Simba Hybrid Original mattress review: comfortable, supportive and not too hot

The Simba Hybrid Original mattress is one of three hybrid mattresses created by award-winning sleep company Simba. It's at the cheapest end of the range, sitting above the Simba Hybrid Essential but below the Simba Hybrid Pro and premium Simba Hybrid Luxe mattress. So just how good is it? We’re always on the hunt to find best mattress, so we tested out the Simba mattress to find out.

A quick note before we start. Deals are a regular occurrence in the mattress world, and we keep a close eye on prices at all times. Head to our updated Simba mattress deals and discount codes page for the best current offer, see how it matches up to the rest of the market in our general cheap mattress deals roundup, or check out how it compares to its closest competition in our Simba vs Emma mattress showdown. Now, let's crack on with our Simba Hybrid mattress review.

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What is the Simba Hybrid mattress?

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The Simba Hybrid Original mattress is a 25cm deep, medium-firm mattress. Simba says it was was fine-tuned using data from more than 10 million sleepers, and is "perfect for 95 per cent of sleepers. It combines body-contouring memory foam with a supportive layer of up to 2,500 conical pocket springs (in the king size). 

In fact, there are five layers in total. On top, a zip-off, hypoallergenic cover helps control temperature. (Happily, it’s washable at 40 degrees.) Next, a 2.5cm responsive ‘airflow comfort layer’ of open cell, cooling Simbatex foam aims to tackle overheating, while boosting comfort. 

Under this sits a 25mm layer of Simba’s patented cone-shaped springs. These provide support, helping distribute your weight and to relieve pressure points, while reducing motion transfer. After that comes a 4.5cm reflex support layer of foam, and finally a 16cm high-density foam base with seven areas of zoned support.

It comes in six UK sizes, from single to super king; five EU sizes, from single to queen; and six US sizes, from twin to California king. And the Simba Hybrid Original is a bed-in-a-box mattress, which means it’s delivered vacuum-packed to your door, for free, in a conveniently sized box. 

Like most bed-in-a-box options, all Simba Hybrid mattresses come with a 100-night trial. That's good, because the best way to decide whether a mattress is right for you is by actually sleeping on it – not after testing it for two minutes in a showroom. If you decide it isn’t right for you within that time, Simba will collect it for free and sort you out with a full refund. Easy. 

Simba Hybrid Original mattress: price

The Simba Hybrid Original mattress sits at the higher end of the mid-range market. A single Simba Hybrid mattress costs £549; a double £749; a king £849; and a super king £949. At full price, it’s £100 more expensive than the all-foam Emma Original mattress (which we currently think is the best mattress you can buy) and £100 more than the excellent Otty Hybrid. But it’s cheaper than the Nectar mattress. 

(In the US? You can see US pricing here for the Simba mattress.)

Here’s how the Simba mattress RRP compares to that of its rivals:

• Simba Hybrid: £549 (single), £749 (double), £849 (king), £949 (super king) 
• Emma Original: £429 (single), £649 (double), £699 (king), £799 (super king)
• Eve The Original: £349 (single), £599 (double), £699 (king), £799 (super king) 
• Nectar mattress: £499 (single), £699 (double), £799 (king), £899 (super king)
• Leesa mattress: £450 (single), £650 (double), £750 (king), £850 (super king)
• The Casper: £400 (single), £600 (double), £700 (king), £800 (super king)
• Otty Hybrid: £374 (single), £549 (double), £649 (king), £749 (super king)

However, we see a lot of Simba mattress deals throughout the year, which regularly drop the price. There was a huge 35 per cent discount on Amazon Prime Day this year, for example, and we often see 20 per cent cut throughout the year. Prices like these make the Simba Hybrid mattress very good value.

How comfortable is the Simba mattress?

Sleeping on the Simba Hybrid Original mattress is very pleasant. We would just about agree with Simba’s medium-firm classification, although we found it to be closer to medium than firm. We’d rate it a 5.5 for firmness (10 being the firmest). 

Firmness is relative, of course. Our reviewers ranged in weight between eight and 12 stone (112-168lb), so if you weigh less than this you’ll likely find it firmer, and if you weigh more it may well feel softer. 

Initially, the Simba mattress feels similar to lie on to the Emma mattress. The main difference we found between the two is that whereas the Emma pushed us up to sleep on the surface, we sank a little (but not too far) into the Simba. For side and back sleepers, we found the Simba Hybrid mattress to be supportive and exceptionally comfortable. One reviewer said it was the best sleep he’d had in months. However, our stomach-sleeping reviewer didn’t feel quite as well-supported.

Don’t expect the Simba Hybrid Original to feel like a typical pocket-sprung mattress, though. It may have thousands of springs, but at 25mm they’re much smaller than those you’d find in other pocket sprung or hybrid mattresses. The Otty Hybrid, for example, has 14cm pocket springs. 

Nevertheless, the mattress does have a little more bounce to it than a pure foam mattress. We also found that we didn’t overheat – even during the summer – as can sometimes be the case with mattresses that contain foam. 

What really made the Simba mattress stand out for us, though, was the brand’s attention to detail. The mattress was posted to us with a handy tool inside the box for removing the plastic, which made setting it up an absolute doddle. It was also one of the easiest mattresses to remove from the box, sliding out easily with just one person pulling it. 

Anything not so good to know about?

Not really, no. We wouldn’t quite agree with Simba’s claim of no motion transfer: we did notice other people moving around – but it was minimal. If you share a bed with a restless partner, you certainly won’t notice them tossing and turning anywhere near as much as usual. 

We also would have liked to see handles on the side of this mattress to help with moving it around. Not that the Simba mattress needs flipping, but it’s recommended you turn it 180 degrees once a month for the first three months, then every three-six months for the rest of its life, so handles would help. Other than that, no complaints from us.

Simba Hybrid Original mattress: user reviews

Mattresses offer a differ experience for everyone. Factors like your weight, body shape, sleeping style and general health can all affect how comfortable you find a mattress, so rather than just tell you how we found it, we also researched how thousands of users felt about it, to create a more well-rounded Simba mattress review.

Overwhelmingly, the Simba Hybrid Original mattress gets rave reviews from customers. On consumer review website Trustpilot, it averages at 4.5 out of 5 stars, across almost 10,000 reviews. Meanwhile, the mattress scores 4.7 out of 5 on the Simba website across a whopping 35,000 reviews; and 4.4 out of 5 from over 200 reviews on Amazon. That’s consistently impressive, and lots of users mention that they’ve finally a good night’s sleep after buying the Simba Hybrid mattress.

However, one recurring complaint across the 3% of bad reviews on Trustpilot refers to the mattress “dipping” after a few months and losing support. A few people, too, have noted the appearance of a ridge that runs down the middle of the mattress from top to bottom, resulting in back ache. Finally, we noticed a number of users commenting that the Simba mattress is softer than they were expecting, so be aware of that.

Should I buy the Simba mattress?

The Simba Hybrid Original mattress is comfortable, supportive and doesn’t get too hot at night. So yes, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for most people – particularly side sleepers. However, if you weigh around 9 stone (126lb) or less, and sleep on your front, you may find the Simba Hybrid uncomfortable. Try the Emma Original (foam), Otty Hybrid, or Sealy Nostrum 14 (pocket springs) instead.

Is the Simba Hybrid the best mattress you can buy right now? No. We think that title currently goes to the Emma Original, which we found to be even more comfortable, better supportive in all sleeping positions, and often cheaper than the Simba mattress. 

Nevertheless, there's a lot to like about this mattress. It has thousands of fantastic reviews for a reason. If you’re a fan of a softer mattress – and don’t sleep on your front – there’s an excellent chance you’ll love the Simba Hybrid mattress.