GhostBed Classic Mattress Review: A Comfortable Foam Bed

7.5

GhostBed Classic mattress

Score Breakdown

Performance 9.3Support 7Return Policy 8Pressure Relief 6Features 9

Read more on How we test mattresses

$1,000 at Amazon

Like

• Has a blended foam feel with three different types of foam
• Designed with synthetic latex foam which is more breathable than other foams
• Medium firmness level suits most sleeping positions

Don't like

• Not supportive enough for people over 230 pounds in the long run
• Not idea for people who want a particularly soft or firm bed

Product details

• Type Memory foam hybrid mattress
• Firmness 5 or medium
• Trial 101 nights
• Warranty 25-year limited warranty

Owned by the Nature's Sleep bedding company, GhostBed Classic is a mattress with a feel you won't find anywhere else. It separates itself from other big-name bed-in-a-box brands like Casper and Nectar by using three kinds of foam.

GhostBed also has more expensive Luxury and Premium Collections of beds, but this review is strictly for the GhostBed Classic in the Essential Collection. Here are my thoughts on who would enjoy this mattress, the firmness, price and more below.

First impressions of the GhostBed Classic mattress

I'm a big fan of anything spooky and scary, so of course GhostBed partly sold me on the cute ghost showcased on the end of the bed in its logo. Aside from that, I am a fan of the mattress and the fact they include a thin latex foam layer in the comfort layer. I love latex foam for several reasons -- namely, the bounce and responsiveness it can add to a mattress. Paired with that memory foam center layer, the GhostBed Classic has a unique feel compared to your standard foam mattresses. 

Straight out of the box, it does have a noticeable chemical smell, and that's because of the synthetic foams used and the compression process. It will go away eventually. Most bed-in-a-box mattresses emit this odor when you unbox them, except for natural and organic mattresses.

Video: GhostBed Classic Review

Watch CNET video producer Owen Poole review the GhostBed Classic mattress.

GhostBed Classic mattress firmness and feel

Firmness

When judging firmness, I try to gauge how much I'm sinking into the mattress, how much pressure relief I'm getting and how supported my back feels. Is it sagging into the bed or in a straight line? For the GhostBed Classic mattress, I think it offers a little of both.

That memory foam promotes a contouring feel around your curves, but it isn't difficult to switch positions. It also provides ample support to my spine when sleeping on my back or stomach. As a result, I'd rate the firmness around a medium, or a 5 out of 10, with 10 being the firmest on our scale. It's right at that sweet spot for firmness profiles that accommodate many different sleeping positions.

Construction

The GhostBed Classic mattress is made entirely from foam and is about 11 inches thick. As I mentioned above, this bed utilizes three different foams, including synthetic latex foam. Synthetic latex foam has similar characteristics to the natural and organic forms of latex but without the steep price tag. That said, it isn't eco-friendly.

Here's a rundown of the three foam layers in the GhostBed Classic mattress:

1. First is 7.5 inches of dense polyurethane foam, which acts as the main support layer.

2. The center has 2 inches of gel memory foam, which is better at regulating temperature than the typical memory foam.

3. The comfort layer is 1.5 inches of GhostBed's latex foam. It's perforated across the surface, letting air pass through and making it more breathable than most other foams like poly or memory foam.

The cover on the GhostBed Classic mattress is made with polyester and viscose, and I must warn you -- it's not machine washable. So, although you can take the cover off, I don't recommend throwing it in the washing machine. If you do, don't say I didn't warn you when you try to fit it back on. 

Feel

The three major foams typically used in mattresses are polyurethane foam, memory foam and latex foam. Most mattresses don't use all three, but the GhostBed Classic does. I feel the support and sponginess of the latex foam, but it doesn't bounce like a typical latex foam bed. That's because I can also feel the slow-moving, contouring feel of the memory foam from underneath the latex foam. That makes it more neutral-feeling like poly foam, resulting in a blended foam feel overall. 

If you're someone who hates the feel of a memory foam mattress because it can give you that "sinking" feel, you'll probably be pleased with the GhostBed Classic mattress. It's pressure-relieving, but you aren't going to become nestled into a memory foam cocoon. 

GhostBed Classic mattress performance

Motion isolation

This mattress does a great job at deadening movement, even though it contains that latex foam top layer. There are no springs and memory foam is second-to-none at isolating movement throughout a mattress. This is a feature to take into consideration if you share a mattress with somebody.  

Edge support

When you find yourself near the edge of a mattress at night, you don't want to suddenly feel the sensation of falling off -- or worse, actually topple off. This happens if the sides give easily and don't offer proper support. Foam bed-in-a-box mattresses generally have average edge support, and the same goes for the GhostBed Classic. It didn't blow me away, but it also shouldn't be bad enough that you won't be comfortable on the edge. 

Temperature

The GhostBed Classic mattress isn't going to sleep cold, but it is better at regulating temperature than other foam mattresses on the market, like the Casper and the Layla mattress. That gel memory foam helps prevent the bed from retaining heat, and the latex foam lets air pass through the entire layer. I didn't sleep hot when testing out the GhostBed Classic mattress, and I think most people will have that same sentiment. 

Who is the GhostBed Classic mattress best for?

Considering the bed's all-foam construction and medium or 5 firmness level, here are the types of people I'd recommend this GhostBed mattress to. 

Sleeping Position

Mattresses in the center of the firmness scale offer ample pressure relief and support to side, back, stomach and combination sleepers. This makes the GhostBed Classic ideal for just about everyone, sleep position-wise. 

Body type

Foam mattresses aren't as supportive or durable as hybrid mattresses, so I would mostly recommend this bed to people under 230 pounds unless you plan on keeping it in a guest bedroom. I don't think you'll get the right back support over time, especially if you sleep on your back or stomach. Check out the GhostBed Flex mattress or our list of the best hybrid mattresses. 

Latex foam is usually decently expensive, but this GhostBed mattress is synthetic and will be a little nicer on your wallet. It's in the range of your average bed-in-a-box prices, on par with brands like Nectar and Casper. A queen size will retail around $1,695, but you can find the brand running promos pretty often.

GhostBed Classic mattress warranty, shipping and trial 

If you've never purchased a mattress online before, you should know that it looks a lot different than purchasing it in-store. It'll be delivered to your door(typically for free), rolled up inside of a box. Not a mattress-size box, but a box the size of a set of golf clubs. After you unbox it, it will slowly expand to its full size.

With the GhostBed Classic mattress, you'll have 101 nights to try out your mattress and figure out if you want to keep it. If you do, you'll be backed by a 20-year warranty. If you want to return it, reach out to customer service and they'll walk you through the rest of the process. 

Final verdict on the GhostBed Classic

In a virtual sea of online mattresses, the GhostBed Classic finds a way to stand out from the rest of the competition even though it's a fairly simple foam mattress. Its use of all three types of comfy foam gives it a unique feel that combines the best of all worlds: it's supportive and pressure-relieving, but not difficult to switch positions in. Here's why I say you should or shouldn't pull the trigger on GhostBed.

You might like this mattress if:

• You want a moderate firmness level that isn't soft or firm, but right in the middle
• You don't like the feel of memory foam and want something different 
• You weigh under 230 pounds
• You sleep on your side, back, stomach or a little of each

You might not like this mattress if:

• You want an ultra budget mattress
• You weigh over 230 pounds
• You want a more supportive bed with coils
• You want a mattress that's either very soft or very firm

Other mattresses from GhostBed

GhostBed offers three mattress collections: Essential, Luxury and Premium. The GhostBed Classic in the Essential Collection is its most affordable bed -- aside from a cheaper GhostBed RV, a 10" thick medium-firm bed perfectly sized for RVs or campers.

The next tier is GhostBed's Luxury Collection. This collection includes the Venus Williams Legend and Legend Hybrid mattresses, designed for recovery and performance with a mineral-infused gel memory foam layer that the brand says will promote faster muscle recovery.

The highest tier is the Premium Collection which includes a GhostBed Massage Mattress with patent-pending massage technology and eight preset programs to choose from. The other mattress in this collection is the GhostBed 3D Matrix, offering patented cooling technology with a thermal conductive gel polymer layer.

GhostBed Luxe

The GhostBed Luxe has seven layers of cooling comfort, including a contouring gel memory foam layer designed to relieve pressure points and alleviate back pain. This bed has a medium firmness level which accommodates most sleeping positions.

GhostBed Luxe $3,095 at GhostBed

GhostBed Flex Hybrid

The GhostBed Flex Hybrid is 13" thick and offers a medium firmness profile that should work for all sleeping positions. With individually wrapped coils and gel memory foam, it's more responsive and doesn't have that "sinking" feeling of traditional memory foam. Learn more about this bed in our GhostBed Flex Hybrid mattress review.

GhostBed Flex Hybrid See at GhostBed