Nectar (2022-2024) Mattress Review

Michael Magnuson

Founder of GoodBed, Leading Mattress Expert

Summary: Is Nectar a Good Mattress?

The Nectar mattress originally debuted back in 2016, and has seen three major revisions over time. One caution--you will see the Nectar mattress in a lot of online reviews, but many of them will be for an old version. How to tell? Check the side panels on the cover. If they are light gray, you're looking at an old version. The current model has dark gray side panels with blue trim at the edges.

The Nectar mattress is a 12” all-foam mattress featuring a memory foam comfort layer on top of two layers of standard foam.

In our testing, we found the Nectar mattress to have a Medium level of softness, with very good overall pressure relief for side sleepers of average weight and lower. Overall, in terms of spinal alignment and support, we felt the Nectar mattress would be a good choice for most side and back sleepers, but better for those on the lighter end of the weight scale (less than about 225 pounds) than the higher end.

Like a lot (if not most) all-foam mattresses, we did not think it would be the best choice for stomach sleepers, except perhaps the very lightest.

The Nectar bed has excellent motion isolation, making it a good mattress choice for couples who don’t want to feel their partner’s every movement. It also worked very well on our adjustable base--better than the previous version--making it a good choice for those who want to use an adjustable base with their mattress.

Among our concerns: While our 200-pound tester felt well supported by the Nectar mattress, with good spinal alignment, heavier individuals (e.g., 250 lb.+) might get better pressure relief and spinal alignment other mattress options.  And while we were not as impressed with the company’s much-touted warranty (which includes a deeper-than-standard requirement for body impressions), their generous return policy does help mitigate the risk of ordering this mattress online.

Read on for our detailed report, and be sure to check out the video to see this mattress in action as we put it through our tests. Nectar is mainly sold online, but are also available in a number of stores. Nectar has a store locator to find one near you.

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

BEST if you:

• Are a side or back sleeper
• Are easily disturbed by a partner's movements in bed
• Like to feel a bit hugged or cradled by your mattress
• Want to use an adjustable base

NOT IDEAL if you:

• Prefer a slow, melting into the bed feeling
• Like a bouncy mattress
• Like to sit or sleep on the edge
• Are on the heavier side (225+ lbs.), particularly if you sleep on your stomach

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 mattress as a Medium mattress, right in the middle in terms of softness. Note that the second generation version of this mattress, sold between about 2018 and 2021, was firmer; we rated it as a Medium Firm on our scale. So this version is a bit softer.

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 gel memory foam that's used for the top layer on the Nectar mattress is quick responding, meaning it doesn't have a lot 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 mattress offered very good support, especially for back and side sleepers, and particular those on the lighter side. 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 as good for them.  That said, the Nectar bed does have firmer support layers underneath to prevent most people from sinking too far.

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 mattress:

Back Sleepers:

Our 200-pound tester felt his hips sinking a tiny bit more than with other mattresses, but still well-supported overall.  Likewise, we believe that back sleepers lighter than him should also be well-supported in this position.  While do have some concern that back sleepers significantly heavier than him might find their hips sinking too much, potentially creating a hammocking effect, which could lead to back pain.

Side Sleepers:

Spinal alignment for our tester in the side position was 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 mattress would provide good spinal alignment for most side sleepers with the possible exception of those on the very heavy end.

Stomach Sleepers:

In general, mattresses with three inches of very soft memory foam don't tend 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 fine on this mattress, as would occasional stomach sleepers.

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.

Overall, we found the pressure relief offered by the Nectar mattress to be good for those on the average and lighter end of the scale. We had concerns for heavier and/or curvier side sleepers, who might fully compress the top 3" of foam and hit the much firmer foam below, which can't offer as much conformance and pressure relief.

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 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 Nectar 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 bed does have a couple of features that help manage heat. First, it uses gel in its foam, which helps channel heat away from the body. And the mattress's cover now includes high-density polyethylene fibers, which give the cover a little coolness to the touch.

Neither of these features are going to keep you cool if you have a known issue of sleeping hot, however.

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 mattress. 

When laying on the edge of the mattress, he felt himself leaning off, a sensation which increased as his body warmed the memory foam layer. He didn't feel like he was in danger of falling off, but it wasn't the most comfortable sensation.

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 bed to be on par with other memory foam mattresses in this regard, and even a bit better than some. 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, 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 verifies that a material has low VOC off-gassing as well as a lack of chemicals and other substances regulated by the CPSC.

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

Adjustable Base Compatibility ( what’s this )

If you plan to use your mattress atop an adjustable base, the Nectar is a very good choice. This is perhaps the biggest area of improvement between the last version of the mattress and this current version.

In testing the last version (sold between roughly 2018 and 2021), the foot of the bed didn't conform well to our adjustable base, and when our tester got out of the bed, it popped right up -- this mattress did not want to stay bent.

However, this current version performed much better, conforming very well to our adjustable base. We noticed no annoying or uncomfortable bunching of the quilt.

We think this current Nectar mattress would be an excellent choice for use on an an adjustable base.

Materials & Construction

What's in a Nectar Mattress?

Overall, we classify the Nectar mattress as a "Memory Foam over Foam" construction type. The Nectar mattress is a 12″ thick all-foam mattress comprised of 3 layers (listed below from top to bottom):

• 3" gel memory foam (2.1 lb. density)
• 2" polyurethane foam transition layer (1.5 lb. density)
• 7" polyurethane foam support foam core (1.8 lb. density)

The layers of the Nectar mattress are characterized by a sharp dichotomy between the very soft top layer and the much firmer bottom two layers.  The top layer is 3 inches of gel memory foam that is very soft. While memory foam, it is a fairly quick responding foam, so it doesn't have a lot of that 'melting into the bed' feel. This layer reportedly contains gel, although it lacks the familiar blue coloring commonly seen with gel foams. 

Below that is a 2” transition layer that is a much firmer foam than the top layer. The bottom layer is a very firm 7-inch foam support core. Again, this differs very slightly from the Nectar model available online, which has 2" of gel memory foam and 3" of transition foam.

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 Mattress Cost?

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 is a 12-inch mattress with memory foam over foam construction, including 3 inches of premium comfort material (memory foam). Topping the mattress is a stretchy cover that includes high-density fibers to give it a slight coolness to the touch.

How Long Will the Nectar 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, the foam densities are lower than some of the other online mattresses we've reviewed (especially in the top two layers).  So based on that, we perhaps would not expect this to last quite as long as those.  That said, it also has a lower price than those other options (see our overall assessment of value below).

Overall Value

On balance, we feel that Nectar offers a solid product at a lower price point, part of which is due to the fact that they make this mattress in China and other countries. Looking at what you're getting for the money, we believe it compares favorably to not only what you'd be likely to find in a local store, and generally in line with its online peers. Overall, we'd say it's a pretty good value assuming it meets your other needs.

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.

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.

If you see a review of the Nectar mattress that touts the warranty as a reason to buy it without explaining the indentation coverage, you will know that the reviewer is either not an expert or is simply trying to sell you that mattress (or very likely, both). See: full Nectar warranty

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 another $45 per item (we assume they would charge $45 for a mattress plus another $45 for an old box spring).

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. Read more about the Nectar 365-day trial on the company website.