Nectar Premier Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Is Nectar Premier Good Mattress?

The Premier is Nectar's second mattress model, the first being the original Nectar mattress that debuted in 2016. Like the original model, the Premier is an all-foam mattress with a top layer of memory foam. The Premier adds a couple of features intended to prevent sleeping hot. The top of the memory foam layer includes phase-change material, tiny wax-like beads that stay cool until your body warms them. The mattress cover also includes a cooling feature, polyethylene (plastic) fibers that give the cover a coolness to the touch. The Original also features these fibers, but the Premier has twice as many of them.

Despite the inclusion of these cooling features, we think that memory foam mattresses like the Nectar Premier are not generally the best choice for those who have a tendency to overheat or sleep hot on mattresses. Because you sink into this mattress a bit more deeply due to the soft foams, that leaves less of your body exposed to air. And since this bed is made entirely of foam, there isn't much air flow compared to a different type of bed that might have springs or pocket springs. So while we think the cooling features of the Premier might help you feel a bit cooler as you fall asleep, an all-foam mattress just isn't a great choice if you have a known issue of overheating.

That said, in our performance testing, we found the Nectar mattress to have a Medium Soft comfort level, and the bed has a little of that slow-responding “memory feel" that many enjoy. It also has excellent motion isolation, making it a good mattress choice for couples who don’t want to feel their partner’s every movement.

We found the mattress to offer very good spinal alignment and pressure relief for most back and side sleepers, so could be a good choice if you tend to change positions through the night. We would not, however, recommend the Premier for those who sleep primarily on their stomachs; the softness of the foams can allow the hips to sink in too far, creating some arching in the back which could lead to back pain. We found pressure relief to be good, and rated it as better than we did the original Nectar mattress.

Edge support, however, was okay but not the best, and we had some small conformance issues when we tried the mattress on our adjustable base. But overall, if you want a little bit of that slow-melting memory feel but not too much, and prefer a softer, more conforming mattress, read on to see if the Premier satisfies your other needs and preferences.

Nectar mattresses are sold mainly online, but they are also available in a number of retail shops. See Nectar's store locator to find one near you.

GoodBed's Take – Who is the Best Match for a Nectar Premier Mattress?

BEST if you:

• Are a back or side sleeper
• Are easily disturbed by a partner's movements in bed
• Prefer a softer mattress
• Need good pressure relief

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Are a stomach sleeper, especially if heavier
• Like a bouncy mattress
• Tend to sleep right on the edge of your mattress
• Have a known issue of sleeping hot

Comfort and Feel

The “feel” characteristics of a mattress cannot be universally better or worse. They can only be more or less desirable to you, based on your personal preferences. For this reason, we call these “preference-based” attributes. Our ratings here are based on objective measurements that we apply to a consistent scale for products from all brands.

Softness ( what’s this )

We class the Nectar Premier mattress as a Medium Soft mattress on our scale. The top layer of memory foam especially has a very soft and pliant feel.

Not sure what softness is best for you? Take our Mattress Match Quiz and find out.

Cushioning Depth ( what’s this )

Especially compared to non-memory foam mattresses, you get more of a “sink in” feeling. Compared to other memory foam mattresses, you feel “hugged” but it isn’t super deep. The softness of that top layer of foam does compress very easily though, which allows you to sink into the bed pretty well. Overall we would call it slightly deeper than average.

Memory Feel ( what’s this )

Memory feel, which we also call 'responsiveness' is characterized by a 'melting' sensation as you lay on the mattress. When you get out of the bed, memory foam mattresses with a lot of 'memory feel' take several seconds to return to shape. Some people enjoy the 'melting' feel, while others don't.

The memory foam that's used for the top layer on the Nectar Premier mattress is quick responding, meaning it doesn't have a ton of that memory feel. Rather, it compresses and recovers fairly quickly. So while you do notice a little of that slow sinking sensation, it's not nearly as much as some other memory foams.

Bounce

Back Support

The key to good back support is for the mattress to support your spine in a “neutral” position while you sleep, meaning that the shape of your spine is roughly the same as when you're standing. The ability of any given mattress to do this will vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight, body shape, and preferred sleep position(s).

Overall, we thought the Nectar Premier mattress offered very good support, especially for back and side sleepers. Because the top memory foam layer is very soft, stomach sleepers and heavier individuals (225 lb.+) may find that the spinal alignment and/or pressure relief are not quite as good for them. 

Spinal Alignment

The key to good back support is maintaining proper spinal alignment while you sleep. This means that the mattress should hold your spine in roughly the same position it's in when you're standing. The ability of a given mattress to do this will generally depend on your weight, sleep position, and body shape.

Here is how we break down the spinal alignment of the Nectar Premier mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our 200-pound tester felt his hips sinking in just the right amount to create a neutral spinal position and he felt well-supported.  Likewise, we believe that most back sleepers would also feel supported. The softer upper layers of foam reach up into the lumbar area, while the support foam keeps hips from sinking too much.

Side Sleepers:

Spinal alignment for our tester in the side position was also very good.  The conforming memory foam allowed his shoulders to get deep enough into the mattress to allow the top of his spine to remain level.  Overall, we believe the Nectar Premier mattress would provide good spinal alignment for most side sleepers.

Stomach Sleepers:

In general, mattresses with 3" inches of very soft memory foam aren't going to be a great fit for stomach sleepers. That’s because in this position the top priority for spinal alignment is to avoid the over-arching of your back (which can lead to back pain) by preventing your hips from sinking too far into the mattress.  For that reason, we gave the Nectar mattress a lower rating for stomach sleepers.  That said, we do think that lighter stomach sleepers (e.g., 150 lbs. or less) would probably be okay on this mattress.

Pressure Relief

Inadequate pressure relief from your mattress results in “pressure points,” which can be a source of pain, soreness, loss of circulation, restlessness, and other problems. Pressure relief requirements will vary be sleeper, with side sleepers needing the most. Likewise, the amount of pressure relief that a given mattress provides will also vary by sleeper, depending on its “fit” for your weight and body shape.

Performance Features

With the “features” of a mattress, performance will tend to be consistent across all sleepers – without regards to your body type or preferences. However, these attributes have differing levels of importance to each sleeper, which is why we consider them “priority-based” characteristics.

Motion Isolation ( what’s this )

With a bowling pin standing upright on the Nectar Premier bed, we tested motion isolation by dropping a 16-lb. bowling ball on it, as well as the whole weight of our 200-lb. tester. In both drop tests, the bowling pin barely moved and never toppled over, which means that motion disturbances on one side of the mattress barely registered on the other side of the mattress. That means the Premier bed is ideal for couples who don’t want to feel their partners movements (or don’t want to feel their dog jumping onto the bed).

Temperature ( what’s this )

Memory foam mattresses have a reputation for feeling hot, and if you know you are a “hot sleeper” then memory foam may not be the best choice in general. The Nectar Premier bed does have a couple of features that help manage heat. First, it has phase-change material in the top layer of foam, which helps it feel a little cooler to the touch. The cover of the mattress includes high-density polyethylene (plastic) fibers, which help it feel cooler to the touch as well. Remember you'll be adding a mattress protector and sheets on top of both of these cooling features, which will negate their effect.

Overall, if sleeping hot is a concern for you, then a memory foam mattress is not the best type of bed for you generally. For those who have not experienced any issues with overheating, we don't think it will be an issue on the Premier.

Edge Support ( what’s this )

Memory foam mattresses aren’t typically very supportive along the very edge of the mattress—important if you like to sit on the edge of the bed, or if you tend to sleep along the edge. As expected, our tester did experience a substantial amount of dip when sitting on the edge of the Premier mattress.  However, the compression was mostly in the top memory foam layer, with the bottom two layers of firmer foam providing support and stability.

When laying right on the edge, he felt himself starting to lean a little bit off the side of the bed, but not so much that he felt he'd roll out. If edge support is a priority for you, other mattresses have tested better in this respect. The Nectar Premier was not the best, but also not the worst.

Ease of Repositioning ( what’s this )

Certain people with mobility issues may have trouble repositioning in general -- for people in this camp, a memory foam mattress like this one may make things a bit more difficult. Our tester found the ease of moving / rolling around on the Nectar Premier bed to be fairly easy. But for those with mobility issues, memory foam in general may not be the best choice.

Green Features ( what’s this )

For mattress shoppers concerned with the use of natural materials, sustainable manufacturing practices or the like, we offer our subjective evaluation of any efforts taken by the company to make the mattress more green, healthy, or safe.  These types of things can be of particular concern for a mattress that is made in China.

In the case of the Nectar Premier, the company makes no claims about the use of natural materials in the mattress. However all of the foams used are certified to the CertiPUR-US standard, which ensures that the foam has minimal presence of harmful chemicals.

When the Nectar Premier mattress was first unboxed, we did detect a chemical aroma that seems a bit more than average compared to other mattresses. The smell did dissipate over a few days.

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

If you plan to use your mattress atop an adjustable base, the Nectar Premier is a good choice, but maybe not the very best. This mattress is made to bend so using it on an adjustable base shouldn’t put undue strain on it.

In our testing, the foot of the bed didn't conform well to our adjustable base, and when our tester got out of the bed, it didn't remain entirely hugged into the base. We would expect both of these conformance issues to improve as the mattress breaks in and adapts to the adjustable base. We did not notice any bothersome bunching of the cover or any other issues.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Nectar Premier Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Nectar Premier mattress as a "Memory Foam over Foam" construction type. The Nectar Premier mattress is a 13″ thick all-foam mattress comprised of 3 layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 3" memory foam (3lb density) with phase change material
• 3" poly foam transition layer (1.5lb density)
• 7" polyurethane foam support foam core (1.8lb density)

Durability, Warranty & Value

The “value” of any mattress is both subjective and personal – reflecting how well it meets that person’s unique sleep needs and preferences, relative to their budget. As a result, our ratings in this area are focused on more objective factors like quality and longevity.

How Much Does a Nectar Premier Mattress Cost?

Prices shown are list prices. Remember that GoodBed keeps our site current with the best available discounts on online mattresses, many of which are exclusive discounts for our readers.

What Are You Getting?

The Nectar Premier is a 13-inch mattress with memory foam over foam construction, including 3 inches of premium comfort material (memory foam) infused with phase change material. The zip-off cover also has a cooling feature -- tiny polyethylene fibers that in our testing did give it a noticeable coolness to the touch.

How Long Will the Nectar Premier Mattress Last?

When it comes to estimating the comfort lifespan of a mattress, we tend to use foam density as our best, albeit imperfect, predictor of how long a foam will retain its shape and resiliency.  In the case of the Nectar Premier, our main concern would be the top memory foam, which has a 3.5-lb. density--on the low side for premium memory foam. But the other foams are of a more standard and average density, and we would not have major concerns about them.

Overall Value

The Nectar Premier is a Chinese-made foam mattress whose price is higher than some other online all-foam mattresses of similar quality, and with similar features intended to enhance cooling. But its price is competitive to what you might find in a mattress store.

Warranty

• Warranty Length: Lifetime
• Indentation Coverage: 1.5" and above

While Nectar’s lifetime warranty certainly appears generous, it’s important to understand how warranty claims work. One of the biggest, if not THE biggest complaints about any mattress from consumers regards body impressions—the inability of a mattress to spring back, eventually creating a low spot/sinkhole in the mattress. As such, mattress warranties all contain a term defining how big a sag or ‘body impression’ (measured when no one is on the mattress) is considered a defect, and thus covered under the warranty. The industry standard for foam mattresses is ¾”, while it’s typically 1” for other mattress types. Nectar has chosen to cover only indentations that meet or exceed 1.5”. Practically speaking, that means any softening or sagging would need to be very deep and noticeable before the warranty would offer you protection. See: Nectar warranty.

While we applaud Nectar for offering a lifetime warranty, given the choice we would generally prefer a 10-year warranty with a ¾” dip requirement over a lifetime warranty with a 1.5” requirement. Also note that beyond 10 years, you'll be responsible for a $50 shipping charge each way, which will be refunded if your warranty claim is deemed valid.

Other Factors to Consider

Delivery

• Free delivery to door
• White glove service available for $149

Nectar’s white-glove delivery is a full-service delivery to your bedroom, including unboxing, set-up, and packaging removal. If you’d like, it also includes removal of your old mattress for an additional $49.

Returns

• 365-day trial period
• Full refund, including free pickup within trial period

Nectar offers an outstanding return policy that includes a full-year trial period.  Should you return the mattress, the company will not only issue a full refund, but will even come pick it up from you.  That combo is well beyond the standard of other online mattress companies, and should provide a lot of additional confidence in giving this mattress a try.