“A medium-firm model suits most sleepers, so pay extra for the natural-fill ranges for their comfort, not in the hope of better support.”
The John Lewis own-label range side by side
The table joins John Lewis’s specifications with its customer ratings, checked on 4 October 2026. Spring counts and prices are for a UK Double.
How the five own-label collections differ
Every John Lewis own-label adult mattress is pocket sprung, made in the UK and sold with a 7-year guarantee, so the collections differ in fillings and feel rather than in basic build. The Classic Collection is the entry point, with recycled polyester fillings and three tensions. Waitrose Wool adds British wool traceable to Waitrose and assured UK farms. The Ortho Pocket Collection is the firm range, rated to 200 kg and handmade to order. CloudGel puts gel-infused foam over the springs and is rated to 127 kg. The British Natural Collection runs to nine models filled with wool, linen and hemp, from the Danby Linen 2500 at £799 for a Single up to the Grantley Ultimate 30000 at £9,749 for a Super king.
Choose the tension before the collection
Most John Lewis collections come in more than one tension, and the evidence favours the middle of the scale. In a randomised trial of 313 adults with chronic low-back pain, Kovacs and colleagues concluded in The Lancet in 2003 that “A mattress of medium firmness improves pain and disability among patients with chronic non-specific low-back pain.” Medium to firm, as on the Waitrose Wool 1600, is therefore the sensible default. Firm and extra firm models such as the Classic 1200 and the Ortho 1400 suit back and front sleepers and heavier builds, while medium tensions and pillowtops suit side sleepers. Firmness labels are each maker’s own, so a John Lewis “firm” need not feel like a Hypnos one.
Turn or rotate
Mattresses with fillings on both faces, such as the Waitrose Wool 1600 and the Classic 1200, are meant to be turned as well as rotated, so both faces share the load. Pillowtops, the CloudGel models and the British Natural Collection are rotate only, and the CloudGel care label asks for a head-to-foot rotation every week for the first three months. The British Natural models are spot clean only, which makes a protector worth having from the first night.
How the 60-night comfort exchange works
Every model ranked here qualifies for the John Lewis 60-Night Comfort Trial, but it is an exchange rather than a refund. Under the trial terms, you must buy a mattress protector of the same size in the same transaction and use it, the earliest exchange is after the 30th night, and only one exchange is allowed per household. John Lewis charges a £19.95 collection fee and a £39.95 recycling fee, refunds the difference if you choose a cheaper model and charges it if you trade up. Open Spring, Outlet, reduced-to-clear and ex-display mattresses are excluded, and branded mattresses carry their maker’s own trial where there is one. Bensons for Beds runs a shorter, 40-night version with the same protector rule, set out in our Bensons mattress comparison.
Other brands sold at John Lewis
John Lewis also stocks branded mattresses, and since 9 September 2024 it has matched the prices of 25 named retailers, with money back if you find the item cheaper at one of them within seven days, according to the John Lewis Partnership. Own-label models are sold only by John Lewis, so that promise matters mainly for the brands below. Prices are John Lewis’s Double prices on 4 October 2026. For most buyers the own-label models are the better value at John Lewis, and a branded mattress is worth its premium only if you already know you want that maker’s feel, such as Simba’s hybrid or TEMPUR’s memory foam.
When to replace, and what happens to the old one
The National Bed Federation’s consumer site Bed Advice UK recommends replacing a mattress every seven years, after more than 20,000 hours of use, the same span as the John Lewis guarantee. The North London Waste Authority estimates that the UK throws away about 7 million mattresses a year, and John Lewis offers to take away and recycle an old mattress or divan for £39.95 when it delivers a new one. If no own-label model fits your budget or feel, our best mattresses of 2026 ranks the wider UK market and the best pocket sprung mattresses comparison covers sprung alternatives from other makers.
