Mattress Forum

I will be spending the next few days/weeks looking for a new mattress. My fiance' and I are tired of sleeping on the mattress I bought in college about 5 years ago. At the time it was a good deal as I needed a bed, and the idea of "individual pocket coils" seemed great. I can say now that they do not suit us at all, and I am paying for it with 2 months of insomnia.

We are primarily side sleepers, although my fiance' does occassionaly sleep on her stomach. We generally sleep close to each other, and never move to the extreme edges of the bed (Queen). We are both of healthy/lightweight build of average height.

We both prefer a firmer feel, and the bed we have no has grown much too soft. I'm not sure a pillowtop is right for us since I don't want to get too hot.

Now with my budget, I am not expecting to get an amazing mattress that will last me 15 years - but I don't need it to. We are looking for a mattress that will last us 2-3 years of primary use, and another 5-7 as a "guest bed" where it will see rare use for traveling family/friends. I am only really familiar with traditional mattresses, and had some good feedback from friends that bought memory foam. After reading here, I believe that memory foam is NOT what we would like. I have 2 huskies, and they sometimes end up on the bed, adding extra body heat and dust/dander to the room. I like to sleep in a cool room, and it is usually 55-65 in there, depending on the season.

There seems to be a lot of positive feedback on the latex foam mattresses here - but from my research, we can expect to pay quite a bit more than my budget. Am I looking in the wrong direction? I am not opposed to buying online, but I would definitely like to see a mattress of similar build/type in person before I buy. 

Lastly, I must apologize for posting without more knowledge - it is against my normal habit and not proper forum etiquette~ but my fiance' and doctor have demanded that I find something soon so I can sleep better and clam the tossing and turning. (She also suffers from minor back problems from our bed)

Any help is much appreciated, and as always I will continue to read!

EDIT: My budget is for a mattress ONLY. I have a platform bed with a solid plywood bottom, no need for box spring here.