GhostBed Luxe Mattress Review

This article was originally published on Mattress Finder.

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• The GhostBed Luxe is a top-line model, the price of which may push it out of range for seriously budget-minded shoppers, although substantial discounts are usually available.
• The GhostBed Luxe is thicker and denser than competing memory foam mattresses, featuring three layers of all-foam construction and a cover that almost serves as a whole additional layer.
• Both the comfort layer and the mattress cover employ GhostBed’s proprietary phase-change technology to promote a cooler sleeping experience.
• Thanks to its density and size, the GhostBed Luxe is a little firmer than average memory foam mattresses but still conforms to body weight without sinking.
• The GhostBed Luxe is suitable for back and stomach sleepers of all kinds, but light- or average-weight side-sleepers may seek more pressure-point relief.
• The Luxe backs up its claim as the world’s coolest mattress. It’s a relieving experience for hot sleepers.
• Couples should expect good motion isolation and excellent edge support from the GhostBed Luxe.
• The Luxe comes with a 25-year warranty with some caveats and a 101-night risk-free trial period.

The GhostBed Luxe is Nature’s Sleep more premium luxury mattress in a box. The original GhostBed mattress was launched in 2015 and has since become one of the more well-known bed-in-a-box brands out there.

Like the original GhostBed, the Luxe ships for free. The mattress will arrive compressed in a box. From there, GhostBed offers a 101-night risk-free trial, which is pretty standard for the industry (most companies offer 100 nights).

That means if you decide you don’t like the mattress at any point during that time period, just give the company a call and they’ll send someone to your house or apartment to pick up the mattress free of charge and refund your money.

In addition, GhostBed backs the Luxe with a 25-year warranty. Just for reference, that’s 15 years longer than what most bed-in-a-box companies offer.

The GhostBed Luxe isn’t exactly priced for the bargain hunter — after all, the phrase “luxe” is right there in the name.

As a luxury mattress, it’s a little costlier than the standard GhostBed, and its price also eclipses some of the most popular mattress-in-a-box brands on the market like the Casper and Leesa mattresses.

Prices valid as of September 17, 2020

The manufacturer’s standard retail prices for the GhostBed Luxe range from about $1,345 for a twin to about $2,185 for a California king size, so it’s definitely one of the most expensive memory foam mattresses we’ve reviewed.

That said, GhostBed is relatively aggressive about discounts when they want to be. Discount codes for the GhostBed Luxe can be found relatively easily on the internet; check the one offered on this page as well. [check for lowest GhostBed price]

There’s a whole lot of mattress stuffed inside that box. The GhostBed Luxe, like the original model, is an all-foam construction, with a couple of twists to help turn it into a cooling bed.

It’s a 13-inch mattress distributed across three layers that from the bottom up are:

• a 7.5-inch base of high-density support foam, relatively big compared to the base layers of other mattresses
• a 2-inch Ghost Bounce Layer, which is a trademarked foam tier that responds roughly like a latex and memory foam blend
• a 2-inch combination layer of gel memory foam topped by the Ghost Ice Layer, which features soon-to-be-patented phase-change technology to disperse heat.

The cover of the GhostBed Luxe is practically another layer unto itself since it has a lot more functionality than your usual mattress cover.

There’s a 1-inch layer of gel memory foam, covered by a 1-inch Cooling Fiber level and a topmost cover of Ghost Ice Fabric, which employs a Japanese technique to weave cooling technology into the yarn itself. Whatever it entails, it works. The mattress is quite cool to the touch.

With its considerably increased height, the GhostBed Luxe should fit whatever bed frame construction you throw it on, whether it’s box spring, slatted, or adjustable.

Being a mattress-in-a-box, standard unpacking protocol applies with the GhostBed Luxe: unpack, position on the bed frame, unwrap, and let it expand.

The manufacturer site says the Luxe takes a little bit longer to get to full shape than most other mattresses — from a full hour to up to one day to expand and possibly 5 days to fully decompress.

Since the Ghost Bed Luxe is a good 3 inches taller than the usual online mattress, the additional time isn’t a surprise.

We recommend getting the GhostBed Luxe out of the box and onto your frame as soon as possible, since it’s better for the ultra-compressed materials, especially for a mattress of the Luxe’s extra size and density.

“Feel like you’re floating,” the GhostBed website proclaims. Of all the qualities all-foam mattresses are known to offer, nocturnal flotation is not one of them. But to a certain extent, the GhostBed Luxe bucks that trend and backs up its claim.

The GhostBed Luxe is quite comfortable, ranking at about a 7 on our 1-to-10 firmness scale, with 1 being the softest. That rating puts it in the medium-firm category, depending on the weight level of the sleeper.

Being a memory foam mattress, the GhostBed Luxe has a few of the qualities people expect from one. It contours itself to the body shape and gets softer after a few seconds.

However, the GhostBed Luxe is firmer than comparable memory foams. It doesn’t have quite the same deep-sinking feeling as other brands. Instead of getting swallowed up by the memory foam, the sleeper retains the feeling of being on top of the mattress.

The GhostBed Luxe strikes a balance between the usual pressure-point relief of memory foam and firm but gentle support.

The cover is generally very smooth, but it’s stitched to make for some obvious high and low spots. Most sleepers probably won’t notice them, but particularly sensitive ones might.

The GhostBed Luxe will feel considerably firmer than most other memory foam mattresses to sleepers with less weight (below 150 pounds). We estimate lesser weight sleepers would give it a firmness rating closer to 8 or 9. This is a fairly typical deviation for this body size.

For people with less weight who sleep on the back or stomach, the GhostBed Luxe is a strong choice, since its lumbar support is much more present than standard memory foam. Not so for light side sleepers, however — the additional firmness might not provide sufficient relief of common pressure points for them.

Lightweight combo sleepers who don’t sleep on their sides should be okay with the GhostBed Luxe, but we still think they should perform all due diligence and check it out more thoroughly before shelling out the big bucks.

Sleepers who weigh between 150 and 240 pounds should find the GhostBed Luxe hits about the stated 7 ranking on the firmness scale. Again, moderately sized back and stomach sleepers should find the GhostBed Luxe a comfortable experience, along with combo sleepers who spend the majority of their sleep on the back or stomach. There’s a comfortable level of body support, especially for a foam mattress.

But again, average-weight side sleepers may want to try out other options first. We think they’ll find the GhostBed Luxe a little more comfortable than their lightweight counterparts, but we’re still not sure how much they’ll fall in love with it. The additional weight accommodates a little more pressure-point relief, but the firmer quality is still very perceptible.

It may come down to personal preference for average side sleepers—some will like the Luxe’s firmer support, others may prefer a downier slumber. If you’re still plagued by indecision, the 101-day trial period will give you time to sort it out.

Generally, we don’t recommend memory foam mattresses for sleepers with higher weight (over about 240 pounds), since they typically need more structural support from pocketed coils or springs for an adequate sleep experience.

But for people with higher weight who are aching to try out memory foam, the GhostBed Luxe may be just their ticket.

Sleepers with higher weight will most likely experience a medium firmness level from the mattress, about a 5 or 6 on our scale. The above-average thickness of the 13-inch mattress is the big factor here. There’s just more support for people with higher weight than typical memory foams.

The GhostBed Luxe may not perfectly replicate the support of pocketed coils in a hybrid mattress, but it’s close enough for us to give approval.

While we still shy away from wholeheartedly recommending memory foam in general to folks with higher weight, if you’re intent on finding one, the GhostBed Luxe is the one to get.

GhostBed claims the Luxe is “the coolest bed in the world.” Of course, it’s the marketing division’s job to come up with superlatives.

In truth, plenty of factors come into play in describing the coolness or warmth of the sleeping experience, including overall air conditioning in the bedroom, number and heaviness of blankets and comforters, and so forth.

That said, the GhostBed Luxe provides something pretty close to the extra cool experience the company advertises.

The copious presence of gel memory foam — not just in the mattress but in the cover as well — works in consort with the thermo-reactive phase-change layer to migrate heat away from the sleeping body.

Gel memory foam is designed to allow for better air circulation, but in many beds, it doesn’t always make much of a temperature difference. But with the Luxe, it does.

The cover is immediately cool to the touch. The Luxe’s firmer structure makes for a much less sunk-in sleeping experience than other memory foams. So even when leaving aside GhostBed’s technological innovation, the bed’s construction helps cool it down.

Sleepers who tend to get uncomfortably hot in the night may, in fact, find relief with the GhostBed Luxe.

Motion suppression is an important feature for couples buying a mattress that’s full size or larger. It’s the measurement of how closely the mattress suppresses a partner’s movements to their own side of the bed to minimize disruption of the other partner’s sleep.

Memory foam mattresses tend to score better in motion isolation, and the GhostBed Luxe doesn’t disappoint. It’s perfectly sufficient.

Phenomenal perimeter support is less common in memory foam mattresses, as they typically have less strength and resilience around the perimeter of the bed, which could lead to sleeping partners experiencing a “rolling” or “falling-off” feeling.

But again, in this category, the GhostBed Luxe surpasses most other similar brands. We think it’s got pretty exceptional edge support for a memory foam bed. Its slightly firmer construction, no doubt, plays a part in this result.

We think the GhostBed Luxe is a solid choice for those seeking a superior sleeping solution for couples.

If the GhostBed Luxe isn’t actually the “coolest bed in the world,” it’s extremely close. The phase-responsive technology and gel foam materials, along with the sheer height of the mattress, manage to keep the temperatures at a comfortable level.

It brings out the best qualities of memory foam mattresses — comfort, gentle contours, and softness — without that overly sinking feeling.

The Luxe is a strong, durable, and dense mattress-in-a-box that caters exceptionally well to average- to higher-weight back and stomach sleepers, hot sleepers, and couples.

Side sleepers may want to shop around a little more, but for almost everyone else, the GhostBed Luxe achieves what its makers set out to accomplish. It’s a very cool, comfortable mattress worth stretching your budget for.

In this age of leaping warranty terms, the GhostBed Luxe’s is fairly lengthy: 25 years.

However, repairs costs (excluding transportation) are only 100 percent covered by the company over the first 10 of those years.

After that, the customer splits the cost with GhostBed according to a prorated formula. There are other conditions to the warranty as well, so don’t skip reading it over.

The GhostBed Luxe comes with a 101-night, no-risk trial period. After those 101 nights, they’ll issue you a refund or otherwise “make it right,” which we suppose might mean they’ll offer you another type of GhostBed mattress. There’s no charge for return shipping.

The GhostBed Luxe generally arrives within 2 to 5 business days, depending on your distance from one of GhostBed’s nine distribution centers. Shipping is free in the continental United States; a $600 freight charge applies to Alaska and Hawaii. The site has financing options available through Affirm.

The Mattress Finder team is composed of certified professionals who are passionate about helping consumers improve their sleep. We thoroughly test each mattress we review through a series of practical, hands-on inspections and assessments. We write every review expecting that our closest friends and family members rely on us for their mattress and sleep product decisions, so honesty and authenticity are core principles of our inspection process.