An Emperor mattress or an emperor bed is huge. However, there doesn’t seem to be complete agreement on quite how huge they should be:
- Posh brand Vispring sell emperor mattresses which are 200cm x 202cm (about 6 foot 5 inches) and ‘large emperor’ mattresses which are 217cm x 215cm (about 7 foot)
- John Lewis & Partners ’emperor’ mattresses are 200cm x 210cm (just under 7 foot)
- Award-winning pocket spring company Harrisons Spinks sells ’emperor’ mattresses which are 200cm x 200cm
Perhaps the G8 will address this important issue soon, but in the meantime I would just make sure you get the tape measure out to avoid an awkward moment with the delivery company.
We’ve picked out five of the best emperor size mattresses and beds on the market in the UK, based on specification, value for money, reviews and awards:
1. Soak & Sleep Wool 2000 Pocket Sprung Emperor Mattress (200cm x 200cm) – firm tension – £875
This Wool 2000 mattress is one of the cheaper Emperor sized mattresses we’ve managed to find but it’s certainly worth considering.
It’s sold by retailer Soak & Sleep which scores 4.7/5 on TrustPilot. It has a decent specification if you’re after a pocket sprung mattress, which is what most of us sleep on.
You get 2000 pocket springs and it’s a firm mattress which means that it is ideal for a heavier person. There’s no industry agreement on what ‘soft’ ‘medium’ or ‘firm’ actually means on a mattress, but a high spring count offers a greater level of support which is more important for heavier people.
At the time of writing, only the firm version of the mattress is available in Emperor size.
Other signs of quality include a substantial depth (28cm) and what’s known as ‘tufting’ on top which is the button-type things which hold it together.
It comes with a 5 year guarantee, which is good but not sensational in the mattress market. Soak and Sleep also offer a 100 night trial period as long as you use a mattress protector (check the terms and conditions).
2. OTTY Hybrid Emperor Mattress (200cm x 200cm) – medium/firm tension – £929
OTTY is one of those modern mattress brands which offer a long home trial period and arrive squashed up into a box – hence the name ‘bed in a box’ which you might have heard.
Unusually, it offers its award winning hybrid mattress in Emperor size whereas most similar brands only offer the most common sizes.
The mattress uses a combination of springs and foam, hence it being called a ‘hybrid’. There are 2000 pocket springs, which will offer a very good level of support. The foam layers aim to offer comfort and consistent support. One of the layers is ‘temperature regulating memory foam’ which is designed to overcome the issue where memory foam can make you feel warm in bed.
Regarding firmness, OTTY reckon their hybrid mattress is 7/10 with 1 being soft and 10 being firm. I’d say that makes it a medium/firm mattress.
Is OTTY a good brand for an emperor mattress?
OTTY as a brand has a lot going for it, with an impressive score on TrustPilot of 4.3/5. That makes it one of the highest rated mattress brands we could find. The company was named as ‘Small Online Bed Retailer of the Year’ at the bed industry’s main awards in 2018. The mattress scores 4/5 on Amazon, although it is cheaper to buy direct from OTTY at the time of writing.
You get a 100 night trial period, which means you can send it back if you don’t like it. Such things are becoming quite common in the mattress market, but it’s unusual for an emperor sized mattress.
It comes with a 10 year guarantee.
3. Vispring Chiswick Pocket Spring Emperor Mattress (200cm x 200cm or 215cm x 215cm) – medium or firm tension – £2399/£2899
Let’s have a respectful round of applause for Vispring, which invented the pocket sprung mattress more than a century ago. They’ve remained one of the poshest and most respected brands in the mattress market with some models costing more than my car (check out the £10,000+ options at John Lewis & Partners).
They’ve won best mattress brand from Which? several times and are so confident in their own quality that this mattress comes with a 30 year guarantee.
The Vispring Chiswick is one of their cheapest emperor mattresses but it’s still got several signs of quality including something called ‘hand side stitching’ which stops the sides being too squishy, and a decent spring count.
What’s the spring count on this emperor mattress?
It’s classed as a 1200 pocket spring mattress, which is within what most mattress experts consider the normal range for a good quality mattress (1000-2000 springs is the usual range, but you only really need 2000 springs if you are very heavy).
Just to add further confusion, the 1200 number refers to how many springs you get on a king size mattress so there are actually more like 1600 springs on the emperor version (are you keeping up?).
You should turn this one over ‘with the seasons’. As before, bear in mind that this is a heavy mattress which weighs 75 kilos in super king (more than 12 stone) and 78 kilos in emperor. Please don’t put your back out whilst trying to turn it over…
This model doesn’t come with a divan base. If you want an emperor Vispring mattress with an emperor sized divan base included, there’s a good choice at And So To Bed which range from about £4000 to (take a deep breath) £92,000.
4. Tempur Pro Smartcool Emperor Mattress (200cm x 200cm) – soft, medium, medium-firm or firm tension – £3099
This emperor mattress from Tempur is a completely different type of mattress to the others in this guide. It uses a type of memory foam, which is the most popular alternative to a traditional pocket spring mattress. The emperor size is listed as a ‘special size’ on the Tempur website.
Tempur is the poshest memory foam brand around, as you’ll have gathered from the price. It is also the original memory foam brand, which took technology used by astronauts and developed it into something that makes great mattresses.
The idea with memory foam is that you get a more consistent support and that you get a hugging feeling, that fits around the contours of your body. You might not feel that your body has many contours, but it sounds good at least (see the pros and cons of memory foam).
For a long time, memory foam had a reputation for keeping you warmer in bed than natural materials such as wool or cotton. However, memory foam manufacturers each have their own techniques to overcome this so I’d say it’s less of an issue than it used to be.
Tempur are keen to point out that their version of memory foam is unique. They say that ‘Fewer than 10 people in the world know how to make it, and they all work for us.’
Choosing the right Tempur Pro Smartcool mattress
One of Tempur’s biggest selling points is that they give you plenty of customisation options.
The first option is to add extra depth to the mattress. The standard model is 21cm deep, which is adequate in my opinion, particularly if you are average weight or below average weight. However, you can upgrade to a slightly deeper version (Tempur Pro Plus Smartcool) or a much deeper version (Tempur Pro Luxe Smartcool). Needless to say, this upgrade bumps up the price!
The second option is which of their four firmness levels you want. Giving four options is a real plus point and increases the chance of getting a mattress that is just right for you.
As mentioned elsewhere, you need to find a firmness level that matches your sleeping position and your weight/build. It’s hard to give definitive advice, as every mattress brand uses its own measure of firmness but here’s a rough rule of thumb that I’ve used a few times:
- a softer mattress is usually best for side sleepers who are below average weight
- a medium mattress is usually best for average weight people who sleep on their side
- medium firm mattresses tend to be best for either average weight people who sleep on their backs, or above average weight people who sleep on their sides
- firm mattresses are best for front/back sleepers who are above average weight
The other good thing about Tempur is that you get a trial period if you buy direct from them. If it’s not right, they will help you find an alternative or give you a refund (see the full terms and conditions).
Read the full Tempur guide to find out how the trial period varies if you buy from Dreams or John Lewis.
5. Harrison Spinks Thornton British Wool Mattress (200CM x 200CM) – medium or firm – £2099
Harrison Spinks is a posh mattress company that makes mattresses under their own name and also for the John Lewis & Partners Natural Collection.
This emperor sized mattress certainly isn’t one for our cheap mattress guide but you do get plenty of customisation options and a good specification for your money.
As you’d expect for this price, it has a high pocket spring count, which means it will offer plenty of support. There are 5000 pocket springs in total, although that’s more than you can fit onto one layer on a mattress so there will be more than one row of springs.
It uses natural materials and has other signs of quality, such as hand side stitching which is a manufacturing technique which stops a mattress collapsing like a custard slice when you sit on the edge.
Unusually, you can pick how firm you want this mattress when you order it, ranging from ‘gentle’ (presumably a synonym for soft) through to very firm. The general rule is that heavier people need a firmer mattress than lighter people.
Harrisons Spinks average score on TrustPilot is 3.8/5.
Best places to buy bedsteads, bed frames and divan bases for an emperor mattress
Some online mattress retailers sell emperor sized mattresses with a divan base included (e.g. And So To Bed sell Vispring emporer divan sets). However, if you just want a bedstead (also called a bed frame) or a divan base then your options include:
Luxury retailer And So To Bed sells a number of bedframes in emperor (200x200cm) and ‘large emperor’ (215x215cm) including wooden bedsteads, metal bedsteads and upholstered bedsteads ranging from about £1500 to £7000+ (gulp).
Wayfair is one of the cheaper options we’ve found for emperor bedframes with prices around £700 when we checked. They have metal, wooden and upholstered options and tend to be reasonably priced.
Feather & Black has a choice of several emperor sized upholstered bed frames in dozens of colours from about £1400 to £2700. They have cool names like Juliette, Arlo and Cameron.
Alternatively, you might go for a mattress which comes with a base. The obvious advantages are that you only have one delivery to deal with and you can be confident the mattress and base will actually be the same size.
Frequently asked questions about emperor mattresses and bed sizes
What is an emperor size bed?
The most common sizes for emperor size beds are 215cm x 215cm (approximately 7 foot x 7 foot) or 200cm x 200cm (approximately 6 foot 5 inches). There is some variation in what a mattress company means when they say ’emperor’ and in some cases they offer a ‘large emperor’ and a standard ’emperor’ mattress.
Is an emperor bed the biggest bed you can buy?
Yes, the biggest bed you can buy is an emperor bed which is even bigger than a super king size. A typical UK super king size mattress is 180cm wide and 200cm from top to bottom. Most emperor beds are 215cm x 215cm (approximately 7 foot x 7 foot) although some 200cm x 200cm mattresses and beds are also referred to as emperor beds.