Simba mattress topper review: a game-changer for uni students and renters
ONE of the downsides of living in a furnished flat is that landlords often skimp on supplying a quality mattress, resulting in back pain and restless nights.
We’ve done a Simba Hybrid Mattress Topper review to see if it can give respite to renters and satisfaction to students.
Toppers are a great solution for people in short-term accommodation, as it often isn’t practical for them to buy a mattress; storing the one that came with your flat can be difficult, quality mattresses aren’t cheap, and transporting them when you move can be inconvenient.
- Simba Hybrid Mattress Topper, from £148.85 (saving 35%) -
Simba calls the Hybrid topper its “spare room saviour”, promising that it will coax extra comfort out of tired mattresses. I tried it out over a six-month period to see if it’s the golden ticket to getting a restful night’s sleep without breaking the bank.
Overall rating: 4.5/5
Pros
- Brings comfort to previously uncomfortable rented mattresses
- Improves sleep immediately
- Easy to move
- Cheaper and more practical than buying a mattress of a similar quality
Cons
- Has made any other mattress I sleep on uncomfortable by comparison
- Might require you to buy deep-fitted sheets
- There are certainly cheaper mattress toppers out there
- No trial period
Simba mattress topper review: quick summary
Anyone who has lived in rented accommodation will be familiar with the corners that some landlords cut in order to scrimp on costs. An expense that many try to minimise is purchasing mattresses, meaning tenants are often forced to sleep on uncomfortable surfaces.
Personally, I’m one of the luckier ones — my mattress was new when I moved in, meaning that I haven’t had as lumpy of an experience as some other renters I know.
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However, it's not the comfiest in the world and as someone who struggles getting to sleep, I wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to review a mattress topper from Simba, whose wares have never failed to impress us (check out our Simba Hybrid Pro review, Simba Hybrid Mattress review or Simba Hybrid Luxe review if you want proof).
Mattress toppers allow you to tailor your rented mattress to your specific needs without having to fork out for (then store) a whole mattress. Run hot during the night? Get a cooling mattress topper. Have a bad back? Opt for something orthopaedic. Buying for a child prone to nighttime whoopsies? There are plenty of waterproof options available. You get the gist.
- Simba Hybrid Mattress Topper, £226.85 for a double (saving £122) -
As a (somewhat) healthy, (sort of) limber 24-year-old, back support and waterproofing aren’t top of my priority list. Instead, I want something that adds comfort to the surface of my bed while regulating my temperature, as I’ve been known to run hot.
In short, the Simba topper has nailed it. It’s actually made my bed so comfortable that, when I sleep on any other mattress, my back hurts the day after. Since I’ve started using it, I sleep for longer, and the quality of my sleep has improved, too: I don’t wake up in the middle of the night roasting hot, which was a fairly frequent occurrence before. Put it simply, it's an absolute game-changer for sleep.
There’s no denying that paying £349 for a double is a significant outlay, but I’d encourage anyone who has the money at their disposal to invest in their sleep. And to sweeten the deal, Simba regularly runs sales periods meaning you can get it at a hefty discount.
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Simba mattress topper review: full review
First impressions and unboxing
Let’s be honest: the very first thing you note about the Simba Hybrid mattress topper is its price.
A double retails for a wincing £349, which (particularly if you’re a student) potentially makes it more expensive than the mattress it will top — I’m almost certain that’s the case with mine, at least.
Spending that cash is made even more difficult by the fact that Simba doesn’t offer a trial period on its topper as it does with its mattresses. It does come with a one-year guarantee, but that doesn’t cover the possibility of you simply not liking it.
However, if and when you overcome the price tag and buy it, you’ll be rewarded with a rather large package in very prompt fashion: my order arrived just two days after I received confirmation, despite the size.
If you’re familiar with newfangled “bed in a box” brands such as Simba, then the process of unboxing will be fairly familiar to you. The topper comes neatly rolled up and bound in plastic, and simply needs to be decanted from its packaging and placed on your bed to inflate a bit.
It is heavy, though, so you might want to employ an assistant (I had to sit and deep breathe for an embarrassingly long time after installation).
I was immediately impressed by how well it stayed on the mattress; heavy-duty straps to attach it to the bed, and there's an anti-slip base to prevent movement. It simply feels like an extension of the mattress.
Comfort
Upon climbing into bed, you almost certainly will notice the ceiling is a lot closer than you’re accustomed to; the Simba topper is a big boy. My smaller sheets struggled to envelop it, meaning I had to turn to deep-fitted ones (meaning further expense).
One of the reasons that this mattress topper is so thick is its Hybrid nature. That means it contains both memory foam and springs, meaning that it’s supportive and cooling. The foam itself is certified by CertiPUR, meaning that it has been verified by experts as both sustainable and safe.
The springs, meanwhile, are patented by Simba; they have a conical shape, meaning they can pivot and fit around your body — if you can remember slinkies, you’re halfway to visualising it.
I’ve seen reviews of this topper which say that it cured back pain, but to be honest, I’ve had a different experience; if I sleep on any mattress other than my own, I wake up with noticeably more pain than before I got the topper.
What I mean by this is that the Simba Topper has ruined all other mattresses for me. That is how comfortable it is. I used to be unfussy about mattresses; after spending the best part of a decade on rented models, I’d adapted to the point that I very rarely complained about the surface on which I slept.
Now, though, I’ve had a taste of the good life, and I fear I can’t go back. My mattress is now at a perfect medium-firmness, and while no mattress is going to be an antidote to a heatwave, I definitely sleep cooler than I did before.
- Shop the Simba Hybrid Mattress Topper
How much is the Simba mattress topper?
The Simba mattress topper is fairly pricey, it has to be said. Prices are:
- Single: £229
- Small Double: £349
- Double: £349
- King: £399
- Super King: £499
There’s no getting away from the fact that for those prices, you could buy an actual mattress if you go to the right place.
However, for renters and students, buying a mattress doesn’t make practical sense, as you’d either have to store your old mattress and pop it back on the bed when you move — which for many is an impossibility due to storage restrictions — or dispose of your old mattress and leave it on the bed when you leave, which I imagine most would be reluctant to do.
Therefore, I’d argue your cash is better spent buying a quality mattress topper than it is buying a budget mattress. (If you are on the lookout for a bargain, check out our roundup of the best mattress deals).
Also, it’s worth bearing in mind that Simba runs regular sales, which often include the Hybrid Mattress Topper — we’ve seen the price of a double as low as £191 around Black Friday. However, Simba has recently upped the price of the Topper, meaning it’s unlikely to be found for such a good price again.
Simba mattress topper review: the verdict
Deciding to buying the Simba topper is difficult. Even with one of Simba’s regular discounts, it comes in at well above £200 for a double, and the fact that there’s no trial period means that once you’re committed, you’re committed.
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However, put simply, no product (apart from wine, perhaps) has had such a massive impact on my sleep. I’m cooler and comfier, and the knowledge that I can roll the topper up, chuck it in the boot of a car and put it on the mattress in my next furnished flat means that I’m not worried about how well I’ll sleep in the future — which is more than a lot of renters and students can say, and, in my opinion, enough to justify the cost.
- Save 35% on the Simba Mattress Topper