I’m a fan of luxury mattresses (who isn’t?), and I’ve been sleeping on the Nectar Luxe Memory Foam mattress for months now, enjoying the perfect balance of sink and support. But I thought it was time to try Nectar’s most premium mattress model on offer, the Nectar Ultra.
Type: Hybrid
Materials: Memory foam, coils
Brand-rated firmness (1-10): 6.5/10
Height: 15"
Trial period: 365 nights
Warranty: Lifetime
Price: From $1,499 at Nectar
Nectar is the brand behind the Nectar Classic mattress, which features in our guide to the top-rated mattresses of the year for all sleepers. I opted for the hybrid Ultra model, keen to compare it to the all foam Luxe I had been sleeping on, which is made up of 5 layers.
These include layers of thick, high-density pressure-relieving foam and 8” of individually wrapped innerspring coils. The memory foam option simply replaces the coil layer with 8” of foundational foam.
I’ve now been sleeping on the Ultra for a week, so it’s time to share my first thoughts, good and bad. I'll write up a full review after 3 weeks of sleeping on the mattress, but for now, here’s how my first week on the Nectar Ultra went down…
Nectar Ultra Hybrid: Price & trial
- Queen Nectar Ultra Hybrid sold for $1,999
- Price doesn’t fluctuate much during sales but you might get some freebies
- Includes a 365-night sleep trial and a forever warranty
The Nectar Ultra is Nectar’s most premium model, sitting at the top of its four-mattress line up, above the Classic, the Premier and the Luxe. Inevitably, this brings with it a premium price point.
You won’t see much fluctuation of the price during sale seasons because Nectar runs an evergreen 50% sale on its mattresses. Below are the prices you can expect to pay for each size:
Twin: $1,499
Twin XL: $1,799
Full: $1,899
Queen: $1,999
King: $2,299
Cal King: $2,299
Split King: $3,598
Occasionally, we’ll see Nectar mattress sales offer an extra $50 off its mattresses as well as a free bedding bundle worth $599, so it’s probably worth waiting until the Memorial Day mattress sales in May to get the best deal you can.
The perks offered by Nectar are industry leading, with a 365-night sleep trial, which means you can sleep on the mattress for a full year to decide whether it’s right for you, and a forever warranty covering you for life. This alone proves it’s clearly a high-quality, well-crafted mattress.
Nectar Ultra Hybrid: Unboxing and set up
Like all Nectar mattresses, the Ultra is shipped vacuum packed and boxed. However, it was shipped to us flat so we don’t have first-hand experience of unboxing this mattress.
But, we’ve unboxed many Nectar mattresses, including the Luxe, Premier and Classic, and every time it has been simple and practical, with very minimal off-gassing.
Of course, we can’t say for certain that this will be the same for the Ultra, but Nectar has never disappointed us before and the Classic model features in our best mattress in a box guide because of this.
The brand advises you to place the rolled mattress on your bed frame and slowly cut away the layers of plastic. Once it’s fully unwrapped, it will take around 3-5 hours to expand enough for you to sleep on it. After this, it may continue to expand for 24-72 hours so it gets to its maximum height.
While we didn’t unbox it, we had to move it around once it had expanded and it is a very heavy mattress. Firstly, it’s tall, standing at a considerable 15” high, which makes it quite cumbersome. On top of this, the combination of dense foams and coils means this mattress is pretty heavy.
However, I did manage to get it from my front door to my first floor apartment (utilizing the lift) on my own, which is pretty impressive considering I’m 5,6” and not particularly strong! The handles on the side of the mattress definitely made this easier.
Nectar Ultra Hybrid: My first week
Night 1: Shifting positions is a struggle
For context, I swapped out the Luxe (read our full Nectar Luxe Memory Foam mattress review for more info) for the Nectar Ultra Hybrid. My first thought? The Ultra is a very, very squishy mattress. Now, I’m a side sleeper, so this didn’t actually worry me.
In fact, when I laid down on it I was excited. It genuinely felt like sleeping on a cloud and I’d only ever really slept on medium-firm to firm mattresses previously.
Nectar says that the Ultra is in fact medium-firm, rating it at a 6.5/10 but I disagree. The hybrid feels much softer than this, I'd say around a 5-6 out of 10. The Nectar Luxe was also described as medium-firm and I do agree with that, but the Ultra sinks beneath you, offering that more traditional foam feel, despite it having robust coils beneath the memory foam.
However, my excitement wore off when I had to try and move around on the bed and get up. The deep sinkage meant that every movement felt like a struggle. And I could forget about sitting on the edge of the bed as the edges of the mattress pretty much collapsed beneath me.
This is surprising, considering the best memory foam mattress, the Nectar Classic, is known for its impressive support that extends right up to the edges.
During the night, I was incredibly comfortable and it’s clear this is a mattress that offers a huge amount of pressure relief for side sleepers. My hips, knees and shoulders sunk in nicely and I did feel weightless.
Night 2-7: I reach for my phone and nearly roll out of bed
As the week continued, I have to admit I started to feel more and more frustrated with this mattress. Getting up in the mornings was a slog with no real edge support to help you lean on the bed. And, I kid you not, I reached for my phone and the edge of the mattress collapsed beneath me, almost tipping me off the bed. Not the best start to the day.
However, motion isolation was great, as you might expect from the memory foam layers, meaning my husband’s movements didn’t necessarily bother me.
However, I didn’t enjoy sharing this bed. Because of the lack of edge support and the deep sinkage, my husband and I kept rolling into the middle of the bed and subsequently overheating. I like to sleep up to the edge of my bed and it just isn’t possible on the Ultra. This is surprising because solid edge support is a common feature in the best hybrid mattresses, and during the Nectar Classic review, the most basic mattress model, the bed scored an impressive 4 out of 5 for edge support.
Putting poor edge support aside, there’s no denying the fact that this is an extremely comfortable mattress. When you’re in the right position and you don’t have to move, your body is cradled and you will get that classic memory foam hug feeling, despite it being a hybrid. The mattress itself also doesn’t overheat, sleeping temperature neutral, thanks to its cooling properties.
A very minor complaint is the slippery cover. Trying to keep any sheets on the bed is a constant struggle. I toss and turn quite a lot at night, but even just moving a little bit is enough for a fitted sheet to slip over the edge. And, at the moment, I have to remake the bed every morning.
Nectar Ultra Hybrid: Early thoughts
I’m a week into testing the Nectar Ultra Hybrid and I have to admit, my sleep has not benefitted from this, and considering I was hoping to add it to this year's best luxury mattress list, I'm a little disappointed.
In fact, I’ve been waking up in the night more frequently partly because my husband and I feel like we’re both being swallowed by the middle of the mattress.
I can clearly see the benefits of this mattress. The deep pressure relief cushions joints, making it perfect for people with injuries or pain and the ultra-cozy feel means it is an indulgent, luxury bed, but I don’t think it’s suited to me and my partner’s sleep in particular.
I’d imagine this bed is perfect for side sleepers who love to sink into their mattress rather than sleep on top of it and rarely need to shift positions throughout the night. However, for me, the sinking feeling makes me feel claustrophobic and I struggle to feel properly supported.
It’s also worth saying that back and stomach sleepers will likely need a much firmer, more supportive mattress, as the Ultra’s excessive sink has the potential to throw your spine out of alignment.
But my opinion might change, so stay tuned for my full review that will be published after a full 3 weeks sleeping on it.
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