A Review of Hästens Mattresses

What kind of company sells a $59,000 mattress? A company that needs buzz.

Hästens isn't saying whether it has sold many, or any, of its top-of-the-line Vividus beds. But sales aren't the point. The point is, they want you to be aghast. They want you to mention it to your friends, the $60K bed. Over drinks (you've maybe just come from getting your hair cut, you saw the ad while flipping through Vanity Fair) your pals will posit which celebrities would buy it, thereby linking Hästens with those personages, the more notorious the better. Fitty, Paris, Pervez Musharraf.

Whatever.

Hästens doesn't even have to make the Vividus; they just have to advertise it — it looks exactly like their other beds. Beyond this mattress, which for some reason style writers have fallen all over themselves to talk about, there's the rest of Hästens' approach, including the blue checked fabric (we get it: you want to be the Burberry of Beds) and the hand-combed horsehair (you, like everyone else in the luxury market, want to capture the attention of the $50-a-bottle-extra-virgin-olive-oil crowd).

It's a dully obvious marketing scheme for such a sophisticated audience.

Now that we've deconstructed the ploy, what about the goods?

At ABC Carpet, in Manhattan, I lay down on the "Naturally" (around $4,000 for a queen). The top pad of the mattress flopped around like a piece of french toast. I found that the soft, medium, and firm pretty much all felt the same. Same for the "Superia" ($8,000) and the "Excelsior" ($12K). There in the middle of the room, on a dais, was the Vividus. Was it comfortable? Yes, but not memorably. Not specially. And I couldn't help feeling like I was in bed with a Blackwater executive who might have bought it.

The bottom line: these beds, with their "beautifully woven Hästens emblems," are Fluff.

Comments

[Gary Winter]

Hullo Sleeper--

This post sparked a great idea. I am going to sell my one-of-a-kind used matress for $16,000. Broken in for 12 years, it has, like a good wine, mellowed with age.

Gleason

[rx]

Just bought two sets of frame beds (Excel and Naturally) and must disagree. My lower back pain (for many years) completely disappeared after two nights on the Excel. So for that alone a great buy--now for their continental mattresses, could not get used to them (too many layers and too soft)..

[Sleeper]

The most important thing, of course, is that you're sleeping, and not in pain. That said, I cannot abide by a company that sells a $60K mattress. There are big things going wrong in this world. Things no mattress can fix.

[Gil]

I would have to respectfully disagree with all the anti-Hastens going on here. First off, I own a Superia, and this has been 0 beyond a shadow of a doubt - the single best night of sleep I have ever gotten on a bed, period.

It's a different type of sleep - it is a better sleep, period. I got mine from Gallery Furniture in Houston, and yes, there was a lot of hype, so I was skeptical. But hey, I was proven wrong. Very wrong.

It is not fluff - this wonderful bed is the real deal. Simple as that. I've been on Serta, Tempur-Pedic, etc. Hastens is, simply, the most comfortable bed on earth. Add to it the eco-friendly construction and their near zero-carbon footprint and I'd say you have a winner.

As far as companies selling a $60k mattress and bigger issues in the world - well, no offense, but why is that an issue? I WHOLLY abide by any company that can market and sell this bed. Capitalism turns the world, people.

Besides, I can solve global problems better on a good night's sleep. Now to tackle the Darfur issue.

[Sleeper]

I'm so happy to hear it! The idea behind this blog is that EVERYONE get the best night's sleep possible. I'm glad to hear from people who love these mattresses.

Hastens deserves props for eco-friendliness. (I very much preferred the Tempur-Pedic, but I am no longer recommending it because memory foam is a petroleum byproduct.)

I think the Vividus campaign is troubling — I've just reached a point where I'm soul-weary of that kind of selling — and I'm dubious of the idea that capitalism turns the world. But if this is the best bed you've ever slept on, right on.

[Jeff Klein]

I sell Hastens beds through my shop in Connecticut along side brands like Tempur-Pedic, Sealy and Stearns & Foster. So from my perspective, I can say that Hastens is the better bed for some people and not the right choice for some.

Hastens is designed to conform better to your spine than other mattresses. It is more breathable, thus cooler to sleep on. And it is built to last over 50 years. So if you try a Hastens and love the comfort, you should consider it if the $5000 and up price tag fits in your budget, but when it comes to mattresses, the bottom line is comfort.

If the $1500 Sealy is more comfortable to you, than that is the bed you should consider.

[Gigiola]

I would like to share my experience with Hastens. I was in the market for a bed in the fall of 2006. I ran into Hastens and immediately I fell in love with it. Several aspects contributed:
• this is a Company founded in 1852 in Sweden and it is still owned and operated by the same family. The customer needs in this area have not changed much and the thought that the same company had more than 150 years to improve on their product was very appealing
• the fact that they offer 25 years warranty showed an incredible quality commitment and how much confidence they had in their product
• The most appealing attribute though, was the main advertised feature of Hastens. Their beds are 100% natural. Their beds are made only with: naturally grown Swedish pine wood, wool, cotton, flax and horse hair. I guess they must have some iron into their spring, which might or not qualify as 100% natural. The main point though is you will not find plastic material or foam in their beds.
In conclusion, I fell in love with the brand and their brand promise, which is not that different from other high end bed makers, but it is certainly supported by the many concrete facts articulated before.

Here are instead the sad facts:
• After truly testing the beds in the store, I ordered an Excelsior bed on November 2006 and paid $9,375.70 for it. The Excelsior is the second most expensive bed they have in their line up. In other words, I bought one of the most expensive beds they have. The bed was delivered on April 2007.
• Just the very first night both my wife and I woke up with severe lower back discomfort we never experienced before. After a few days the discomfort evolved into severe pain.
• We contacted the store and where told this was normal adjustment to a new bed. We just had to have a little patience and everything would work its way and pretty soon we could start enjoying the famous Hastens sleeping experience.
• A few months later we were completely certain there was something wrong with the bed. We woke up every morning with the same lower back pain, which would then gradually disappear as we warmed our body up through the day. Moreover, we would not experience that pain when sleeping in another bed, for example while on vacation or traveling for business. With this conviction we went back to the store and demanded a solution. A sales rep came to the house, measured the thickness of the bed, laid on it, jumped on it and finally determined everything was all right. The famous 25 years warranty would not help because according to his assessment the bed was perfect, had no defects. The awful sleeping we were experiencing meant nothing to him.
• We escalated the issue to the company in Sweden. We contacted Mr. Johan Luukas from Hästens Customer service, who connected us with Mr. Erik Svensson, sales manager for Hästens in the US. The whole things dragged on for quite some time, but eventually and after some pressure from my side, I received this communication from Mr. Svensson on April 14 2008.

Dear Mr. Paraboschi,
Thank you for your email.
Your request for a solution to your problem has by no means gone unheard and we are working to get this resolved for you.
As there is some involvement not only from Hästens but also from the local retailer this has dragged out a little and we apologize for the delay.

Do however rest assure that we will take care of this for you and make sure your Hästens experience will be a positive one.

I will contact you tomorrow again with an update on your replacement order.

Sincerely,

Erik Svensson

Those words were written on April 14 2008 and it was the last time I heard from Mr. Svensson. As of today, June 1st 2008, and after several attempts to contact him again, I have yet to hear how Hastens plans to follow through on their commitment to address the situation.

The morale of the story is very simple:
• We obviously ended up buying a “normal” bed, investing “only” $1,800. We are very happy with it and we typically spend a good 8 hours of sleep on it every night waking up refreshed and painless like we haven’t felt for several months on the 5 times more expensive Hastens
• The famous 25 year Hastens warranty is clearly worthless as they neglect even blatant cases like this one
• It is very possible the Hastens beds are worth their money and we just got unlucky. May be we got a very rare and defective bed. At $10K level though you shouldn’t get unlucky. Hastens should take care of their hopefully few defective units and most importantly they should stand behind their words.

[mattie61]

Hi,
I have had a frustrating experience with Hastens as well. I purchased an Adjustable bed in 2006 with a Continental mattress in Soft. There was no way I should have ever been sold a Soft bed...later I found out that the Soft beds are generally for kids. It was horrible and was like sleeping in a hole.
Thankfully, the owner of the Hastens store agreed to replace my Soft bed with no charge. When I was deciding between a Medium and Firm to order, the Manager of the store told me there was no way he would put me in a Firm bed, that Firm beds were only for very large people over 300 pounds. He said most people go with the Medium.

So I received the Medium bed last fall, and have had the same issues. The bed does not hold it's shape...there is a definite swag in the bed where I sleep and I wake up every morning with a back ache. My lower back is not supported at all. It is horrible to have back pain each morning and not get a good night's rest.

I took pictures of myself in the bed and explained the situation again to the Manager and owner of the store, but this time they declined to replace my bed. They said I chose the Medium, so that was that.

I am now trying to figure out how to sell the mattress. Any ideas of where to sell a luxury mattress? I will of course try Ebay, but I'm wondering of any other ways of selling it.

Thanks!