There are some beds you just can't wait to jump onto — for our Tom's Guide testing team the Nectar Premier Memory Foam mattress, now $999 for a queen at Nectar, was one of them. Its soft top layer is hard to resist sinking your hands into, so just imagine how it feels against your shoulder.
The Nectar Premier is one of the top-rated options in our guide to the best mattresses you can buy online, and it's our top-rated memory foam mattress too. It has the feel you want (and expect) from this type of bed: slow moving foams that wrap you up in a full body hug.
I was lead tester during our Nectar Premier Memory Foam mattress review and, after sleeping on the Premier for a month, I highly recommend it to side sleepers browsing the 4th of July mattress sales. It might not be the most exciting sale (I'll explain why below) but the Nectar Premier is worth every cent of its $999 queen price. Here's why...
A traditional memory foam 'hug' for side sleepers
The reason why the Nectar Premier sits at the top of our guide to the best memory foam mattresses is because it delivers the classic memory foam 'hug'. The dense foams yield to pressure before gently wrapping around the body to cuddle you up.
It's a feel that suits side sleepers and when I tested the Nectar Premier, it was side sleeping I naturally gravitated towards (despite typically being a stomach sleeper). It's one of the best mattresses for side sleepers because this 'hug' helps reduce pressure build-up at the shoulders and hips.
But it's not all about cushioning — you can see in our hands-on video that while our testers can press into the bed, they aren't sinking all the way through.
That's because the Nectar Premier has a strong support layer made up of firm foam. This keeps your spine lifted while side sleeping, to reduce back ache. I also found it comfortable for back sleeping, although there were some mixed opinions here (some of my team found there was too much 'hug' at the hips).
The Nectar Premier Memory Foam is also one of the best mattresses in a box we've tested because it delivers all this at excellent value (a queen's just $999).
Smaller budget? Try this...
If a mattress you can sink into sounds dreamy to you but $999 for a queen is out of your budget, then the Zinus is our top rated alternative. I've slept on them both and found they had one key feature in common: a full body-hug.
As a cheaper bed, the Zinus can't deliver the same support as the Nectar Premier (particularly at the edges: I slid off the bed most mornings) and it also has a tendency to sleep hot. This is a common flaw of memory foam beds but the Nectar navigates it with a cool-to-the-touch cover.
However, with a queen Zinus only $219.99 in the sale, it's a 4th of July bargain.
More mattress deals to browse
- Bear Elite Hybrid: Save 40% with code TOMS40
- Zinus Green Tea: From $137 at Amazon
- Allswell Home 10" Hybrid: From $214 at Walmart
- Helix Midnight Luxe: From $1,119 at Helix
- Siena Signature: From $159 at Siena
- Avocado Green Organic: From $1,359 at Avocado
- Sleep Number ComfortNext: From $2,199 at Sleep Number
Follow Tom's Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom's Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom's Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less.
