The 13-inch mid-tier sits one inch and roughly $400 above the entry hybrid on the same 8-inch coil unit. This DreamCloud Premier Hybrid mattress review draws on two independent labs with different instruments, and they agree on the headline: the foam improves pressure relief and the perimeter steel makes the edge strong, while cooling, firmness, and heavy-sleeper support stay where the entry model left them. Where they part ways is longevity, and that is the section to read before paying the difference.
Updated · By SleepUnpacked Research Team
Pay it if you sleep on your side or sit on the edge of the bed; keep the money if you want cooler or firmer. The deeper memory foam lifted pressure relief from 8 to 9 and edge support from 7.5 to 8 in one lab, and a second lab’s pressure-map and accelerometer readings (8.2 and 8.6) point the same way. Side sleepers scored 9 to 9.5 at every body weight. Nothing else moved: temperature control, motion isolation, ease of movement, and the 6-of-10 firmness placement are identical to the entry model, and back and stomach sleepers over 230 pounds still tested at 6 to 6.5. The caveat is materials: the instrumented lab describes the foams as low-density and scores longevity 5.1, so the comfort gain is real but its lifespan is the least certain thing on this page.
The middle tier of DreamCloud’s hybrid line, between the 12-inch Classic Hybrid and the 14-inch Luxe Hybrid. Not the DreamCloud Memory Foam line, and not the discontinued Premier Rest, which was a taller, plusher model covered by a separate Living Review on this site.
A CloudQuilt Euro top with cooling fibers and stitched-in foam, a contouring memory-foam layer, an adaptive support foam, 8 inches of individually wrapped coils with a reinforced perimeter, and a higher-density foam base. DreamCloud states it is fiberglass-free with CertiPUR-US certified foams.
DreamCloud’s language is "Medium-Firm – cushioning where you want it, support where you need it." The independent lab measured 6 of 10, the same placement it gave the Classic Hybrid; the Premier feels softer on the surface because of the deeper foam, not because the core is different. One firmness only.
One inch taller than the Classic Hybrid, and that inch is comfort foam; the coil unit is 8 inches in both. One secondary test measured 13.5 inches, which is disclosed in the source notes rather than treated as a version difference.
Roughly $400 above the Classic Hybrid at the same time. DreamCloud reprices promotionally rather than showing a struck regular price, so treat the sale figure as the effective price and confirm it at checkout. Also sold through third-party retailers.
DreamCloud asks buyers to "take at least 30 days to get to know your DreamCloud" before deciding, and independent testing reports that 30-night break-in as a requirement before a return is processed.
Ships in 1–2 days and typically arrives in 2–5 business days. Alaska and Hawaii carry a $350 non-refundable surcharge. White Glove delivery is an extra $199 for up to two items and takes 10–14 business days.
You contact the Sleep Concierge, DreamCloud helps locate a local donation or disposal option rather than collecting the mattress, and the refund typically posts within 2–3 business days. "DreamCloud returns include free shipping, always."
For the first ten years a confirmed defect is replaced with a new mattress at no charge; after ten years DreamCloud may repair or replace, with a $50 shipping fee each way that is waived when the defect is confirmed. The written threshold is a visible indentation greater than 1.5 inches on a proper foundation. Normal softening and comfort preference are excluded.
Best-for and avoid-if guidance is Sleep Unpacked editorial analysis. Purchase terms can change; use the linked official source before ordering.
The cleanest way to price an upgrade is to hold the lab constant. Both tiers were rated by the same test lab on the same ten-point methodology, and both are current versions, so an unchanged row here means the product did not change on that attribute, not that a different reviewer scored it differently.
| Attribute | 12-inch entry | 13-inch mid tier | Moved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Queen price (checked date) | $699 | $1,099 | Yes |
| Published height | 12 in | 13 in | Yes |
| Firmness (ten-point) | 6 | 6 | No |
| Pressure relief | 8 | 9 | Yes |
| Edge support | 7.5 | 8 | Yes |
| Temperature control | 7 | 7 | No |
| Motion isolation | 7.5 | 7.5 | No |
| Ease of movement | 7 | 7 | No |
| Side, 130–230 lb | 9 | 9.5 | Yes |
| Back, over 230 lb | 6 | 6.5 | Yes |
| Stomach, over 230 lb | 5.5 | 6 | Yes |
Prices are queen sale prices on each review’s checked date. The ten-point figures belong to the cited lab and are explained on its pages; they are not scores assigned here.
Each result is labeled by evidence type. A measurement is not converted into a 10-point rating, and an untested metric stays unscored.
Medium-firm (6/10)
Measured at the same 6/10 as the Classic Hybrid, which is the key thing to understand about the Premier: the upgrade changes how much foam you sink into before reaching the coils, not how firm the coils are. A second lab using a stiffness gauge recorded 36 Pa/mm and labelled the feel medium-plush, so expect the surface to read softer than the number suggests.
Sleep Foundation Test Lab9 / 10 test-lab rating
The single biggest measured gain over the Classic Hybrid (8/10) and the reason to pay the difference. The doubled memory-foam depth cradles the shoulder and hip with the coil unit still close enough to stop the sink.
Sleep Foundation Test Lab7 / 10 test-lab rating
Unchanged from the Classic Hybrid. More memory foam means more contact and more heat retention, and the extra cooling fiber in the cover only offsets that rather than improving on it.
Sleep Foundation Test Lab7.5 / 10 test-lab rating
Also unchanged from the Classic. Good for most couples, with the coil core still transmitting a little more movement than an all-foam bed would. An accelerometer-based test at a second lab scored it higher (8.6), so the true figure likely sits at the better end of adequate.
Sleep Foundation Test Lab7 / 10 ease-of-movement rating
The deeper foam adds some drag when changing position, which the coils partly offset. Combination sleepers will feel more resistance than on a thinner-topped hybrid.
Sleep Foundation Test Lab8 / 10 test-lab rating
Half a point above the Classic Hybrid. The reinforced perimeter coils hold a seated load well, and the Euro-top construction keeps the edge from feeling like a ledge. A second lab that identified heavier 13-gauge coils around the border and head and foot scored the edge 8.5, corroborating the result.
Sleep Foundation Test LabNot reported for the current version
The compatible lab test did not publish a numeric noise result for the current 13-inch Premier Hybrid, so no rating is assigned rather than borrowing one from another source or another DreamCloud model.
Fit calls interpret the first lab's position-by-weight scores. The 15-gauge centre coils and the thicker foam explain the pattern: side sleepers of any weight are cradled, while heavier back and stomach sleepers sink through the middle where the lighter steel sits.
Tested 9/10. Lighter side sleepers get the deeper contour the Classic Hybrid could not quite deliver at this weight.
Tested 9.5 — the best result anywhere in the DreamCloud hybrid line. Shoulder and hip settle into the memory foam with the coils holding alignment.
Tested 9/10. Heavier side sleepers still get pressure relief without bottoming out, though expect more comfort-layer compression over time.
Tested 8/10; a lighter back sleeper stays level and gets gentle lumbar contour.
Tested 7.5 — solid, though the deeper foam lets hips settle a little more than on the Classic Hybrid.
Tested 6.5. Hip sink under a heavier load is the limiting factor; the Premier is fractionally better here than the Classic (6) but not by enough to change the call.
Tested 8/10; lighter stomach sleepers stay reasonably flat on the coils.
Tested 7 — hips begin pressing into the memory foam at average weights, which a stomach sleeper feels as a lower back arch.
Tested 6/10, the weakest combination on the mattress. A thicker comfort layer under a heavier stomach sleeper is the wrong direction for alignment.
Repositioning is manageable at lower body weight, though the 7/10 ease-of-movement result means more foam drag than a thinner hybrid.
Workable if side sleeping dominates; the stomach phase is the weak link at this weight.
Deeper compression amplifies drag, and both back and stomach phases lose support over 230 lb.
These are comfort and alignment judgements drawn from cited third-party testing, not clinical recommendations. The company asks for 30 nights before a return; the 365-night trial is the safety net after that.
The first lab scores by hand on a ten-point scale. The second presses gauges into the surface, maps pressure under a body, and reads motion transfer with an accelerometer. Their scales do not convert, so the table shows both without translating one into the other. On feel, edges, pressure, and motion they describe the same mattress from two angles. On materials they disagree, and that disagreement drives the durability section.
| Attribute | Hand-scored lab | Instrumented lab |
|---|---|---|
| Feel | Medium-firm, 6 of 10 | Medium-plush, 36 Pa/mm stiffness |
| Measured height | 13 in (matches official) | 13.2 in |
| Coil steel | Reinforced perimeter, not gauged | 13-gauge border, head and foot; 15-gauge centre |
| Foam quality | Durability 8 of 10 | "Low-density" foams; longevity 5.1 of 10 |
| Pressure relief | 9 of 10 | 8.2 (pressure-map) |
| Motion isolation | 7.5 of 10 | 8.6 (accelerometer) |
| Edge support | 8 of 10 | 8.5 |
| Heat retention | Temperature control 7 of 10 | Cooling 8.0 |
A 6-of-10 placement and a 36 Pa/mm stiffness reading sound contradictory until you picture the stack: a thick quilted top and two inches of memory foam over 8 inches of steel. The gauge measures how easily the first layers give; the hand score measures where the coils eventually stop you. A surface that yields readily and then firms up will read plush on one instrument and medium-firm on the other. The practical translation is that this tier is the softer-feeling of the two 6-rated hybrids, and the fix for an entry model that felt too firm rather than too soft.
The official page says only that the perimeter is reinforced. The instrumented teardown found the reinforcement is heavier 13-gauge steel around the border and across the head and foot, with lighter 15-gauge steel through the centre. That is end-zone and edge stiffening, not lumbar zoning. It accounts for an edge that scored 8 and 8.5 in the two labs, and it also accounts for the fit pattern: side sleepers load the softer centre in a way memory foam handles well, while heavier back and stomach sleepers load it in a way the lighter steel does not. A third source describes a single 13.5-gauge non-zoned unit; it is noted in the sources and not relied on.
The company publishes six layers: a CloudQuilt Euro top with cooling fibers and stitched-in foam, a contouring memory-foam layer, an adaptive support foam, 8 inches of individually wrapped coils, a higher-density foam base, and a protective bottom cover, for 13 inches in total and a claim of twice the memory foam and cooling fiber of the entry tier. The instrumented lab measured the top at about 2.4 inches quilted, 2 inches of memory foam, and a 1-inch polyfoam transition. The foams are stated as fiberglass-free and CertiPUR-US certified. The one figure nobody publishes is foam density, and it is the figure that would settle the longevity disagreement. Everything here is a published or measured specification, not evidence of service life.
Search results for the mid-tier name pull in the discontinued Premier Rest, a taller and plusher model that has left the lineup and has its own Living Review here, along with the 14-inch Luxe tier and the all-foam line. Heights, foam depth, and prices differ across all of them. The two lab tests used on this page were checked against the current 13-inch build before any figure was quoted; confirm the exact name on the product page before applying them.
The two share a parent company, a 13-inch height, and a price within about $100 ($1,099 against $1,199 queen on the checked dates). In the same hand-scored lab the Nectar came out firmer at 7, with pressure relief at 7.5 and an edge at 7. This mattress came out at 6 with pressure relief at 9 and an edge at 8. For someone who sleeps on their side or perches on the bed edge, that is a decisive gap at a lower price.
The Nectar scored half a point better on temperature control (7.5 against 7), and its firmer surface gives back and stomach sleepers more pushback under the hips, which is precisely where the 15-gauge centre coils here tested weakest for heavier bodies. A hot-sleeping back or stomach sleeper shopping 13-inch hybrids in this band should read the Nectar review next; a side sleeper should not.
This is a modeled outlook and nothing on this page is an observed long-term result. Inputs: the measured stack (roughly 2.4 inches quilted top, 2 inches of memory foam, 1 inch of polyfoam over 8 inches of 13- and 15-gauge pocket coils), a 6-of-10 starting placement, one lab’s 8-of-10 materials rating, the other lab’s low-density foam observation and 5.1 longevity score, nightly use by one or two adults on a warranty-compliant foundation, and no liquid damage. The missing input is foam density in pounds per cubic foot; if it is disclosed or independently measured, the model changes. This is not a failure probability, a lifespan guarantee, or a rating.
Low-density memory foam loses height and resilience faster than high-density foam, and this tier carries about twice as much of it as the entry model. Modeled expectation: a softer, more hammocked feel in the centre well before the coils change, arriving soonest for side sleepers over 230 lb and for anyone who sleeps in one spot without rotating. Because the warranty excludes normal softening and sets a 1.5-inch indentation threshold, most of that drift would fall outside a claim.
Pocket coils in 13- and 15-gauge steel on a dense foam base are a conventional, well-understood support core, and the hand-scored lab credits it with an 8-of-10 durability rating, half a point above the entry tier. Modeled expectation: perimeter sag and coil fatigue are late-life events rather than early ones. Confidence in the core is moderate to good. Confidence in the comfort layer is low until density is known.
A published or independently measured foam density. A construction revision to the stack or coil gauges. A compatible retest of the current 13-inch build. Multi-year owner evidence for this exact model, not the entry tier or the discontinued Premier Rest. Any of those triggers a revision; until then the foam-first scenario is the working assumption, and the year count stays deliberately unstated.
The inch is comfort foam. The coil unit is 8 inches in both, so measured firmness (6 of 10), temperature control (7), motion isolation (7.5), and ease of movement (7) came out identical in the same lab. The extra foam lifted pressure relief from 8 to 9 and edge support from 7.5 to 8, and it widened the side-sleeper sweet spot: 9 to 9.5 in every weight band versus 8.5 to 9 on the entry model. Queen pricing was $699 against $1,099 on the checked dates.
They measure different things. One lab places it at 6 of 10, medium-firm, on a hand-scored scale. The other pressed a gauge into the surface and recorded 36 Pa/mm, which it labels medium-plush. Both are describing a thick foam top over a fairly stiff coil core: the first number describes where the coils catch you, the second describes how easily the surface gives before that happens. If the entry model felt too firm, this is the fix; if it felt too soft, it is not.
The official page does not say, but an instrumented teardown found two coil gauges: heavier 13-gauge steel around the border and at the head and foot, and lighter 15-gauge steel through the centre. That is perimeter and end-zone reinforcement rather than lumbar zoning. It explains the strong edge result (8 and 8.5 from the two labs) and why heavier back and stomach sleepers still sink through the middle.
Neither is a measurement of how long the mattress lasts; both are judgments about materials. The first credits the coil core. The second describes the foams as low-density and scores accordingly. Read together they point the same way: the steel should hold up, the foam is the question mark. The published warranty threshold of a 1.5-inch indentation excludes normal softening, so gradual comfort-layer change is the owner’s to absorb. Our durability outlook below treats the foam-density concern as its main input.
Corporate siblings at the same 13-inch height, about $100 apart on the checked dates. The Nectar measured firmer (7 of 10) with lower pressure relief (7.5) and a weaker edge (7), but slightly better temperature control (7.5 against 7). Side sleepers and people who sit on the edge of the bed get the better result here; back and stomach sleepers who want more pushback under the hips get it from the Nectar.
A 365-night home trial, with the company asking for at least 30 days before a return is processed. Returns are free and donation-coordinated rather than collected, with refunds typically posting within 2–3 business days. The Forever Warranty replaces a defective mattress outright for ten years and repairs or replaces after that, with a $50 each-way shipping charge that is waived when the defect is confirmed. Alaska and Hawaii shipping surcharges are not refunded.
Intro:For first-pass context, review DreamCloud Classic Hybrid mattress review.
Methods:For methods and material assumptions, review Nectar Luxe Hybrid mattress review.
Methods:For methods and material assumptions, review Nectar vs DreamCloud value matchup.
Risk:For risk thresholds and failure conditions, review lifetime warranty coverage limits.
Conclusion:For conclusion-level comparison, review mattress lifespan by construction.
Next Step:For your next decision step, review DreamCloud Premier Hybrid specs, sizes & pricing.
Next Step:For your next decision step, review best mattress for side sleepers.