Tom's Guide Verdict
German company Emma Sleep has delivered its most advanced mattress yet in the Emma Luxe Pro, which boasts a hybrid design made up of seven layers, including innersprings, memory foam and an AirGrid layer to keep you cool and prevent sinking. All of this adds up to a breathable mattress that provides excellent back support and a unique 'weightless' sleeping experience. That said, the Luxe Pro's innerspring system results in noticeable motion transfer and its top layer isn't as 'luxe' feeling as its name (and price) would suggest.
Pros
- +
Even weight distribution
- +
Spring system offers good support
- +
Breathable
Cons
- -
AirGrid layer doesn't feel 'luxe'
- -
Constantly shifting prices
- -
Noticeable motion transfer
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Despite strong competition from local mattress-in-a-box companies like Sleeping Duck and Koala, German company Emma Sleep has achieved great success in Australia with its varied range of mattresses, thanks in large part to its supportive designs and frequent sales.
Its most premium option, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress, is a nice middle ground for those who can't decide between an all-foam or traditional innerspring mattress, in that it sports both foam and pocket springs in an attempt to strike the perfect balance between comfort and support.
Presently, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is the most expensive option in the company's lineup, replacing the well-regarded Emma Zero Gravity Mattress (it's worth mentioning that the older model is now available at clearance prices on the Australian Emma Sleep website).
Emma Luxe Pro review in brief
- Hybrid mattress with steel innersprings
- AirGrid technology and multiple synthetic layers
- Medium-soft firmness
• Type: Hybrid (synthetic upper layers over pocket springs)
• Firmness: Medium soft
• Height: 27cm
• Trial period: 100 nights
• Warranty: 10 years
• Price: AU$2,380-AU$3,860
Although there are some notable differences between the mattress and its Zero Gravity predecessor in terms of design, Emma's Luxe Pro brings across the unique AirGrid layer from the older mattress, and that was a good call — it prevents sinking and provides additional airflow for a cooler night's sleep.
The Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is only offered with a medium-soft firmness — much like the slightly cheaper Emma Luxe Mattress — however, don't expect this bed to feel like a marshmallow. In our experience, the feeling of weightlessness offered by the AirGrid layer makes the firmness level of the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress irrelevant, offering an instantaneous bounce-back and even weight distribution.
The AirGrid layer, along with breathable foam and cover materials, make the Luxe Pro quite cool to sleep on, although the edge-to-edge springs don't quite offer the kind of edge support we were expecting. These springs also don't quite fully dampen motion transfer either, although it's likely only the lightest of sleepers will be disturbed by a restless partner.
When not on sale, the Luxe Pro is a costly investment — the queen size model reviewed here is priced at AU$3,400 at the time of publication, though the mattress starts at AU$2,380 for a single. That said, pricing tends to fluctuate constantly on the Emma Sleep website — especially during major sales events like EOFY or Black Friday, where it's often bundled with questionably priced bed frames. We've even seen it discounted by over 50%, so it's hard to believe these materials are really worth the full price that's being asked.
And for that price, Emma certainly makes a number of bold claims, stating the mattress offers a "weightless feel" while promising "ultimate relaxation". There, at least, the mattress does well, providing excellent pressure relief and spinal support despite having a medium-soft firmness rating. And that's thanks to its edge-to-edge innersprings and variety of foam layers. During our review period, we found the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress to be very breathable, consistently providing a cool night's sleep with ease.
That said, given its high RRP, the Luxe Pro isn't the most 'luxe' feeling mattress we've slept on — a layer of memory foam just underneath its removable zip cover would've made it feel more high-end. We think the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is definitely worth buying, just not at the usual asking price.
Emma Luxe Pro review: price, delivery and deals
- Pricing changes frequently
- 150-night trial and 10-year warranty
- Recommend only buying when discounted
It's hard to go into Emma Luxe Pro Mattress pricing without addressing the elephant in the room: last year, the ACCC instituted proceedings against Emma Sleep in Federal Court, alleging that "Emma Sleep enticed consumers to buy its products by misleading them about the discount or savings they would get, and by creating an artificial sense of urgency about the availability of its discounted pricing".
With that in mind, we tried to keep tabs on the Luxe Pro's pricing throughout our testing period. As we've mentioned earlier, the queen size was listed for an RRP of AU$3,400 on the Emma Sleep website at the time of publication, but had a full price of AU$3,099 earlier in 2024. It also showed a different 'before' price during Emma Sleep's EOFY sale in June, when it was bundled with a bonus bed frame.
Case in point, the aforementioned queen-size model is currently a massive 55% off on Emma Sleep's site, bringing its price down to AU$1,530. In other words, you really shouldn't need to pay full price for an Emma Sleep mattress.
Below is the price of each size of the Luxe Pro as of September 2024:
- Single: AU$2,380
- King single: AU$2,760
- Double: AU$3,120
- Queen: AU$3,400
- King: AU$3,860
At those prices, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is expensive, especially when compared to Sleeping Duck's SD Mach II, which also combines foam and innersprings, but offers a wide range of custom foam pieces to cater to different firmness choices. While it sports an anti-gravity foam layer and a cooling bamboo cover, the Emma Luxe Pro provides superior pressure relief and breathability thanks to an advanced AirGrid layer, similar to what's found in some hospital beds.
However, when you consider a queen-size SD Mach II is priced at AU$1,649, and also offers an interchangeable firmness system, we don't see why the AirGrid layer alone should make the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress cost more than double the price when not heavily discounted. The below table compares the prices of the two brands for the different sizes.
| Header Cell - Column 0 | SD Mach II | Emma Luxe Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Single | AU$999 | AU$2,380 |
| King single | AU$1,099 | AU$2,760 |
| Double | AU$1,349 | AU$3,120 |
| Queen | AU$1,649 | AU$3,400 |
| King | AU$1,999 | AU$3,860 |
| Super king | AU$2,699 | N/A |
Of course, if you really want to try out Emma Sleep's AirGrid layer, you can take advantage of Emma Sleep's long trial period.
Going beyond the 100 days that most mattress-in-a-box companies offer, Emma Sleep provides a 150-night trial for all of its mattresses, giving you plenty of time to figure out if the AirGrid layer is for you. And if you don't like it, you can contact Emma Sleep customer service to organise a return.
However, if you do decide to keep it, you can rest easy with a 10-year manufacturer warranty which covers sags and dips of sags and dips of 2.5cm or more. That said, you are expected to rotate your mattress regularly.
Emma Luxe Pro review: design and materials
- Gel top layer, with three foams and steel pocket springs below
- Well-made breathable and washable cover
- Four horizontal fabric side handles
If you're accustomed to traditional mattresses with cushioned fabric and heavy-duty stitching, you might be taken aback by the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress — it's essentially a bed of springs with some loose layers of foam and silicone stacked on top of it, held together by a bag of mesh and a zip cover. There are handles stitched onto the sides of said cover, though we're not entirely confident that the stitching that connects these handles to the cover will hold up the entire mattress' weight.
The Emma Luxe Pro Mattress sports only a thin layer between its innersprings and the zip cover, and because of this, you won't be able to use this particular mattress on a bed base with slats, as the individual pocket springs could potentially poke through the gaps. In other words, this mattress is for flat bed bases only.
There are seven layers that comprise the Emma Luxe Pro mattress, though two of those are technically the top and bottom halves of its zip cover. On the inside, however, you'll find a layer of edge-to-edge infinity springs, which provide support for your spine, hips and shoulders – Emma, however, doesn't disclose the spring gauge.
Directly above the Emma Luxe Pro's springs is a SupportBase foam layer that's said to give you "just the right level of firmness", though the fact that it sits in the very middle of the mattress under a number of other layers makes this claim difficult to confirm.
The next layer up is comprised of MemoryAdapt foam, which is used to provide even weight distribution across the mattress' various zones by adapting to each sleeper's unique shape.
This is followed by an AeroFoam layer that's said to evacuate moisture to enhance breathability. This reviewer is not a hot sleeper and doesn't sweat much through the nights, so we'll have to take Emma's word for it, though we will say that every night's sleep we've had on the Luxe Pro Mattress over the last few months has been a cool one.
And finally, we have the AirGrid layer, seemingly made from a silicone-like material which gives the mattress its signature 'floating' feel — that is a sense of weightlessness on the mattress itself thanks to the AirGrid's ability to prevent sinking.
Covering all of these layers is the top half of the Emma Luxe Pro's machine-washable zip cover, which is moisture wicking and made from a breathable polyester material.
Emma Luxe Pro review: firmness and comfort
- Medium-soft firmness rating
- Good back, shoulder and hip support from innersprings
- Keeps cool all night long
As we mentioned earlier, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress has a medium-soft firmness rating, with no other options on offer. However, the weightless feel provided by the Emma Luxe Pro's AirGrid layer negates any measurable firmness rating in our opinion.
The mattress feels neither hard nor soft — the AirGrid's silicone layer simply bounces you back without allowing you to feel any real pressure on your shoulders, back, hips or heels. You won't feel like you're floating through space, though you shouldn't feel any heaviness or sinking either.
In terms of support for your lower back and hips, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress does an exceptional job thanks to the inclusion of 'Infinity Springs', which are essentially just individual pocket innersprings which make up the bottom half of the mattress. Unlike the Emma Zero Gravity Mattress, which had foam surrounding its AeroFlex spring system, the Emma Luxe Pro's pocket springs go from edge to edge in both directions, meaning every section of the mattress should give roughly the same amount of support.
As a stomach / side sleeper, this reviewer has found the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress to offer excellent support and spinal stabilisation compared to their previous all-foam Koala mattress, which offered hip support, leading to lower back aches on waking.
Although the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress technically has a medium-soft firmness rating, it has provided enough support over the last few months to significantly reduce instances of sciatic nerve pain, which were common during the last couple of years sleeping on an all-foam mattress.
If there's one area which lets the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress down, it's that it doesn't feel particularly 'luxe' — we would've loved the memory foam layer to have been moved up to the top of the mattress, right below its zip cover. Instead, the first thing you feel when you lie down (aside from the aforementioned cover) is a bouncy silicone grid layer which may not be to everyone's liking. Now, we weren't expecting Tempur-level comfort from the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress — the instant bounce-back of its AirGrid layer is the very antithesis of the slow sinking feel of memory foam — but a more plush top layer would've been greatly appreciated.
Emma Luxe review: performance
- Setup is easy but we recommend two people
- Middling edge support
- Excellent temperature regulation
To get the best idea of what the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is like long-term, we spent the last three months sleeping on it every night.
It's worth noting that this entire review period took place during winter months, so we cannot provide an accurate account of what the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress is like to sleep on during warmer months. That said, Aussie winter nights can occasionally get warm, and in these instances, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress remained cool regardless.
Setup
Score: 5 / 5
As is the case with all the other mattress-in-a-box products on the market, the Emma Luxe Pro will arrive in a large box within 48 hours of ordering for Australian metro areas. Alternatively, same-day delivery is available to customers at eligible addresses who order before 10am Australian Eastern time on a weekday.
The mattress, which comes folded lengthwise, rolled and vacuum-sealed inside the box, is easy enough to unpack, though we recommend getting a friend to help you through the process as the box is fairly heavy. It's also easier to slide the mattress out when another person is holding the box in place.
Off-gassing
Score: 4 / 5
Once you've unfolded the mattress and laid it out on your bed base, you'll need to tear the vacuum-sealed plastic open so that the off-gassing process can begin. Handily, Emma has included a plastic cutting tool with a guarded blade to let you slice through the plastic without damaging the mattress.
Those who've unpacked a vacuum sealed mattress before will be familiar with the chemical-like smell that comes from the off-gassing process. Emma recommends letting the mattress expand in a well-ventilated room for a few hours before lying on top of it, though the smell will likely take a few nights to dissipate fully.
Pressure relief
Score: 5 / 5
While memory foam mattresses provide a sense of instant comfort, the truth is that innersprings provide the most support. In that sense, a combination of foam layers and pocket springs is the way to go for those who want the best of both worlds.
During our time sleeping on the Emma Luxe Pro, we found the mattress to provide superior pressure relief thanks to its edge-to-edge use of pocket springs. As a stomach and side sleeper, this reviewer found the mattress to provide excellent spinal alignment without any real pressure felt on the lower back, hips or shoulders.
Additionally, the sense of weightlessness provided by the Emma Luxe Pro's MemoryAdapt foam layer brought an additional level of pressure relief, never really allowing this reviewer to feel the weight of their own body while lying down. Some of this experience can also be attributed to the mattress' AirGrid layer, which prevents sinking and offers an instant bounce-back to anyone who lies on it.
Temperature regulation
Score: 5 / 5
As discussed earlier, our three-month review period for the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress took place during Australia's winter months, so it's difficult to give an accurate account of what it's like to sleep on it during summer.
Of course, Australian weather can be unpredictable, and there were some unseasonably warm nights during this time. That said, we never experienced anything but cool, breezy sleep sessions on the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress — not once did we feel the need to kick our blankets off, and even with the weather getting warm, we still slept cool.
To achieve its superior temperature regulation, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress has several cooling layers, starting with its polyester UltraDry cover, which has been designed with breathability and moisture wicking in mind. This is followed directly by the ever-popular AirGrid layer, with its open grid design offering even more breathability.
And right below that, an AeroFoam layer which is said to "evacuate moisture" to prevent rising temperatures. Not entirely sure how that last one works, but this combination seems to be working, as this is one cool mattress to sleep on.
Edge support
Score: 3 / 5
Due to its edge-to-edge pocket springs, the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress provides spinal support across its entire surface. However, the various layers of foam and silicone that lay on top of the springs result in a mattress that's still prone to sinking along its edges, just like many other mattress-in-a-box options on the market which sport a zip cover.
You'll definitely notice a significant sink if you're the type of person who likes to sit on the edge of the bed to put your shoes on. Thankfully, sinking along the edges is never evident in the sleeping position, where your body's weight is more evenly distributed along the mattress' surface.
Motion transfer
Score 3.5 / 5
Typically, all-foam mattresses are the way to go if you're looking to eliminate motion transfer entirely. You've likely seen the videos of people jumping up and down and running on the spot on their foam mattress while a full wine glass stands on its surface completely undisturbed — we would not recommend doing this on the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress, as the motion transfer is still very noticeable.
Don't get us wrong — its Infinity Springs all sit in their individual pockets, and the approach does reduce motion transfer, but it's still there. We placed a glass on the mattress and ran on the spot about 50cm away from it. We're happy to report that it did not topple, though it did wobble around quite a bit, coming very close to tipping.
Of course, sleeping doesn't usually involve running or wine glasses, and the reality is that your partner probably won't disturb you too much with their commotion throughout the night. You will notice them turning over or shifting around at times, but still far less than you would on an all-spring mattress.
Durability
Score: 4 / 5
It's been over three months since started sleeping on the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress, we haven't noticed any change in its appearance whatsoever. It still looks completely brand new, and has not sagged in the slightest.
We're hardly surprised by this, though — given its 10-year warranty, it was unlikely to see any real change this early on. It really is too soon to judge the mattress' longevity.
What we can say is that the mattress and all of its materials appear to be of very high quality. If there's one area which could potentially be a problem in the long run, it's the Emma Luxe Pro's handles, which are made of fabric and are simply stitched to the side of the mattress' zip cover. Quite frankly, these feel flimsy, and while we were able to move the mattress around during setup and rotation without any problems, we aren't confident these straps will hold up very well in the long run.
As for maintenance, the top half of the Emma Luxe Pro's zip cover can be removed entirely and is machine washable, which is much appreciated.
Emma Luxe Pro user reviews
Unfortunately, we weren't able to find any testimonials specifically regarding the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress on sites like ProductReview, which is Australia's most popular user review website. That said, the company itself does hold a fairly respectable user score of 3.6 out of 5, though this is a far cry from Koala's score of 4.9 out of 5 and Sleeping Duck's score of 4.8 out of 5 on that very same site.
It's worth noting that the Emma Sleep website does spotlight several reactions from a number of influencers, though it's impossible to determine whether or not these were sponsored posts, or even which mattresses they are specifically referring to.
Should I buy the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress?
Given the excellent spinal support and impressive breathability it offers, we're fairly confident most people would be happy with their purchase of an Emma Luxe Pro Mattress, so long as they don't pay full price for it. This is a great mattress that's undermined by iffy pricing — we imagine anyone who would pay over AU$3,000 for this mattress would be more than a little peeved to find it discounted by 55% shortly after. That said, if you can pick the Emma Luxe Pro Mattress up at a good price, you'll likely enjoy its emphasis on pressure relief, as well as the sense of weightlessness it provides. We do wish its top layer felt a little more luxe, though.
