DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review 2024: Hotel luxury for less

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review in brief

Consider the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid if you’re seeking the best mattress for combination sleepers or for relief from backaches. The middle child in DreamCloud’s three-mattress catalog, it hits the sweet spot between comfort and support without burning a massive hole in your bank account, making it a great value contender.

As with DreamCloud’s other mattresses, the Premier Hybrid comes in memory foam and hybrid forms. We reviewed the latter, meaning that it uses both foam and innerspring coils to give you the best of both worlds. At that, it delivers impeccably. It also comes with decent cooling and a breathable cashmere top to keep you comfortable, temperature-wise, throughout the night.

This being the middle child though means that while it straddles that line between comfort and value, it’s definitely not the best at everything. It’s got motion isolation but only to a decent degree; the cover is plush but not at that body-hugging level; and while 14" is tall compared to cheap mattresses, it’s not luxuriously tall.

If you’re a hot sleeper, we’re not quite sure its cooling abilities are enough to keep you sweat-free in the summertime. Same if you or your partner is a light sleeper and the other moves a lot during sleep. 

Still, the DreamCloud Premier Mattress has plenty going for it to recommend it as the best hybrid mattress to side and back sleepers, especially those who’d rather not spend more than $2,000 on a mattress. (If you do have that type of money to splash, read our Saatva RX mattress review.) It’s been our bed for a month now, and not only is it helping keep our lower back issues at bay, but it’s also chased our insomnia away.

We've already seen as much as 50% off the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid ahead of this week's Black Friday mattress deals, but there's a possibility that discount could return. Still, an evergreen 40% sale puts it at a more reasonable cost than its premium-priced rivals. Better yet, DreamCloud includes a one-year trial and a lifetime warranty to sweeten the value, and it's now 40% off in the Cyber Monday mattress deals (which roll over from the Black Friday mattress deals).

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Price

• Never sold at MSRP, a queen usually goes for $1,099
• An affordable alternative to the premium Saatva 
• Comes with a lifetime warranty and a one-year trial

When we say affordable, we mean that the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid has a more accessible price tag compared to premium luxury mattresses that offer the same level of comfort and features. It's always discounted during DreamCloud mattress sales so you'll never have to pay the full retail price. A queen DreamCloud Premier Hybrid typically fetches $1,099 after an evergreen 40% discount.

Here are the 'official' list prices for the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress, and how much you can expect to actually pay, as of November 2023:

• Twin MSRP: $1,169 (usually sold for $699)
• Twin XL MSRP: $1,499 (usually sold for $899)
• Full MSRP: $1,669 (usually sold for $999)
• Queen MSRP: $1,832 (usually sold for $1,099)
• King MSRP: $2,169 (usually sold for $1,299)
• California king MSRP: $2,169 (usually sold for $1,299)
• Split king MSRP: $2,998 (usually sold for $1,798)

We often compare DreamCloud to Saatva as both brands specialize in luxury hybrids, and each brand includes a lifetime warranty plus a full-year at-home trial with purchase. However, Saatva handcrafts its mattresses and delivers them flat via free white glove delivery, while the DreamCloud is your standard mattress in a box. If your budget doesn't stretch far enough for a Saatva Classic, you won't be doing yourself a disservice by going for the cheaper DreamCloud Premier Hybrid instead.

Alternatively, if you want a plushier top, you can upgrade to the DreamCloud Premier Rest Hybrid, which has a more luxurious pillow top and is taller at 16 inches, for an additional $400. It’s not necessary for comfort, but if you want a more body-hugging feel akin to the best memory foam mattresses) and a higher perch, you have that option.

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid: from $1,169 $699 at DreamCloud
The DreamCloud Premier Hybrid is its Goldilocks of mattresses. As DreamCloud middle child, it delivers a nice balance of comfort and support while keeping its price tag affordable for most people. You'll always find it on sale, with a queen typically fetching $1,099, but keep an eye on Black Friday sales to potentially drop that price even lower. Always included are a 365-night trial and a forever warranty.

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DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Design & materials

• A 7-layer hybrid of foam and innersprings
• Euro top made of a breathable cashmere blend
• Side handles make for easy moving and rotating

The DreamCloud Premier Hybrid wears DreamCloud’s signature blue color at its sides and edges, with the sides being tufted to give it a more luxe look. It also has two handles on both its left and right sides, and these help with the weight when you’re moving the mattress or flipping it around. (While we’re on the subject, DreamCloud says that the side cover is shift-resistant so that the mattress keeps its original shape.)

The quilted top is made of a breathable cashmere blend, which is supposed to deliver some decent cooling. It’s soft to the touch and plush enough. However, we would have preferred for it to be a little thicker and plushier for an even more cloud-like comfort – sadly, DreamCloud thinks that that kind of luxury costs $400 more.

At least the one-inch memory foam and one-inch soft foam underneath do help quite a bit. The memory foam does have body-hugging and contouring abilities to take the pressure off the vulnerable areas of your body like your arm, shoulder, and hip when you’re sleeping on your side. Meanwhile, the soft foam underneath offers support and contouring Combined, these foam layers should provide enough sink for most people.

Underneath all that is where the supportive layers begin, starting with the two-and-a-half-inch dynamic transition layer, essentially a standard foam designed to promote proper spine alignment. This is also designed to ensure that those hard innerspring coils beneath aren’t poking you while you sleep.

Speaking of those innerspring coils, they provide the mattress’s main support to ensure there isn’t too much sink getting in the way of proper alignment. They also help with cooling by allowing air to pass through and reduce the level of motion transfer if you or your partner squirm a lot at night. Along the perimeter are thicker coils so you’re not sliding off when getting out of bed or sitting on its edge. The coils sit atop a foam base layer for stability and overall foundation.

For sleepers' safety, DreamCloud uses CertiPUR-US certified foam that's free of toxic chemicals and low in volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions that contribute to poor air quality and an unpleasant off-gassing smell upon unboxing. 

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Firmness & comfort

• Only comes in one firmness level (medium-firm)
• Ideal for side, back, and combination sleepers
• Plenty of pressure relief but some may find it too firm

While some luxury hybrid mattresses come in multiple firmness options, the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid only comes in one – medium firm. DreamCloud designed this mattress for side, back, and combination sleepers by providing the same amount of comfort and support. So, while you’re getting more than two inches of contouring, sink, and pressure relief, you’re also getting a lot of support so you can maintain your body’s alignment while you sleep.

Our main reviewer, a combi-sleeper who's petite and is under 115 pounds, found the Premium Hybrid to offer the perfect level of firmness. For someone who’s on the lighter side and can’t quite sink enough to fully reach the supportive layers, a mattress with thinner comfort layers is just perfect – despite the fact that she also appreciates that cloud-like feel of a thick pillow top.

There is more than enough sink here, however. To see how it would fare in our kettlebell test, we dropped a 20-lb kettlebell in the middle, and it sank about 2.5 inches. That’s deeper than what we observed in our Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe mattress review, where the weight sank about two inches under the weight of a 25-lb kettlebell.

Those who weigh over 115lbs should feel comfortable on the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress, especially those who aren’t too keen on soft-firm mattresses with a lot of sinkage. On the other hand, if you prefer them no matter your weight, this one is a bit of a wild card. Some people may find it soft enough, others may find it a little too firm. 

We had another person, who is of the same weight as our main reviewer but favors a lot more sinkage, try the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid and she found it to be just a little too firm for her liking. This is further proof that firmness is subjective. 

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Performance

• Will sleep cool enough for most people
• Decent motion isolation if you're not a light sleeper
• Edge support is great – we had no fear of falling over

Sleeping on the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress for about a month, we put it through its paces and assessed its performance across a range of markers. Not only did we test its comfort and firmness, but we evaluated its temperature regulation, edge support, and motion isolation as well. Here's how we got on...

Temperature regulation

The DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress doesn’t really have any special cooling tech, unlike specialized cooling mattresses like the Brooklyn Bedding Aurora Luxe. As a hybrid mattress, however, you can rest assured that it’s going to be better at temperature regulation than an all-foam mattress.

The innerspring coils not only provide necessary support and minimize motion transfer but also encourage airflow so that any heat that dissipates from your body and gets absorbed by the layers of foam under you has a way to escape, keeping that bed cool. In addition to that, there's a breathable cashmere blend cover.

We didn’t get a chance to test this mattress out in the hot summer months, unfortunately, and that would have been a true test of its ability to regulate temperature. Luckily, it was still fairly warm in LA when we started testing, and we managed to squeeze in a couple of weeks of testing in 80F weather – and it fared pretty well.

It should be noted that our main reviewer doesn’t sleep hot, so if you’re a hot sleeper, we advise erring on the side of caution and getting a dedicated cooling mattress instead. 

However, our head reviewer does suffer from insomnia, and among its triggers is a warm night. Yet, we had no trouble falling asleep and staying asleep on the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid during those two weeks without needing to turn the AC or the fan on. This speaks volumes about its ability to, at the very least, dissipate heat.

Our score: 3.5 out of 5

Motion transfer

We’ve tested mattresses with amazing motion isolation, and we’ve tested mattresses with poor motion isolation. The DreamCloud Premier Hybrid falls somewhere in the middle. During our tests, we put a wine glass in the middle of the bed then dropped our 20-lb kettlebell 15 inches away from it. Whenever we did that, the wine glass wobbled a little, and if we had liquid in it, it would likely slosh around.

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Bear in mind though that it isn’t the best that we’ve seen. When we dropped the kettlebell 10 inches away, the wine glass did topple over. We could feel some movements ourselves as well – whenever we’re laying on one side of the bed, we could feel it when our cats would jump, walk around, or play fight on the bed. 

None of their movements woke us up in the middle of the night, which is a good sign, but we’re also not that sensitive to movements. However, if you are, and you have a partner who moves a lot in their sleep, their movements might keep you up at night. Or it might not. That really just depends on how sensitive you are. Luckily, the mattress comes with a 365-night home trial so you can always try it out first and see if its motion isolation is good enough for you.

Our score: 3.5 out of 5

Edge support

The DreamCloud Premier Mattress has great perimeter support so you won’t have to worry about slipping off the mattress as you’re trying to get out of bed or sitting on the edge. Again, this isn’t the firmest edge we’ve sat on, but that’s a good thing. 

We found that while there is some sinkage there, it’s not enough to cause slippage. We were able to sit at the edge of the bed, even to tie our shoes sometimes, with little to no effort from us to stay on.

We also put a tall 28-lb box of cat litter on the edge to see whether or not it would slip or fall off, and the edge held the box without issue. We did the same with our 20-lb kettlebell, and the sink was almost the same as it was in the middle, only a tiny bit less. 

Our score: 4 out of 5

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Delivery & setup

• Arrives vacuum-sealed and rolled-up in a box
• White glove delivery is available for an extra $199
• Minimal off-gassing, and fully inflates within minutes

Because the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress comes in a box – DreamCloud flattens it, seals it in airtight plastic, rolls it, then packs it tightly in cling wrap before putting it in its box – a white glove delivery service like Saatva provides isn’t really necessary here. However, it is an option for an additional $199 if you'd rather not fuss with the setup yourself – and it even includes removal of your old mattress.

Unboxing and setting up the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid on your frame is fairly easy, but this is not a light mattress so hauling it up on your bed frame will take some effort. Play it safe, especially if your bed frame is a little taller, and enlist another person to help. Make it easier on yourself by figuring out which side is up and which side is down before allowing the mattress to expand. 

Otherwise, it’s going to take a whole lot more effort to set it up. And believe us, this expands pretty quickly as soon as you cut that plastic open – so much so we barely had time to rip the whole plastic off. We did hold off for 24 hours before use, just in case. However, if you absolutely cannot wait, you’ll be happy to know that our unit went from flat to almost full height within minutes. 

Another bit of good news is that there’s hardly any off-gassing smell. Ours had a whiff after unboxing, but we could only smell it when our face was inches away from it. Otherwise, we couldn’t really smell anything. Of course, the sooner you unbox your mattress – and the more ventilated your bedroom is – the less likely you'll encounter any off-gassing issues.

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Customer reviews

• Combined rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars from Amazon and DreamCloud
• Many shoppers praise it for alleviating their back pain
• Those who don't like it say it's too firm for their tastes

Scoring an average of 4.2 out of 5 on Amazon, with 67% of its 1,073 reviewers giving it a five-star rating (as of November 2023), the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid is highly rated and praised for easing many users’ chronic back pain. Some couples with different sleep styles have found it equally comfortable, even those who tend to sleep on their stomach. Many reviewers claim that they’ve had the best sleep of their lives on it.

A common complaint on Amazon is that it felt a little too firm for them, and we’re guessing that these people favor softer mattresses. One reviewer who found it to be too firm decided to upgrade to the Premier Hybrid Rest, and they said that it did the trick. Those who decided to return theirs did praise DreamCloud’s return process, quickly receiving their refund and not needing to worry about the actual return since DreamCloud always tells its customers to donate the mattress they don’t want.

On the DreamCloud site, the reviews are even more favorable, giving the mattress a 4.5 average rating out of over 4,000 reviews (as of November 2023). Someone with an inflammatory disease that makes it hard for them to sleep even said that their Premier Hybrid has allowed them a better night’s sleep. And again, many reviewers have credited it for their lower back pain going away.

Should you buy the DreamCloud Premier Hybrid?

The DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress is a comfortable and supportive option for side, back, and combination sleepers, especially if they’re suffering from back pain or spending their days hunched over at work. Most of its users, based on the online reviews on Amazon and the DreamCloud website, have said the same thing. We certainly rank it among the best mattresses for back pain. 

After using it for a month and putting it through our usual testing process, we’ve found it to be supportive enough to ensure that we have proper body alignment during sleep while providing enough contouring, sink, and plush comfort to offer some of that cloud-like experience that those with softer pillow-top mattresses enjoy – and to ensure that side-sleepers get enough sink around their shoulder and hip area to they aren’t waking up with sore spots.

It is a bit of a wild card still when it comes to softness. Since it sits in the middle of the firmness scale, some people who prefer soft mattresses might find its sinkage good enough while others may find it too firm. Luckily, DreamCloud has an excellent 365-day return policy, and according to people who’ve returned theirs, the company makes it easy by issuing a refund within 24 hours and asking them to simply donate the mattress.

The Premier Hybrid also has great edge support, although its motion isolation could be better so if you’re sensitive to movements and you have a partner who moves around a lot in their sleep, you may want to consider the original DreamCloud mattress, which aced our drop tests. The same can be said about its temperature regulation – it’s got a breathable top and the innerspring coils promote heat dissipation, but if you’re a hot sleeper, you’ll want to get a proper cooling mattress instead.

As for the rest of us, this is a fantastic contender to cure all your sleepless nights and sore mornings, especially since it’s a little less expensive than other mattresses in its class.

DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review: Alternatives