One of the major trends in mattress design right now is an increasing enthusiasm for lots of layers. Prime examples are the Simba Hybrid Luxe and the Brook + Wilde Ultima, both of which have 10 tiers. But that second brand has just launched a new mattress that makes those models look positively streamlined. The all-new Brook + Wilde Perla has 14 layers, designed to deliver "outrageous new levels of opulent comfort".
Brook + Wilde's thing is luxurious, high-end mattresses, with the option to pick your firmness level: soft, medium or firm. I've been lucky enough to test out a couple of its mattresses, and I'm a fan – head to my Brook + Wilde Elite mattress review and Brook + Wilde Ultima review to read about my experiences. Despite being a less well known brand, I rate them amongst the best mattresses around.
Of course, 'luxurious' typically equals 'expensive', and at list price, these are some of the priciest mattresses around. At £3,400 for the Perla (Double size), this is the money-no-object option for people who want the best of the best. Listen, you could easily drop that amount on a new TV, and you'd (hopefully) spend less time watching that than you would sleeping on this multi-tiered marvel. More good news too: you can pop the code T352 in at the checkout to take the price right down to less than half price (52% off). This Brook + Wilde discount code is also valid across the rest of the range.
Let's have a look at those layers. There are some familiar faces there, alongside some more unorthodox additions, but I've taken the liberty of translating what I think each of them actually is.
Layer 1: Silk-infused cover. Suitably fancy for a mattress of this standing.
Layer 2: Second cover. A cover for the cover, if you will. One or both of these are removable, for washing.
Layer 3: Cashmere-rich wool. Self-explanatory, if a bit surprising – most brands hop straight into foams for this tier. I approve, because foams can trap body heat a bit, and wool seems likely to be more breathable.
Layer 4: More wool, but this time as part of a fun fleecy cocktail that includes cashmere, alpaca, bamboo and 'new wool'.
Layer 5: Even more wool, but – curve ball – this time it's 'Airstream memory wool'. I've never heard of this before, and the Brook + Wilde site doesn't care to illuminate past the following: "This is a high-density fibre layer". Exiting name though.
Layer 6: Back into familiar territory with our first layer of pocket springs. Excellent; we like a mattress with some bounce.
Layer 7: Back to that 'airstream memory wool'. I'm still none the wiser. The 'memory' seems to imply similar behaviour to memory foam, but I can't see how wool could achieve that. I've emailed Brook + Wilde to clarify.
Layer 8: 'Wave Technology 2.0'. This is a kind of foam, and it's zoned to support your lumbar, which is important if you want to avoid getting a sore back.
Layer 9: "An encapsulated layer". Brook + Wilde is getting very mysterious here. I'm going to take a stab and say perhaps another foam? It's there for structure and sturdiness, anyway, which probably makes sense with all those layers. I'm imagining it like the extra cake board you'd add in an extravagant multi-tier wedding cake.
Layer 10: More springs. This time, micro-sized (2cm).
Layer 11: Even more springs! Also micro, but less micro than the original micro spring layer (5cm).
Layer 12: Springs again. Back to the smaller micro size.
Layer 13: Extra high-density Ecotex support foam. Essentially, a sturdy base for all those springs.
Layer 14: Non-slip base. Possibly unnecessary, because I don't imagine this mattress is going anywhere underneath the weight of all those layers.
You also, of course, get to pick your firmness preference (for the record, you should always go for Firm, which is solid enough to keep your back happy without feeling like you're lying on a slab of concrete).
My slight misgiving with multi-layer mattresses is not so much with the layers themselves. So long as the bed is comfortable, I don't really care how they get there – and Brook + Wilde's mattresses are really, really comfortable. No, my issue is with the resulting bulk. This one's 32cm thick. The tallest mattress I had previously come across was around 28cm, and I think we're venturing a little too far into princess / pea territory here.
With that bulk also comes a weight increase. I currently sleep on a Brook + Wilde Ultima, and recently had to move it into a different room. That mattress has 3,500 springs, which when you think about it, is really quite a lot of metal. It weighs, to put it politely, an absolute ton. None of the Brook + Wilde mattresses require flipping or turning, thank goodness.
Chunkiness aside, that Ultima is perhaps the comfiest mattress I've slept on. It gets the balance of support to comfort just right, and it doesn't get hot either. I haven't had a chance to try out the Perla, but I have high hopes for it based on the brand's track record. Assuming you aren't going to need to move it around a lot, it might just be worth it.
