My old double bed mattress was once very good, and made to use over a slatted bed frame with a lengthwise steel central support. Over the years, the central support bar created a couple of uncomfortable sags on both side of the bed, and also was felt through the mattress. (see picture 1)

As I get older, my hips ache terribly, and my old mattress was adding to the problem. I looked into buying a new mattress, but… OMG. The cost of them is astronomical!

I read the reviews about this one helping relieve pain, so after looking at about a hundred different mattress toppers online, decided on the Elemuse 5cm deep memory foam one. Not the cheapest, to be sure, but a heck of a lot less than a new mattress.

Pros:
1. It definitely ‘fills the gaps’ where the sags are, when I’m lying in bed, and allows me to sleep kitty-corner across the bed without that hard ridge giving me gyp.

2. The separate deeply-quilted mattress cover adds hugely to the softness, and will be washable separately. It covers my original mattress depth of 25cm, plus 5cm of memory foam with plenty of depth in the ‘skirt’ to spare and go under.

3. I like that the cotton quilted mattress cover is cotton fabric on both sides, so can be use ‘inside out’ (although obviously the seams will show)

Neutral:
I will wait to see how well the memory foam keeps it’s depth over time. it does flatten quite a lot when I sit on the edge of the bed, but comes back up quite quickly, once I’m lying down. I am also unsure of how much it will ‘remember’ of the dips and ridge, in the old mattress, and whether it starts to flatten into them, also. Wait and see.

Negative:
1. O.M.G. This memory foam mattress smells AWFUL when first opened. It fluffed up within an hour, but a chemical smell (like stagnant drains is the closest I can relate it to) coming from it is very unpleasant.

I aired it over the bannister, tried putting it outside in the sun, then left it in my summer house for a few days, and while much less, still the smell was there. It took over a week for it to dissipate enough for me to put it on the bed. (And believe me, I was desperate to try it!) I was beginning to think “How am I ever going to get this thing compressed enough to return it?” The box it came in was small by comparison!

But I remained patient, and the smell FINALLY went away enough to put it on the bed, and what I am now sleeping on is like a cloud. It has stopped smelling bad. And, thankfully, the aches in my hips and knees are much reduced when I’m in bed.

Absolute HEAVEN (once it no longer smells)., and worth every penny.

EDITED: One month later.
I have used this mattress pad for the past month, every night, and it still remains extremely comfortable. The smell is gone completely. The questions I had about the memory foam spanning the dips in my old lumpy mattress were confirmed, as it does ‘remember’ them, even when I not in bed. (See picture 2)

It also ‘remembers’ the place I sit when preparing for bed. I can see that this will press down more and more as time goes on. (Picture 3)

When I’m trying to roll over, it feel a bit like rolling ‘uphill’ from the shallow dip of the original mattress… although I soon level out. I can also *just* sense the ridge of the centre support beam of the bed frame, although the 5cm of foam does lessen this considerably.

Apart from these niggles, it has definitely extended the life of my mattress, and I do sleep better. All in all, a worthwhile purchase, although I’m coming to realise that at some point, I will need to splash out and actually buy a new mattress. I’ll use this topper on that, as well, as it is really comfy.