Eve Premium mattress review: Premium quality with a price to match

UPDATE: Since we initially reviewed the Eve Premium, the brand has relaunched its entire mattress range. The new ‘Wunderflip’ range still offers a choice of memory foam and hybrid mattresses, this time with higher spring counts alongside a new feature that allows sleepers to choose between two comfort levels by flipping the mattress.

We’re hoping to review the new Wunderflip mattresses soon, so watch this space. Until then, our original review of the Eve Premium continues below.

While some bed-in-a-box manufacturers pride themselves in making only one model, others make mattresses from a range of materials and for a range of budgets: from affordable foam options to sumptuous luxury mattresses with many different layers. Eve is one such brand and its Premium mattress follows the Original, Hybrid and Light to become the fourth model in its ever-growing range.

Like the aforementioned mattresses, the Eve Premium comes with a 100-night trial, so you can return it for a full refund at any time during that period if you don’t get on with it. And, like its stablemates, the company claims it’s perfectly suited to all “sleepers”. So what exactly do you get for spending almost 50% more than the Original model in king size?

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Eve Premium mattress review: What you need to know

While the Eve Original is made from three layers of foam, the Premium has a four-layer construction. The top layer is the company’s new soft “floatfoam”, which it claims helps with pressure relief. Below this, there’s a memory foam layer that also contributes to offloading pressure. Both deliver “active cooling”, which is Eve’s way of telling you they contain graphite to help regulate your body temperature.

Next is a support layer made from firm foam that Eve says keeps your spine in alignment. However, making up most of the mattress’ depth is the final base layer. This is also very firm foam to ensure adequate support, but it has “zones” cut into it to help take unwanted pressure off your shoulders and hips.

The mattress’ top quilted cover is the last aspect of its structure worth mentioning because it has silver strands woven into it. That might sound like a curious choice of material, but the metal is naturally antibacterial and supposedly helps keep the sleep surface as clean and hygienic as possible. If that’s not good enough, it’s also removable and can be machine washed at 40˚C.

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In total, the Premium measures around 270mm deep, which is 30mm thicker than the Original. As with all bed-in-a-box mattresses, there’s no need to flip it thanks to the unique layered construction, but Eve says it will benefit from being rotated every 30 days for the first year. After this, just twice a year will suffice.

And, as with the other Eve models, the Premium can be used on all types of bed base. If you’re using a slatted bed, just make sure it’s not excessively worn and that the gaps between slats are no wider than 7cm apart. The Eve Premium comes with a ten-year warranty.

Eve Premium mattress review: Price and competition

With prices ranging from £600 for a single to £850 for a double, £1,000 for a king and £1,150 for a super king, the Eve Premium is almost in a price bracket of its own as far as bed-in-a-box mattresses are concerned. One exception is Leesa’s Sapira model, which starts at £850 for a single and rises to £1,450 for double a super king size.

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Those prices aren’t that alarming if you’ve ever looked at the luxury mattresses in a department store, but they’re quite lofty for a type of mattress we’ve become accustomed to thinking of as a cheaper option.

In comparison, king bed-in-a-box mattresses typically range from £550, in the case of Otty, to £750 for leading brands such as Leesa and Simba. Meanwhile, the Hypnos Orthocare 6, a firm, handmade sprung mattress, starts at £450 for a single, rising to £589 for a double and £639 for a king.

Eve Premium mattress review: Performance and comfort

The first clue that the Eve Premium has better build quality than many of its bed-in-a-box counterparts is its weight. Even in a single, the mattress is noticeably heavier than its rivals. That might just be because there’s more of it – it’s deeper than most – but high-quality foam mattresses are also typically made from more durable, high-density materials.

Perhaps more impressively, though, the mattress emitted practically no “off-gassing” odour when I first removed it from its cellophane. That’s almost unheard of for a bed-in-a-box mattress and, although it doesn’t indicate that the Premium is made from better-quality foam per se, all of Eve’s mattresses are CertiPUR-certified, meaning they’ve been independently tested to ensure they contain no harmful chemicals.

Despite these positive first impressions, though, there’s still no getting away from the fact the Eve Premium is a bed-in-a-box mattress. While its quilted top cover looks inviting, and the yellow detailing around it is a nice touch, there’s not much else that tells you the Premium is much more expensive than the Original – or even as well made as more traditional pocket-sprung mattresses in its price bracket.

To elaborate, its carry handles are the same flimsy type you find on the underside of the plastic anti-slip base of the Eve Original, as opposed to the more robust handles on a traditional mattress such as the Sealy Hybrid Fusion. This doesn’t inspire confidence when moving it and, although it might petty, the fact that its top cover sits slightly askew unless you make considerable effort to adjust it detracts somewhat from the perceived quality.

So what’s it like to sleep on? After reading Eve’s marketing material, which uses terms such as “indulgent”, “blissful” and “snug softness”, I expected the Premium to feel softer and more sumptuous than the Original and Hybrid, but that’s not really the case. Although its top layers feel soft to the touch, the mattress feels quite firm whether it’s used on a firm foundation or a sprung slatted base.

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That’s no bad thing and I’m usually inclined to opt for something firm rather than soft, given the choice, but in comparison to the foam layers on the Sealy Hybrid Fusion alongside it in my spare room, the Eve Hybrid Fusion just came up a little short in the luxury stakes.

Having said that, I still had a good night’s sleep on the Eve Premium. Support levels were excellent in all sleeping positions, but it never felt so hard that I ended up tossing and turning to find pressure relief. Unlike many foam mattresses, there wasn’t a significant alteration in its properties as it changed temperature, either, which is great if you’ve found other models wanting in terms of support as your bed warms up.

In fact, my only complaint was that I found the Premium a little too hot at times. In my experience, that complaint can be levelled at practically any foam mattress so Eve doesn’t deserve to be unfairly penalised for it, but I can’t say that I particularly noticed the benefits of its graphite-infused comfort layers.

Eve Premium mattress review: Verdict

So is the Eve Premium worth paying over the odds for? Although my review doesn’t read like the most gushing account, my experience of the Eve Premium was largely very positive. It’s a hugely supportive mattress that doesn’t change as it gets warmer and it’s neither warmer nor cooler than other foam mattresses.

There’s just one problem: Eve makes a very good mattress that costs a great deal less, namely the Original. Sure, the extra money gets you the latest foam technology, which ought to last longer, but only you can decide if it’s worth parting with an extra £250 for.