Nectar Premier Hybrid Review
A memory foam mattress with two layers of springs
Verdict
The Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress strikes a great balance between soft and firm thanks to its hybrid design, and offers a springier feel than its Nectar Hybrid sibling. You will need to pay extra for the pleasure though, and its poor edge support is a concern at this high price point.
Pros
- Comfortable design, with great balance between soft and firm
- Springier feel that Nectar Hybrid Mattress
- Great heat disspiation
- Generous trial and warranty
Cons
- Struggles to justify extra cost compared to Nectar Hybrid Mattress
- Poor edge support
Key Features
- Hybrid designFeatures both memory foam and springs to reap the benefits of both types of mattresses.
- 365-day trialNectar offers a full 365-day trial, so you can refund the cost if you’re happy within a year.
- Forever WarrantyNectar will replace or repair a fauly mattress no matter how long you have owned it for.
Introduction
Struggling to decide between springs or memory foam when picking your next mattress? The Nectar Premier Hybrid helps solve the problem for you, offering both in one package.
Differentiating itself from the cheaper Nectar Hybrid Mattress, the Nectar Premier Hybrid is made up of eight layers instead of six, adding an extra layer of 12cm pocket springs for a bouncier feel, as well as an Engineered Transition Layer that optimises spinal alignment.
The Nectar Premier Hybrid is between £60 and £260 more expensive than the Nectar Hybrid, depending on which size mattress you opt for. But are there enough improvements to make the added cost worthwhile? After spending 12 months with the Nectar Premier Hybrid, here are my thoughts.
Size and Trial Period
- No Small Single or Small Double sizes
- 365-night trial
- Forever Warranty policy
The Nectar Premier Hybrid is available in four different UK sizes: Single (90x190cm), Double (135x190cm), King (150x200cm) and Super King (180X200cm). That means there’s no option for Small Double, making it less versatile than the standard Nectar Hybrid Mattress. Nectar doesn’t offer a Small Single option for children either.
Nectar offers the longest trial periods in the business, allowing you up to 365 nights to decide whether you want to keep the mattress or return it for a refund. The next longest trial period is offered by Simba, but that’s limited to 200 nights.
In addition, Nectar has a ‘Forever Warranty’ policy, which means the company will repair or replace a faulty mattress no matter how long you’ve owned it for.
Design and Layers
- 8-layer design
- Additional springs
- 100% carbon-neutral footprint
The Nectar Premier Hybrid arrives in a box so compact that you can hardly believe that the mattress can fit inside. But thanks to the genius of vacuum packaging, the mattress is condensed in size for shipment, automatically inflating as soon as you cut open the plastic wrapping.
Nectar suggests waiting 24 to 74 hours for the mattress to fully inflate, although hopping on early is apparently unlikely to cause damage. There is a strange musky odour during this process though, which is common with foam mattresses of this ilk, although it didn’t bother me too much and soon faded
The Nectar Premier Hybrid is made up of a stonking eight layers. The Quilted Cooling Cover is at the top, which is designed to draw heat away from your body. Unfortunately, this top cover is not machine-washable, and using the zip to remove it from the mattress will void the warranty. This means you certainly won’t want to get it dirty, with a mattress cover being an almost essential remedy.
The internal layers are then made of the following: the Dynamic Support Layer, Micro-Springs Layer, Pressure Relieving Memory Foam, Engineered Transition Layer, Encapsulated Springs and Support Base – and then there’s the Position Base Material that holds it all together at the bottom.
The more affordable six-layer Nectar Hybrid Layer has virtually the same make-up, but is missing two layers. First up it’s the Engineered Transition Layer, which Nectar claims will make active micro-adjustments in order to ensure optimal spinal alignment.
The second new layer is the Encapsulated Springs, which sees 832 12cm springs added to the mattress for a springier feel. I’m not convinced that this makes a significant difference to the mattress, and it isn’t immediately obvious – my partner couldn’t tell the difference when I secretly swapped the Nectar Premier Hybrid for the Nectar Hybrid Mattress.
Nevertheless, the mix of both memory foam and springs results in a versatile mattress, which is an ideal balance between a firm and soft feel – Nectar claims it’s a 6 to 6.5 on the fitness scale, with a 10 rating representing maximum firmness.
Packing in so many layers does have an impact on the size and width of the Nectar Premier Hybrid. A depth of 28cm makes it 3cm thicker than the Nectar Hybrid, while the double mattress version comes in at 41kg – that’s 9kg heavier than the Nectar Hybrid, which was a heavy mattress to begin with. As a result, I had a lot of issues moving the mattress between rooms, so it may be worth getting someone to help you.
Nectar claims that the Nectar Premier Hybrid has a 100% carbon-neutral footprint for the entire manufacturing process, a feat that neither Emma or Simba have so far matched. Nectar has also pledged to source cardboard packaging from sustainable forests, and to avoid using harmful dyes and ozone-depleting chemicals.
Comfort and Support
- Soft yet firm design is very comfortable
- Poor edge support
Instead of relying on claims from the manufacturers, we make sure to thoroughly test every mattress we review. I’ve spent 12 months sleeping on the Nectar Premier Hybrid, while also conducting multiple tests to get comparable data with other mattresses.
I’ve enjoyed sleeping on the Nectar Premier Hybrid. It’s one of the firmest memory foam mattresses I’ve ever used, yet has still been able to conform to my body over time to ensure an even more comfortable fit.
Nectar says to turn the mattress around every two to three months to avoid sagging – make sure not to flip it though, as that can damage the mattress.
To judge the edge support, I sat on the edge of the mattress and used a ruler to measure the dip caused by my weight. I recorded a dip of 11cm, which is one of the worst results I’ve seen in a while. In comparison, the Simba Hybrid Pro dipped just 5.5cm at the edge. This means that the edges of the Nectar mattress are so soft that it’s possible to roll off the side. That never happened in practice, but I did feel a little precarious when sleeping near the edge due to the poor support.
The Nectar Premier Hybrid offered more support in central areas, but still saw significant sinkage when I was either sitting up (6cm dip) or standing (10cm dip) on top of the mattress. This emphasises how soft the Nectar Premier Hybrid mattress is thanks to its memory foam padding.
That said, the Nectar Premier Hybrid offers surprisingly good support when body weight is distributed evenly. When sleeping on my back, the mattress only dipped by 3cm underneath my shoulders, and 2cm at my hip, while sleeping on my side saw a 5cm dip at my shoulder and a 4cm dip at my hip – all of those results are very similar to the Emma Original Mattress, and I found this mattress especially comfy for sleeping on my side.
Another important consideration for a mattress is how much it isolates movement you get into bed or roll over, with a high level of motion transfer more likely to disturb your sleeping partner. Nectar says it has minimised motion transfer with the Premier Hybrid mattress, and that is evident in my results.
By placing an accelerometer on the other side of the bed, I was able to determine how much motion transfer was recorded on the mattress. When recording the disturbance as I climbed into bed, the Premier Hybrid interestingly saw less motion transfer than its more affordable Premier Mattress sibling.
I recorded almost identical results when rolling over in bed too. This shows that the Nectar Premier Hybrid is very good at limiting motion transfer, so you’ll be less likely to disturb your partner when compared to your average mattress.
Heat
- Excellent heat dissipation
- Body heat disappears after 6 minutes
Foam mattresses may be popular for their spongy-soft feel, but they also have the unfortunate drawback of trapping in more body heat than the average springy mattress. That’s not a problem with the Nectar Premier Hybrid, as our tests found it to be very good at dispelling heat.
Using a thermal camera, I was able to take photos of the mattress in one minute intervals to see how quickly the heat – built up from me lying on the mattress for 10 minutes – dissipated.
The temperature of the mattress dropped from 33.4°C to 32.1°C within just one minute, and then down to 31.5°C after another. After five minutes, my body heat was hardly visible. This shows that the Nectar Premier Hybrid is very good at dispelling heat, which should be a relief to anyone who feels overheated in bed during the summer.
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Should you buy it?
You want a premium hybrid mattress
The Nectar Premier Hybrid is both springy and soft, while also being very capable of dispelling heat unlike other memory foam mattresses.
You’re on a tight budget
I’m not convinced that the Nectar Premier Hybrid justifies the extra cost compared to the Nectar Hybrid Mattress. Unless you’ll benefit from the slightly springier feel, I’d recommend picking the more affordable option instead.
Final Thoughts
There’s a lot to like about the Nectar Premier Hybrid. It’s soft to the extent that it will conform to the shape of your body, yet is still firm enough to offer plenty of support. Its two layers of springs also help to quickly dispel body heat.
But I’m unconvinced that it merits the extra cost compared to the more affordable Nectar Hybrid. The Premier Hybrid is a little springier, and the added padding makes it feel softer, although this makes the lack of substantial edge support even more noticeable.
If that springy feel is important to you, then the Nectar Premier Hybrid is still worth considering for those that want a hybrid mattress. Otherwise, the Nectar Hybrid represents better value, and the Simba Hybrid Pro offers better all-round quality. Check out our Best Mattress guide for even more options.
How we test
Unlike other sites, we test every mattress we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use standard tests to compare features properly. We’ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.
Used as our main mattress for the review period
We use a thermal camera to see how quickly the mattress can dissipate heat for a comfortable night’s sleep.
We measure how far we sink into the mattress in various positions to measure support levels.
We use an accelerometer to measure how movement from one person is transferred to the other side of the bed.
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FAQs
The Nectar Premier Hybrid dipped by 5cm at our shoulder when sleeping on our side. This is a good result for side sleepers, with the dip allowing for a more comfortable feel.
The Nectar Premier Hybrid has two additional layers, including an extra layer of springs for a bouncier design.
Trusted Reviews test data
Full specs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
