EDITOR’S NOTE: Idle Sleep is no longer producing mattresses. Please check out our best mattress list for other great options.
A Great Alternative to the Idle Sleep Gel Plush Mattress
We recommend this mattress for the following sleeper types: Financing options are available for this mattress. Designed with cooling in mind, the GhostBed Luxe is fantastic for those who sleep hot at night. It’s made with a gel-foam layer, which is cooler than traditional memory foam, but still offers great sinkage and relief for side sleepers.
We recommend this mattress for the following sleeper types: Financing options are available for this mattress. Designed with cooling in mind, the GhostBed Luxe is fantastic for those who sleep hot at night. It’s made with a gel-foam layer, which is cooler than traditional memory foam, but still offers great sinkage and relief for side sleepers.
We recommend this mattress for the following sleeper types: Financing options are available for this mattress.GhostBed Luxe Mattress
Material
Foam
Trial Period
101 nights
Shipping Method
Free shipping minus HI and AK
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Warranty
25-year warranty
Price Range
$$$$$
Hot Sleepers
If you often overheat while you sleep, this mattress should help you stay cool.
Couples
This bed has great motion isolation so you will not feel your partner tossing and turning at night.
Back Sleeping
Ideal for average weight back sleepers.
Side Sleeping
Ideal for average weight side sleepers.
Financing Options
GhostBed Luxe Mattress
Material
Foam
Warranty
25-year warranty
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Shipping Method
Free shipping minus HI and AK
Trial Period
101 nights
Price Range
$$$$$
Hot Sleepers
If you often overheat while you sleep, this mattress should help you stay cool.
Couples
This bed has great motion isolation so you will not feel your partner tossing and turning at night.
Back Sleeping
Ideal for average weight back sleepers.
Side Sleeping
Ideal for average weight side sleepers.
Financing Options
GhostBed Luxe Mattress
Material
Foam
Firmness
Medium-firm: 6.5/10
Trial Period
101 nights
Warranty
25-year warranty
Shipping Method
Free shipping minus HI and AK
Price Range
$$$$$
Hot Sleepers
If you often overheat while you sleep, this mattress should help you stay cool.
Couples
This bed has great motion isolation so you will not feel your partner tossing and turning at night.
Back Sleeping
Ideal for average weight back sleepers.
Side Sleeping
Ideal for average weight side sleepers.
Financing Options
The Idle Gel Plush mattress is made with multiple soft foam layers designed to keep you cool throughout the night. Its pressure-relieving layers are great for folks who deal with aches and pains while they sleep as well as for those who love the contouring feel of memory foam.
To learn the real deal about this mattress, keep reading my in-depth Idle Gel Plush review. I’m going to check out its construction and firmness level. I’ll also put it through a series of tests to see how well it does in terms of pressure, relief, motion transfer, and edge support.
Don’t have time to read the full review? Feel free to check out my review summary. This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
Brand Snapshot
Based in the USA, Idle Sleep has been helping people get quality rest since 2017. Along with the four mattresses in the Idle line, the company also sells pillows, adjustable bases, bed sheets, and more!
Toward the end of this review, I’ll compare the Idle Gel Plush to their three other mattresses: The Idle Gel Foam, the Idle Hybrid, the Idle Hybrid Latex. Before we dig into that, let’s check out the construction of the Idle Gel Plush mattress.
What is the Idle Gel Plush Mattress Made Of?
The Idle Plush is designed with softness in mind. It uses two comfort layers made of plush foams that envelope your body and let you really sink into the mattress.
What piqued my interest is the “Cooling Buoyancy Foam” in the Idle Gel Plush. This is a material that offers the pressure relief you might expect from memory foam, along with some nice cooling features to help you sleep comfortably without breaking a sweat (more on that in a bit).
To get a better idea of its design, let’s take a look at each layer!
Cover – To start us off, we have Idle’s cooling, “Ice Fabric” cover. It is woven with cooling gel and their Cooling Buoyancy Foam, both of which dissipate body heat and prevent you from overheating at night.
Comfort Layer 1 – The first comfort layer we come to is a 1” layer of Cooling Buoyancy Foam. This has the feel of memory foam, with a slow response to pressure, so it contours to your body nicely. The Cooling Buoyancy Foam doesn’t trap body heat nearly as much as memory foam typically does, meaning that it should sleep cooler.
Comfort Layer 2 – Next we have a 3” memory foam layer. This also has a really slow response to pressure that allows you to sink deep into the mattress. The “hug” feeling you get from this layer alleviates pressure across your body, which we’ll cover ahead!
Foundation Layer – Finally, we land on an 8” layer of high-density polyurethane foam. This material is super sturdy and supportive, giving the mattress some stability.
What Does the Idle Gel Plush Mattress Feel Like?
Now that we’ve covered the construction, it’s time to address a very important question: How does the Idle Gel Plush actually feel? To answer that, we’ll begin by examining its firmness before putting it through some tests.
Everyone is going to have their own firmness preference — your size, weight, shape, and other factors all play a role to determine what feels comfortable to you. This means your preferences might differ from mine. For reference, I’m 5’10”, weigh 190 lbs., and prefer to sleep on my stomach.
Once I tried it out for myself, I gave the Idle Gel Plush a 6 out of 10 on the firmness scale, with 10 being the firmest. Since the industry average for a medium-firm mattress is 6.5, this one is just a tad on the softer end of the spectrum.
I think back and side sleepers in particular are going to like how well the Idle Gel Plush does at alleviating tension. That said, I think it’s too soft for stomach sleepers who want to avoid their hips sinking in uncomfortably deep. Because of this level of softness, and therefore sinkage, it’s easy to feel stuck in its foam comfort layers, which can make switching positions at night difficult. Because of this, I don’t think this is going to be the best choice for back/side combination sleepers.
Testing the Idle Gel Plush Mattress
We now come to the series of tests I mentioned earlier involving pressure relief, motion transfer, and edge support. Let’s start by seeing how the Idle Gel Plush handles pressure relief.
Pressure Relief
A mattress that does well with pressure relief is going to alleviate tension at sensitive spots, such as at the shoulders, hips, and lower back. With that in mind, I tested out the Idle Gel Plush to see how it does with relieving pressure.
To measure my results, I used a pressure map. Laying this device on the mattress shows me where the areas of pressure and pressure relief occur. Keep in mind that blue means low pressure and red means high pressure.
Back – I think back sleepers are likely to dig the pressure-relieving feel of the comfort foam layers. I was happy to find my weight was evenly distributed as it contoured to my body.
Side – I think this is a fantastic choice for side sleepers! You’ll get some great pressure relief as you sink in, which works well to prevent a jammed-up feeling in your shoulders. Given this pressure relief, I typically suggest side sleepers go with a softer mattress like this one.
Stomach – I would not recommend this for stomach sleepers. I don’t think it’s going to give them enough support, specifically at their hips. I typically recommend stomach sleepers use a firmer mattress to keep their hips in line with their shoulders and their spine properly aligned.
Motion Transfer
Let’s take a look at how the Idle Gel Plush handles motion transfer, which refers to the amount of disturbance that’s noticeably transferred across the mattress. If you’re a light sleeper who shares a bed, you may want to pay particular attention to how well a mattress does in this area.
For the motion transfer test, I dropped a 10 lb. steel ball onto the Idle Gel Plush from three different heights. Each of these drops simulated a different movement on the bed. The 4” drop simulated how it would feel if my bedmate was tossing and turning. The 8” drop simulated the feeling of my bedmate getting up at night. And the 12” inch drop let me experience how it would feel if my bedmate decided to jump on the bed.
I think the Idle Gel Plush did pretty well at isolating motion. This is because its thick layers of memory foam do a good job at tamping down motion after an initial spike of disturbance. So if you’re someone who isn’t jolted awake at the first sign of movement, this mattress should provide enough motion isolating for you.
Edge Support
Finally, we come to the edge support test. A mattress with solid edge support isn’t going to cave in when you roll to the end of it. This can be especially useful if you like to sit on the edge of the bed in the morning while getting dressed. With that in mind, I rolled up right to the side of the Idle Gel Plush to see if it would hold.
I’d say this mattress did just OK when it comes to edge support. I felt myself sink into the foam layers a bit when I was on the edge. While it didn’t collapse, it didn’t hold up as well as I would have liked.
This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
Other Idle Sleep Mattresses
Well folks, it’s time to see how the Idle Gel Plush stacks up to the other mattresses in the Idle line! To do this, we’ll compare it to the Idle Gel Foam, the Idle Hybrid, and the Idle Latex Hybrid!
Idle Gel Foam
- At a 6.5 firmness rating, the Idle Gel Foam is a bit firmer than the Idle Gel Plush. This is likely because it only uses one comfort layer.
- As of this review, the Idle Gel Foam is less expensive than the Idle Gel Plush. So if you’re on a tight budget, this might be the more practical choice.
- For more info on this model, check out my full review of the Idle Gel Foam mattress!
This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
Idle Hybrid
- Unlike the Idle Gel Plush, the Idle Hybrid uses coil and foam layers, which I think makes it easier for back/side combination sleepers to swap positions at night.
- Thanks to its coil layer, the Idle Hybrid has more of a medium-firm feel than the Idle Gel Plush. I rated this one at a 6.5.
- If you want to learn more about this model, hop on over to my full review of the Idle Hybrid mattress!
This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
Idle Latex Hybrid
- As Idle’s other hybrid model, the Idle Latex Hybrid uses coils, which give it a firmer feel than the Idle Gel Plush. I also put this one at a 6.5 on the firmness rating scale.
- Unlike the Idle Gel Plush, the Idle Latex Hybrid is buoyant, so you shouldn’t feel stuck in it. This is because the coils help you sleep on top of the mattress.
- Interested in finding out more about this model? Head over to my full review of the Idle Latex Hybrid mattress!
This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
Should You Buy the Idle Gel Plush Mattress?
Still trying to determine if the Idle Gel Plush mattress is right for you? Here are some final thoughts to help you decide!
Idle Gel Plush Pros
- I think side sleepers are really going to enjoy the pressure relief from the Idle Gel Plush’s comfort layers. This is especially true for folks dealing with hip pain, shoulder pain, and/or back pain.
- I think folks who love the plush, enveloping feel of memory foam will appreciate the comfort layers of this mattress!
- The Ice Fabric cover and the Cooling Buoyancy Foam come together to ensure this mattress sleeps cool. This can be great for people who tend to get too warm at night.
Idle Gel Plush Cons
- I think the Idle Gel Plush lacks the support stomach sleepers are going to want. While it provides some support, I don’t think it’s firm enough to keep stomach sleepers’ spines comfortably aligned.
- A drawback of having gel and foam quilted into the cover is that the mattress could feel slick up top. If you’re someone who doesn’t like sliding into bed, this could be an issue.
How Much Does the Idle Gel Plush Cost?
You can see the full pricing of the Idle Gel Plush below, but remember to head over to our Idle Sleep coupon page for the latest discount!
This mattress is no longer available for purchase. To help you find your next mattress, check out our list of the best mattresses available on the market now.
| Size | Dimensions | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Twin | 38″ x 75″ x 14″ | $1,227 |
| Twin XL | 38″ x 80″ x 14″ | $1,284 |
| Full | 54″ x 75″ x 14″ | $1,570 |
| Queen | 60″ x 80″ x 14″ | $1,856 |
| King | 76″ x 80″ x 14″ | $2,141 |
| California King | 72″ x 80″ x 14″ | $2,141 |
| Split King | 38″ x 80″ x 14″ (x2) | $2,497 |
Idle Sleep Policies
- Shipping – Free
- Trial – 18 Months
- Warranty – Lifetime
- Financing – Available
FAQs
Do you need a box spring with the Idle Gel Plush?
There is no need to use a box spring with this mattress, but you’re welcome to use one. I put it on a slatted bed frame, and that worked just fine.
Can you flip the Idle Gel Plush?
You should not flip the Idle Gel Plush. It has been designed to be felt in a specific way, with the comfort layers at the top and the support layers at the bottom. So for maximum comfort, you should sleep on it as intended.
How long will the Idle Gel Plush last?
This is difficult to answer, since mattresses wear out at different rates. This can depend on factors such as how many people sleep on the bed, their weight, and their sleep position. A good rule of thumb is to reassess the support of your mattress every 3 to 5 years, but I think this mattress will last a bit longer given it’s construction.
