Serta Perfect Sleeper

What is Serta?

Serta is a well-known mattress company that began as The Perfect Sleeper in 1931, according to the company’s website. It now sells a variety of other sleep-related products, including bed sheets and bed frames.

We reviewed the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night Mattress-in-a-Box. At 10 inches tall, it is composed of three layers of proprietary foam. The company claims that its top-most layer of HexCloud Gel Memory Foam contains “unique geometric cutouts” that help provide pressure relief during sleep. Its next layer of CradleGel Foam is supposed to keep you cool, while the base Serta Foam Core provides support.

How did we test the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night mattress?

At Reviewed, we conduct a gauntlet of hands-on testing with mattresses.

For example, we examine edge support by measuring how far a punching bag laid parallel can hang off a bed before it falls. This matters if you’re someone who sleeps along the edge or likes to sit on the bed while getting dressed in the morning. We also look at force by seeing how much energy makes it to one side of the mattress after a weight is dropped on the other side—this mimics the real-life scenarios of sleeping with a partner who tosses and turns, or a pet who jumps up or off the bed throughout the night. We also test heat retention by placing a hot water bottle on the bed and measuring the temperature of the mattress over hours. This is important for anyone who sleeps hot, and also because foam mattresses in particular tend to retain more heat than their coil-based innerspring cousins.

But the best way to tell how a mattress performs is to sleep on it, so we do that, too. Former Reviewed editor Sara Hendricks unboxed the Serta at her home and slept on it for one month—and she liked it so much, she bought a similar mattress of her own from the company.

What’s it like to unbox the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night mattress?

Unpacking this Serta mattress was straightforward. In fact, it’s a little easier than others, as the company provides a box cutter to help new owners get the mattress out. It wasn’t too heavy for our tester to move alone. Without help, she was able to get the 75-pound, queen-size mattress onto her bed frame with relative ease.

What we like about the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night

Its medium firmness offers a good balance

The Perfect Sleeper really could be ideal for people who want a not-too-firm or too-soft option. The mattress had a medium firmness level that kept its form nicely, even on our tester’s slatted bed frame. As a foam mattress, the Serta doesn’t have springs like a traditional mattress. Even so, our tester said she didn’t miss them, as the foam here felt buoyant and responsive enough that she didn’t feel mired by that sink-in sensation some all-foam mattresses have. “ I liked that it was on the firmer side but still had some give and the feel of a "real" mattress (that is, one with innersprings),” Hendricks says.

It doesn’t sleep hot

Our reviewer felt like the mattress kept her sleeping at a comfortable temperature all night long. Foam mattresses generally hold onto heat, so this was a better performance than might have been expected. The company advertises that the mattress has cooling CradleGel Foam, so it is possible the gel worked. “I tested it in the middle of summer and I never felt over warm,” she says.

The Serta mattress was fairly center-of-the-pack in our lab tests of heat retention. Our numbers indicate that it would sleep cooler than the Puffy and Purple mattresses we tested, but hotter than the Nectar and Lull ones.

It’s relatively affordable

Mattresses are an investment. Though you can generally expect them to last about a decade, the upfront price can be a shocker. The Perfect Sleeper is on the cheaper side for a mattress. At the time of publishing, a queen-sized mattress costs under $700, including shipping. For reference, the same size of our best overall mattress, the all-foam Tuft & Needle, comes in close to $900 when not on sale. Our favorite upgrade mattress, the Leesa Hybrid, costs about $1,900 at full price. Our tester felt that the mattress was good quality for its price point.

Its edge support held up in the lab

Serta held up well in our edge-support lab test. The punching bag hung 6.5 inches off the side of the mattress before it fell—meaning it tied with Lull for the highest score.

What we don’t like about Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night

It was temporarily lopsided

The mattress didn’t fully expand for about a week after unboxing, which our tester said could be because she had to leave it in the box for a few days after it was delivered. This should have been okay based on the company’s recommendations, which say the mattress should be unboxed within 3 to 4 weeks to avoid a delay in it reaching its full loft. Serta says that while the bulk of the mattress’ growth will happen in the first minute it is opened, it will keep growing and expanding its last few inches for up to 72 hours. The full growth process took slightly longer for our tester: The lopsidedness in her mattress went away after about a week.

Its longevity may be questionable

Although our tester liked the mattress enough to buy her own Serta, she wasn’t sure of its longevity. The mattresses’ outer layer of the mattress—which felt thin and had stitching that appeared untidy—left her with a gut feeling that it wouldn’t last as long as some of the other nine mattresses she tried during her time at Reviewed.

Still, she thought it was still a good value for its price. As she is not yet fully settled in one location, she wasn’t worried about whether it would hold up for 10 years. If the mattress holds up, she will move with it, if not she will leave it behind.

What are Serta’s trial, return, and warranty policies?

Serta mattresses come with a 120-day free trial, meaning you can return your mattress for a full refund anytime in the first four months or so. The company says it will work with you to pick up your mattress from your home for free. But this only applies to mattresses purchased on Serta.com, so if you buy the mattress through another website, you need to check its return policy.

The company also offers a limited warranty for 10 years that protects against “defects in material and workmanship.” This doesn’t cover consumer damage or comfort. The company’s online claim form says if a claim is approved, the owner will have to pay an $85 delivery fee for a new mattress. This fee could vary if you don't live in the 48 contiguous states. Examples of complaints in the warranty claim form include a foam mattress sagging more than ¾ inches or rips on a mattress seam.

The company advises that customers keep mattresses on box springs, platform beds, or slatted bed frames where slates are not more than two inches apart. When you file a warranty claim, you will have to say what sort of frame the mattress is on, which to us indicates that using an unapproved base may negate the warranty.

What are current owners saying about the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night mattress?

At the time of publishing, the mattress only has 19 reviews on Serta’s site, 15 of which are labeled “sponsored,” indicating the reviewers received some sort of incentive for sharing their thoughts. Taking them with a heavy dose of skepticism, 17 are 5 stars, and the remaining are 4 stars.

One non-sponsored reviewer said the mattress helped her back feel less sore in the morning. “I have been waking up every morning having slept through the night without waking up multiple times like I did with my old mattress,” she wrote. “My body feels better, too. I don't feel stiff and sore and worn out when I get up every morning. I feel like I've rested and have renewed energy.”

Best Buy has one 4-star mattress review, which calls the Serta “just okay.” That reviewer shared a similar experience as our tester with regard to initial lopsidedness, writing, “once open, it took about two weeks for it to fully expand.”

Is the Serta Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night worth it?

Our tester thought so! She ultimately bought a Serta, albeit a Perfect Sleeper Express rather than the Nestled Night. That similarly priced mattress has only two layers: Premium Gel Memory Foam over the Serta Foam Core to offer a more firm sensation.

Whichever you choose, Serta’s return policy means you can try a mattress out without any risk if you want to see for yourself whether you will like it. Standard shipping fees both ways are free.

In the end, it will come down to what you want in a mattress. Your personal preference will be dictated by your own opinions, body, and sleeping position. If you’re looking for a medium-firm, all-foam mattress, the Perfect Sleeper Nestled Night could be your dream bed. If you want something firmer or softer or springier, you’ll be better off considering options like the Tuft & Needle Original, the Nectar Original mattress, or the Leesa Hybrid.