspring: A mattress made with an innerspring coil system should feel “springy” and supportive. Innerspring beds also tend to sleep cool. Latex: Latex is one of the top options among eco-conscious sleepers. Though it’s not always the cheapest option, latex helps promote airflow, and it tends to be highly responsive. Hybrid: A hybrid mattress combines two or more materials to provide a sweet spot; Many of the mattresses on our list fall into this category.

Performance Factors

Set-up: Something else to think about: How long will it take to unbox your mattress? Is it heavy and difficult to move? Is white-glove, in-home setup an option? Pressure relief: When mattress shopping, consider mattresses that score high marks in pressure relief, which means they will evenly distribute body weight and ease the burden on joints. Spine alignment: Whether you’re sleeping on pocketed coils or all foam, it’s important to select a bed that will promote a natural spinal position. This helps you wake up without aches, pains, or stiffness. Durability: High-quality materials will ensure your mattress is built to last. Motion transfer: Feel the bed rocking, and it wakes you up? For couples, it’s important to look for a mattress that minimizes disruption. Temperature regulation: Hot sleepers will want to seek a mattress that keeps them cool and promotes air circulation. Responsiveness: Combination sleepers need something that will adjust to their motion in the night; innerspring and latex mattress products tend to perform well in this category. Edge support: Look for the right mattress that will minimize sagging at the edges, especially if you tend to sleep at the periphery of your mattress. What size mattress should I get for my guest room? Assuming some of your guests will be couples, it’s probably good to aim for at least a full size, a queen-size or larger. How do sleep trials work? Brands will give you a time period to set up the mattress, sleep on it, and then make a decision before fully committing to the bed. If you find it’s not up to your liking, then you can return it for your money back during the trial period. How can I make sure my mattress is manufactured in an environmentally friendly way? Look for materials like natural latex, and certifications such as Certi-PUR, which denotes adherence to rigorous emissions standards.

Recap of the Best Mattresses for Guest Rooms

Best Overall - DreamCloud Original Best Value - Nectar Original Best Twin - Brooklyn Bedding Bowery Best Luxury - Saatva Classic Best for Back Pain - Bear Mattress Original Best Under $1,000 - Nolah Original Best for Side Sleepers - Helix Midnight Best Hybrid - The WinkBed Best for Couples - Leesa Original