Emma Original Mattress Review Our Detailed Look

Written By Connie

CPD Sleep Consultant

How We Test

Our testing process

Presented By

Rob – Our presenters

9 April 2024 9 min read

Emma original has been considered one of the best mattresses you can buy for quite some time now. This award-winning memory foam mattress has it all. Well, we wanted to test out these claims and determine, once and for all, is Emma Original really that good? Without further ado, here's our full, in-depth review and our final verdict.

Who is Emma Original mattress for?

Simply by looking at it, Emma Original is a medium-firm memory foam mattress designed to fit everyone's needs. However, as experience has taught us in every mattress review, that's rarely the case. On the other hand, judging by its strongest points, we'd say that Emma Original is best suited for those who switch their sleeping positions through the night, as well as those who prefer a relaxing, contouring feeling from their mattress.

Autumn Sale, up to 40% off £248

Upgrade to the Emma Original Plus Mattress for Extra Luxury

Right above the award-winning layers of the Emma Original, you'll find an even more luxurious option called the Emma Original Plus Mattress. This version takes comfort up a notch with its enhanced comfort cover that's both thicker and plusher than the standard one.

Designed for those who crave that extra layer of softness, this premium cover not only feels heavenly but is also hypoallergenic and breathable. It's effortlessly removable and washable, making your sleep environment as hygienic as it is comfy.

Underneath this rich cover, you still get the same top-quality Visco Memory foam and the supportive HRX foam layers that have made the Emma Original a hit. You get perfect spinal alignment, excellent motion isolation, and those strategically placed cut-out zones for added pressure relief.

In short, it's the Emma Original we all love, but with an extra sprinkle of luxury for an even better night's sleep.

Is Emma Original mattress an upgraded version of a previous product?

Yes. Emma Original is an improved version of the previous Emma Original. The new and improved Emma Original was introduced in 2020, even though the previous version has gotten award after award in 2019. However, the accolades kept coming even after the upgrade, so, it's safe to say Emma did a good job once again.

What do we use this product for?

Just like any other mattress, Emma Original is made to be slept on. With that being said, those of us who prefer a gentler feel of a mattress, with quite a lot of pressure relief, especially around the core areas – will significantly benefit from this regularly awarded mattress.

Advantages

Support

Good support and excellent motion transfer

Value

Incredible price-to-value ratio

Warranty

Risk-free 200-night trial, 10-year warranty and a money-back guarantee

Disadvantages

Too soft

Heavy sleepers will find it too soft

Gets quite warm

It still gets quite warm on a hot summer night

Off-gassing

Slight off-gassing issues

Features you should know about the Emma Original mattress

The Emma Original mattress is made of three different memory foam layers, each designed to help you get a great night's sleep. Let's go through them:

• Top Layer: This layer is made of special Airgocell foam that helps you stay cool all night by letting air flow easily.
• Middle Layer: This layer uses memory foam to give you the right amount of support and comfort for your back.
• Bottom Layer: This is a firm foam layer that gives extra support to your lower back and shoulders.

Keep reading as we go into more detail about each layer in this full Emma Original review!

Point Elastic Airgocell foam

The breathable Point Elastic Airgocell foam layer is a moisture-wicking and temperature-regulating open-pored layer and it is located just under the Halo memory foam comfort layer. The Airgocell foam layer traps and moves the moisture away from your body while simultaneously improving the airflow within the mattress, making you both dry and cool during the night.

Compared to some other all-foam mattresses, this one does a reasonably good job at keeping things cool during the night, but still, you can only go so far with a memory foam mattress.

Polyester cover with temperature regulation

Emma Original comes with a removable and machine washable, temperature regulating cover, called the Emma UltraDry Original cover. The cover is very breathable and manages to do an excellent job of wicking away excess moisture.

The interesting part is, not every section of this mattress cover is made from the same material. The removable top cover is made from 99% polyester and 1% elastane. The side cover is made from 100% polyester and the bottom cover is a mixture of 87% polyester and 13% polypropylene.

The top cover is machine-washable at 40°C, and it is small enough that it can fit any washing machine you might have, even if you get the Super king-size mattress.

Halo memory foam

Just underneath the ultra-breathable cover, we can see the newest innovation from Emma called Halo memory foam.

This memory foam layer has been specially designed to adapt to your body's shape and curves. This design allows for better pressure relief and body-hugging comfort, as Emma likes to call it. What it actually does is it distributes pressure evenly across the entire mattress, allowing your body to experience tailored support all throughout.

In return, you end up with perfect spinal alignment all through the night.

HRX foam for additional support

The base of this mattress is an HRX foam support layer with counter-pressure properties to help you sleep in a perfectly aligned position all night long.

As is often the case with a memory foam base, it contours to your body in such a way that it keeps your spine perfectly aligned regardless of whether you sleep on your side, back, or stomach.

Furthermore, the all-foam supportive base is excellent for couples, as it offers excellent motion isolation but still retains a little bit of a bounce for those extracurricular bed activities.

The HRX Supreme base contains five strategically placed cut-out zones for improved bodyweight distribution and pressure relief. Zones are placed underneath the pressure point core areas like hips and shoulders, allowing for a much more pleasant sleeping experience.

Finally, the new HRX foam base has been additionally improved to last even longer, so you can expect your new mattress to easily last you a full decade, or possibly even more.

Review of Emma Original mattress

Before we move on to our mattress review, Emma Original we're reviewing is made in the UK, which is important to note because Emma does manufacture in other countries, as well, which means that there could be some subtle differences between the mattresses based on the country of origin.

All in all, it is easy to see why this is an awarded mattress. Emma Original is a wonderfully balanced memory foam mattress. It is remarkably comfortable, without compromising the firmness and support. Regardless of your sleeping position, you can expect to be properly aligned and wake up feeling rested.

The quality of this mattress is remarkable. This is easily one of the most durable mattresses we've ever reviewed. It doesn't sink, it doesn't sag and it doesn't need to be rotated due to its unique design. Although rotating wouldn't harm, there just doesn't seem to be the need for it.

Autumn Sale, up to 40% off £248

What is also great about this mattress is a 200-night trial (upped from 100-night), so even if you don't end up loving it – you can always return it and get your money back.

On the other side of things, you will probably find it too soft if you're a heavier sleeper. Now, if you sleep on your back, that shouldn't cause much of an issue, but if you're a stomach sleeper – you'll probably need to add a firm mattress topper.

Also, while some improvements have been made in the temperature-regulating department, Emma Original still gets quite warm on a hot summer night. Furthermore, there will be some off-gassing, but as with any other memory foam bed-in-a-box – that's just something you'll have to accept.

KEY FEATURES:

• Type: Memory Foam
• Firmness: 6/10
• Thickness: 25cm
• Size: UK Single, UK Small Double, UK Double, UK King Size, Super King Size

What we like about Emma Original mattress

• One of the most comfortable all-foam mattresses on the market
• Great support, both in the middle and around the edges 
• A 200-night trial leaves more than enough time to test out the mattress.

What we didn’t like about Emma Original mattress

• Too soft for heavy sleepers
• Despite the Airgocell foam – it still gets kind of warm during a hot night.
• The smell tends to linger for a few days.

Emma Original Mattress prices: A size for every sleeper

Looking to invest in an Emma Original Mattress? The good news is, that there's a size for every type of sleeper, and they're all currently 25% off. Check out the table below to find the perfect fit for you:

Upgrade to the Emma Original Plus Mattress for Extra Luxury

In addition to the classic Emma Original Mattress, there's an upgraded version known as the Emma Original Plus. This model features an improved comfort cover that's more substantial and softer than the standard version.

For people who prefer additional softness, this upgraded cover is hypoallergenic and breathable. It's also easy to remove and clean, contributing to a cleaner sleep environment.

Beneath this improved cover, the mattress retains the same quality Visco Memory foam and supportive HRX foam layers that define the Emma Original. These layers offer solid spinal alignment, effective motion isolation, and targeted pressure relief through strategically placed cut-out zones.

In summary, the Emma Original Plus offers the familiar features of the Emma Original, but with a bit more comfort.

Check the alternatives to Emma Original mattress

Now, if Emma Original doesn't cut it for you, don't worry – we got your back. You can check our comparison tool for other options. Or check our recommendation for a similar mattress.

Simba Hybrid mattress

Simba Hybrid is another alternative we have for you, once again – with pocket springs. This is a hybrid mattress that's slightly less expensive than Emma Original. Overall, it's not as quite as good as our reviewee, but if you need a solid mattress that will fit your bed frame perfectly – this one comes in 9 different sizes! We also recommend you to check our comparison tool for the comparison of Simba Hybrid and Emma Original mattress.

Read our full review of this product here!

Shop Now with 45% Off £445

Advantages

Comfortable

Very comfortable

Durability

Excellent durability

Trial period

200-night trial period

Disadvantages

Support

Below-average support

Breathable

Not the coolest or the most breathable mattress

Cover

No removable cover

Consider Panda mattress topper if you are buying Emma Original mattress

If you want to make your new mattress cooler and more breathable, maybe try out this mattress topper from Panda. Hydro-foam technology used in this topper is both hypoallergenic and very breathable, which is what Emma Orignal lacks the most. Now, it won't add much to the as far as firmness is concerned, but still, unless you're over 130 kg – you won't need any extra help.

Shop Now £85

Advantages

Machine-washable

Removable, machine-washable bamboo cover

Eco-friendly

Vegan, sustainable and eco-friendly

Warranty

10-year warranty

Disadvantages

Thickness

30 cm thick when paired with Emma Original

What makes Emma Original mattress better than some other similar ones?

What really makes this Emma mattress shine amongst all other similar mattresses is its remarkable durability. High-quality foams and excellent engineering make this one of the most durable and long-lasting memory foam mattresses on the market.

How did we test the product?

Just like with any other product or mattress review, our goal is to stay objective, providing you with a detailed and descriptive overview of a product. In the case of this particular Emma mattress, we paid special attention to the defining features such as comfort, firmness, and durability, as those are the ones that are generally the most important when shopping for a mattress.

As far as the ordering process goes – it was buttery smooth. We entered our info and our bed-in-a-box arrived in three days – in perfect condition. Naturally, Emma offers a free delivery for all mattress sizes, so, no worries there. Please note that if you want a delivery on Saturday or Sunday, it'll cost you £17.50.

We tested the comfort, firmness, pressure relief, and other aspects of this mattress by having each of our team members spend ten nights sleeping on this mattress, taking notes, and sharing their experiences with each other.

Now, comfort and firmness are fairly subjective and you can only be as objective as possible. With that in mind, all of our team members found the mattress to be perfectly comfortable, regardless of their sleeping positions and body types. As far as the firmness is concerned, when all is put together, we found this to be a medium-firm mattress, leaning slightly towards a medium, rather than firm.

As you might know, every Emma mattress comes with a 10-year guarantee and we're pleased to say that after our roller test, we found this one to be remarkably durable. You should have no problems using this mattress for the whole duration of the warranty.

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About the author

Connie

As a CPD certified Sleep Consultant I know how important sleep is. And as a combination sleeper, I have found it difficult to get products to suit my sleep style. I have more than 2 years product testing experience with The Sleep Advisors which means I have slept on, with and under more than 500 products with varying degrees of success. This is added to more than 2 years experience as a product reviewer for Closer, Heat and Grazia magazines, so I've got a rigorous process. I love sharing my sleep testimonials with our readers and hearing their experiences too.