Mattress Forum

The embody has too much memory foam in it (5.5") and would likely put you out of alignment or be one of those mattresses that feel good when you go to bed and then give you a backache when you get up in the morning. It's also very expensive for what you get.

The allure is a proprietary brand sold by mattress firm and while I don't have the exact specs ... it is probably substantially the same as the "signature line" like this one http://www.us-mattress.com/sealy-shadow-dream-ultra-plush.html. They are filled with poly foam and pretty much "token" amounts of latex and memory foam and I believe are a recipe for disaster.

The tempur-pedic is at least a known quantity and so easier to predict it's long term quality and feel however I believe is poor value since there are now many other high quality memory foam mattresses that are significantly less and use memory foam that does not have as many "issues" as the Tempur material.

Have you slept on memory foam for any period of time? If you haven't, I would read this first (reply #8 in the thread) http://www.whatsthebest-mattress.com/forum/pros-cons-memory-foam-beyond-hype/15941-0-1.html and be a little wary of how suitable it may be for you.

There are many options in Houston besides the "S" brands. I will take a look in my list and post a few local or regional manufacturers if you'd like but there are also many retail outlets there that carry many other brands that I believe would give you much better value than any of these. If you go here http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/data/industry/E337910.HTM#T4 you will see that Texas has the third largest number of mattress manufacturers in the US. These local and regional and even some of the smaller national manufacturers often represent much better value in a mattress than any of the "S" brands. Sad to say that these numbers as a whole are declining and are now probably less than 2002.

Phoenix

I would love any recommendations you could provided, because I have searched and searched in the Houston area. Right now all I can find are the S brands at your traditional mattress stores. I did go back and try the Emody, Allure and Temper-Pedic, they did not feel as comfortable this go around.  I definitely need support in my lower back and I did determine that the memory foam was not helping in this area, I was being pushed up and was not getting relief. The coil mattresses seem to fill in the gap where the memory foam did not. I like the feeling of sleeping in my mattress instead of on top.  Right now I am leaning towards a coil mattress.

So any recommendations would be great and our budget for a King set is MAX $2000-$25000.  Again, we need to try before buying and possibly find a place that allows us to return or exchange, that is why these traditional mattress stores are attractive.

Thank you

http://www.roomstogo.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=searchResults&categoryName=category_root&category=22&subCategoryName=Bedding Houston retailer. carries King Koil , Carolina mattress guild

http://www.justicefurniture.com/ Manufacturer. You would need to email them to find a retail outlet in Houston as they don't sell direct to consumers

http://ammattress.com/mattress1.html Houston manufacturer. No latex listed but they do have some memory foam mattresses

http://www.apartmentfurnishingsco.com/contactus.html Fort Worth manufacturer but may be available at retail outlets in Houston

http://bandmmattress.com/products-naturallatex.php San Antonio manufacturer. May be available in Houston

http://www.cantwellmattress.com/contactUs.cfm Manufacturer In San Antonio and Corpus Christi but may be available at retail outlets in Houston

http://www.goldenmattressinc.com/ContactUs.aspx Houston manufacturer but don't sell direct to public. Would probably have a retailer in Houston.

http://kingdommattressmfg.com/kingdom-mattress-manufacturer-.html Houston manufacturer

http://www.themattressfactory.com/Home.aspx Fort Worth manufacturer I bought my mattress from. I don't know if they have anything in Houston but they have great value so I thought I'd include them.

http://www.taylorbedding.com/store_locator.html Taylor manufacturer but widely available in Houston

http://www.americansleepandmattress.com/contact.php Bryan manufacturer. May be available in Houston

http://mattresses1.com/index.html Fort Worth manufacturer that may be available in Houston

http://www.noahsmfg.com/index.php?page=find-a-retailer Houston manufacturer widely available in Houston

http://www.sleepcraftmattress.com/showroom/mattress-sets/ Lewisville manufacturer. May be available in Houston

http://www.sleepworld.net/products/ Austin manufacturer. May be available in Houston

http://www.restonic.com/rlocator/index.php Houston manufacturer of Restonic (national brand). Widely available in Houston

http://www.houstonmattress.com/ Houston manufacturer. Looks like they specialize in memory foam only but may be worth a call to see what else they make.

There are more but these are some (probably more than you want :)) with a web presence that may have a "suitable product". The ones I listed as "may be available in Houston" would just need a quick call or their online retail outlet finder to find out who would carry them. Some of the retailers which carry these brands would likely carry others as well.

There are also many other retailers in Houston which carry brands that are manufactured outside of Texas. A little searching on the web and a few phone calls will give you a very long list besides these ones.

Good luck ... and feel free to post here if you run into the "mattress mafia" (laughing).

Phoenix

PS: Your budget is certainly all you would need to find an "amazing" mattress that would be perfect for what you need