Wool Bed/ Mattress Review

Edit:  Please read all the comments to this post.  There are quite a few bad reviews now about the quality of this product.

Below is a thorough review of The Wool Bed Company (surroundewe.com) and their wool products that we purchased.  I have no affiliation with this company at all, I’m simply a customer who has purchased some of their products.

After spending much time on their website, I called the company and asked a few more detailed questions.  I looked for some reviews on the internet but couldn’t really find any except ones that were on their own website, I wanted to read some independent reviews.  And because I couldn’t see, touch, or lay on this mattress before buying it, I felt even more hesitant.  Nevertheless, we checked our debit Mastercard buyer’s guarantee and decided to go ahead and placed our first order.  (A year later we ordered two more twin mattresses.  A couple of years later and we ordered two more twin “mattresses” but they were not the same and we had to return them).

Edit:  Before I proceed, I will say that I’ve had comments come in questioning the customer service at this company.  I also did not get the best customer service.  So use your own judgment and know that maybe not all of your calls/emails will be answered.  Returns will be a problem, and your order most likely will not arrive on-time.  That’s what I’m hearing and also experienced myself.

Edit:  Before I tell you about that first and second order we placed, let me tell you about a third time not being a charm.  We ordered two twin “Premium” mattresses and there was nothing premium about them.  They were basically thick comforters, there is no way you can actually call them a “mattress,” which they do.  We had to return them as I knew they would compress down to be as flat as a comforter after a couple month’s usage.  I will say, since we did not sleep or sit on them (do not lay or sit on your mattress until you know you’ll keep it, which isn’t really possible but I COULD tell by looking this time) we were able to return them for our full refund.  But it wasn’t without hassle.

My first order:  The products were delivered via FedEx Freight in huge boxes.  Even though the outside of the boxes had gotten quite filthy from shipping, the inside was immaculate (I got worried when I saw how dirty the outside of the boxes were).  But the boxes were all wrapped in shrink wrap and fully protected.  When we opened the boxes, everything was completely covered in super large plastic bags.  The wool products were rolled up beautifully and tied with wool scrap strings, it looked gorgeous.  The one thing that surprised me was that the bedding smelled like sheep!  Baaa.  It actually didn’t bother me, but others have reported that this is nauseating to them or they have had allergy issues.  (Edit:  In my opinion, the smell was pretty much gone after a couple of months).

Once we got everything all set up, we collapsed onto it to see just how it would feel.  Ahhh, it was nice.  It really felt soft and ultra comfy.  (Now that I’ve had it for a while, I will say… that “lofty” feel that they advertise doesn’t last more than a few months.  Once the wool is compacted down, it’s not super soft anymore.  It becomes a firm mattress.  But I have enjoyed it still, even though it’s firm).  Here’s a breakdown of my specific reviews on each item we got…

 Ultimate Topper:  The topper we got for our King-sized bed has definitely lost that initial fluff, this is the piece that makes the new bed “lofty.”  That fluffiness was probably gone within a few months.  I sometimes sleep on my son’s bed with him for a nap and his twin wool mattress (with no topper) feels the same to me as our king that has the “Ultimate” topper.  If I had to do over again, I’d probably not buy the topper, although it was luxurious at first.  All of our mattresses (have ordered two more twin ones since our initial order in 2011) are still in great condition.  And don’t smell like sheep!  I’ll add once again that the customer service we’ve received from the one lady that runs the place has definitely been sketchy.  Enough to make me not order again.

King Size Wool Mattress– The mattress itself is very very firm.  And I was surprised to find out that it comes in two pieces.  I didn’t see this anywhere on their website.  They should have this information on their website for customers to see.  Because many people have complained that fitting two mattresses side by side creates a rut/ “sinking area” in the middle.  The mattresses are thick and beautiful, we got the 8″ thick size.  Let me say, if you order a mattress, make sure you measure well before hand and order the exact size, not all King’s are the same.

Topper/ Underquilt– We got the Ultimate Topper, the website says it’s 5″ after tufting, I didn’t measure.  This is what made it so lofty in the beginning, felt wonderful.  Every three years or as needed, it is recommended that you have the topper “renewed” (you mail it back to them and they re-tuft the wool.  Can we say, expensive?).  That’s something to keep in mind as that will be more cost and maintenance.  We aren’t interested in paying for this so we’ll just live with a firm topper.

Washable Wool Mattress Pad– This is a thinner pad that goes on top of your topper to protect it.  Wouldn’t you know that on our first night of the new bed, our little guy leaked through his diaper!  So this pad was put to the test right away.  My conclusion?  Our topper was fine and didn’t get wet (it had a coverlet around it also), but this pad isn’t all waterproof.  To test it, later that morning we poured a small glass of water onto the pad to see if the water would leak through.  At first, it just beaded off, which impressed me.  But then we formed a little hollow and poured some more water in it and left it sitting for a couple of hours.  It did leak through, not excessively, but it did get the layer below it wet.  Which told me I’d better get another cover on our bed in case of another accident.

Coverlet for the Topper/ Underquilt– This is basically a big cover to protect the topper a little bit (kind of like a canvas-y cloth cover, not waterproof though). The mattress on the website never mentioned I would receive this so you might ask about it??

Wool Pillows– We got both a soft and a medium wool pillow.  It was a little thicker than what I was used to, but I squished it and made it work for whatever position I was in.  I do really like that my face is lying on 100% wool each night.  The medium wool pillow was thicker than the soft and was very nice.  (Edit– After a year or so (maybe less?), the pillow was still usable but the wool kind of separated inside, making it not as comfortable, but I still use it just fine I suppose).

Crib/ Toddler Mattress– We also got a mattress for our son’s toddler bed and it came with a washable mattress pad as well.  It’s a little large on his toddler bed frame.  And it’s a bit thicker than his old mattress too so regular crib sheets won’t fit on it.  This is a nuisance as no one really sells XL crib sheets.  He doesn’t have a topper, so he’s just sleeping on a firm mattress, which is more than fine.

Now, let me review the customer service at surroundewe.com:
The website says that orders should arrive within 5-6 weeks.  At the 6-week mark, I called to check on my order and it wasn’t ready yet.  They say all of their products are hand-made so I was lenient.  The order finally arrived 9 weeks and 1 day after my order was officially placed.  Even though I would have liked to have gotten my order sooner, they made up for it by throwing in some freebies for me, like the two wool pillows mentioned above.  I’ll be honest and say that I did question their customer service, a lot.  Not all my emails were answered and some of the responses I finally got weren’t detailed enough for me, just short one-line emails.

Their website says that wool is cool in the summer, but that’s not so true in our situation.  It’s definitely not cool, but is at whatever the temperature of the room is at.

Side Note:  Make sure to read all the really good/bad comments others have left on this post below! 

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”  Colossians 3:2  🙂