Otty Pure Plus Hybrid Bamboo & Charcoal Premium Mattress review

The Otty Pure Plus Hybrid Bamboo & Charcoal Premium mattress is the brand's first 28cm mattress, with a total of 7 layers of memory foam and springs. It arrives in a box for convenience and Otty offers a 100-night trial when buying direct so that you can test it without fully committing.

Given the fact that the Pure Plus Hybrid is Otty's most luxurious mattress offering – and therefore their most expensive – we couldn't wait to review this at home. This mattress is made from 43% springs and 57% foam, and it's rated 5.5 out of 10 on the firmness scale, so a happy medium. The Pure Plus Hybrid follows a similar design as the brand's award-winning Hybrid Original mattress, but it's slightly softer and they've added a few health benefits to improve your wellbeing and maintain your mattress's hygiene. It's naturally hypoallergenic and antibacterial thanks to the charcoal-infused memory foam, and it's heat-regulating due to the bamboo that's permeated into the foam. Best of all: it's a sustainable option that has been created causing less of a strain on the planet than your average mattress.

We had two types of sleepers test this mattress for us, bearing this in mind, one of whom sleeps on their front and the other on their side. Find out how it fared when we tested it, and whether it deserves a slot alongside the other brilliant mattresses on our best mattress list.

OTTY Pure Plus Hybrid Mattress

The Otty Pure Plus Hybrid Bamboo & Charcoal Premium mattress is a base that's best suited to side sleepers. It's 57% memory foam, which doesn't fare well if you sleep face down as you'll wake up with a stiff neck and back the next morning. However, this high percentage of memory foam does mean this mattress is perfectly suited for side sleepers since it's what helps the mattress mould its shape as your body curves, keeping your spine straight whilst you snooze. The foam itself is a breath of fresh air (no pun intended) when it comes to its breathability. In fact, the breathability of this mattress is one of the obvious determining factors when it comes to luxury. We noticed how cooling this mattress was from the very first night of sleeping on it.

The balance of 43% of springs means this mattress has next to no motion transfer, even when people of different weights are moving about. 

OTTY Pure Plus Hybrid specifications:

Type: Hybrid

Sizes: Single, Double, King, Super King

Comfort level: Medium - 5.5 out of 10

Construction Materials: Memory foam cover, memory foam, springs

Height: 28cm

MSRP: From £999.99 for a single size, although you can find deals by using OTTY discount codes

Who will this mattress suit?

This mattress in a box is best suited for those who are after a luxurious, yet convenient, mattress. By convenient, we obviously mean that it arrives in a box, but also don't forget that it comes with a 100-night trial. Whilst it's not one of those mattresses you can try out in a shop and sit on, we think that a home trial period allows for better testing of a mattress than if you were to sit on one that's probably already been broken in by other customers, inside a showroom, and taking into account it’s not sitting atop your actual bed base or tested with your exact pillows. Being able to try it out during an at-home trial period is worth its weight in gold.

Without forgetting its eco-credentials, this mattress will suit anyone who is planet conscious and searching for a green mattress. It's crafted using eco-friendly properties such as bamboo and charcoal. These two resources are extremely renewable since they both grow at a rapid rate.

When it comes to sleeping positions, we would recommend this mattress to side sleepers and back sleepers. Front sleepers should avoid it at all costs. Saying that, if you are searching for a mattress with essentially zero motion transfer, perhaps if there is a large weight difference between you and whoever you share your bed with, then this is the one for you.

Unboxing: how easy is it to set up the Otty Pure Plus Hybrid?

This mattress arrived rolled inside a box. We had no issues getting it through our front door or any of our interior doors, in fact, it was quite easy to move around when it was inside the box. We set it up in our spare bedroom initially, as we were mid-way through a bedroom renovation, as leaving it in the box is not recommended. We opened it and popped it on top of our very uncomfortable sofa bed. We ended up moving it into our actual bedroom, once the reno was finished only a few weeks later. We didn't notice much difference between the mattress' comfortability from being on a sofa bed to an actual bed frame.

Opening the box revealed that the mattress was wrapped in a vacuum-sealed plastic bag, and inside the box came a green tool for opening this bag. It says to leave the mattress for 4 hours to rise before sitting or sleeping on it. Admittedly, it did settle quite fast, but we did wait a little more than the recommended time to make our bed up and sleep on it. They say to place the mattress on your bed so that the OTTY logo is at the bottom of your bed. Though you will have to rotate this mattress once a month for the first 6 months of use.

The box the mattress came inside can be recycled, whilst the plastic wrap will have to go in your landfill bin. The cutter can be saved and used when it comes to opening other packages if you wish.

Another thing to note is that this mattress in a box is 28cm deep, whilst other box models are usually around 25cm. Be sure to measure your bed frame to ensure this isn't too high for you. For us, it was the perfect height and in comparison to our previous IKEA mattress, it felt like luxury.

Is the Otty Pure Plus Hybrid comfortable?

This question comes with a very split opinion. Mostly because we had two different types of sleepers test this mattress. These two sleepers tested it whilst sleeping next to each other, for around 6 months in total. On initial sitting, after the four hours had passed, both our testers found this mattress comfortable yet soft to lay on, before dressing the bed and actually sleeping on it for a full 8 hours.

As a front sleeper, I found this mattress uncomfortable from the get-go. Before testing this mattress, I slept with only one pillow. But, once sleeping on this base I soon realised I would need a thicker option, if not then two pillows in total. I spent a lot of time switching pillows around and trying them all, in hope that the issue was with the pillow I was using and not the mattress. Unfortunately, 6 months down the line, I still cannot get used to this mattress. Some nights I do find it comfortable, as I might accidentally roll onto my side during the night, however, in my default sleep position, I cannot get on with this mattress. It's not all bad, though, as admittedly, from the very first night I noticed how impressively breathable this mattress was from my previous one. We started testing it at the end of August, so the weather was warm which meant I immediately noticed that I was sleeping a lot cooler. I am also super impressed how there is no motion transfer. This is really important to me since the person I share the bed with often wakes earlier than me, and I am a light sleeper. So, it felt more than refreshing to realise that I no longer bounce up and down as they get up in the morning.

On the other hand, our side sleeper absolutely loved this mattress and still raves about it to this day. If it were up to them, we would have this mattress in every single room of our house. It's worth noting that our side sleeper loves memory foam, and sleeps with a memory foam pillow, too. They also sometimes roll over to sleep on their back during the night, and they reported this mattress to be comfortable and supportive in this position, too. They said it keeps your spine aligned and straight when asleep on both your side and back. They never once complained about the mattress being uncomfortable, even after rotating. Our side sleeper also noticed the mattress' breathability in an instant, as they are quite a hot sleeper. Although they still sleep hot, it has definitely improved their temperature regulation at night, especially in warmer months.

Cooling properties

One of the prevalent features of the Otty Pure Pure is its breathability. Both of our reviewers immediately noticed the cooling properties of this mattress, especially in comparison to their last mattress which was on the cheaper side. We've tested this mattress throughout all of the seasons, from the end of August until late March. So we can vouch for the fact that it keeps you cool in the spring and summer, and warm in the winter and autumn.

How is it breathable? With 7 layers in total, this mattress' design has been thoroughly thought out for maximum comfort. A total of 2 layers of pocket springs allow airflow through this mattress, whilst the foam layers are temperature-regulating.

What is the edge support like?

We tested this mattress in a king-size, with two people sleeping on it at all times. Our side sleeper always sleeps on the very edge of the bed, whilst our front sleeper doesn't. So, our side sleeper who reviewed this mattress has assured us that it keeps them well-balanced at all times. We tested this ourselves using a 3kg dumbbell (the heaviest we had at the time), and you can see the comparison photos below.

Though the dumbbell isn't heavy enough to offer any indication as to how soft the mattress is, you can compare how deep each of these matching weights sits when they are side by side, but in different places on the mattress. There is an ever so slight dip on the one placed on the edge of the mattress. Even when laying on the edge, you will only feel a slight sense of unbalance, but we are more than happy that it is nothing to worry about if you tend to sleep close to the edge of your bed but want more support when doing so.

What is the Otty Pure Plus Hybrid made from?

The Otty Pure Plus Hybrid, as mentioned above, has a total of 7 layers that make up its construction:

1. The first layer is a memory foam quilted cover that's washable, though dry-clean only. This cushioned cover has 2cm of memory foam stitched into it to act as protection.
2. The second layer is bamboo memory foam with infused charcoal so it is antibacterial and odour-absorbent.
3. Next comes 2,000 pocket springs, all of which measure 8cm deep. This layer of the mattress is solely designed to minimise motion transfer, and it does its job beautifully.
4. Then you'll find 2 layers of high density foam. These layers allow the mattress to breathe and they allow for more airflow.
5. Then, there are another 2,000 pocket springs, just for good measure. This time, instead of being for motion transfer purposes, these springs are here to aid support where it's needed the most. And to sandwich the dense memory foam!
6. The last layer of this mattress, on the very bottom, is more foam, but this time it's high strength base foam that's there for stability and durability purposes. In other words, this part of the mattress should ensure that you get a comfortable night's sleep no matter how hard your bed base is.

Here, you can see the Otty Pure Plus with its cover off.

Is the Otty Pure Plus Hybrid worth the money?

In our eyes, if you are a side sleeper and you want all of the added bells and whistles with your new mattress, then the Otty Pure Plus is worth the investment if you can afford its high price tag. With its RRP starting from £999.99 for a single size, sometimes you can find it on sale. However in terms of longevity, after sleeping on it for 6 months, this mattress is still essentially like brand new. It's showing absolutely zero signs of wear, even though it has been moved from one base to another, and it has been moved rooms.

The temperature regulation and breathability of this mattress is second-to-none, and its motion transfer is minimal, making it ideal for anyone who sleeps next to someone who is a little restless. Or if you often have the kids hop into your bed during the night or a pet who sleeps on the end of your bed.

Another reason to invest in this mattress is that thanks to its antibacterial features this mattress actually feels clean. When it comes to changing our sheets, we've never noticed our mattress looking dirty, we never noticed any odours (even though one of our reviewers is a hot sleeper) and most important of all: it has never felt unclean. In fact, as we've already mentioned, it still looks brand new. The photos in this review in the bedroom with the half-painted wall were taken 6 months into using this mattress.

The only thing we can possibly complain about, apart from it being uncomfortable for our front sleeper, is that its cover is dry clean only. However due to the mattress' antibacterial properties mentioned above, it's not like this needs washing weekly, so it's not a huge issue.

It's worth us noting that as well as a 100-night trial, this mattress comes with a 10-year warranty and you will get free premium delivery when buying directly from Otty.

How did we test this mattress?

For more context, it helps to know about me – the reviewer – and my sleep style. I am the Deputy Ecommerce Editor at Ideal Home and I spend my time reviewing a range of products, from exercise bikes to candles. This is my first mattress review, and before this, I was sleeping on a cheap sprung IKEA mattress. Though my prior mattress was comfortable for me, a front sleeper, my husband-to-be who is a side sleeper wasn't very keen on its firm base. So, we thought we would opt for a happy medium of springs and foam.

Initially, we tested this mattress in our spare bedroom on top of our very uncomfortable sofa bed. Then, a few weeks later we moved it into our bedroom. We have been sleeping on it for 6 months at the time of writing this review, and with very different opinions of it, we definitely feel like we can offer a balanced view.

Our verdict together is that this is a brilliant luxury mattress option for hot sleepers or anyone who wants to opt for something to help regulate their temperature at night. It's also a brilliant luxurious mattress in a box option, especially for side sleepers. Front sleepers should avoid it at all costs, however. They are best to go for something slightly more firm, with less foam.

This mattress was sent to us free of charge by Otty. They let us keep the mattress for prolonged testing which we carried out between August 2021 and March 2022. We have been allowed to keep the mattress and will be able to update the review over time.