Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: luxury comfort & support

The Mammoth Shine Advanced is the best mattress in Mammoth's elite range of Shine mattresses. Starting at £1,599, it isn't cheap (although a cheap mattress deal can knock the price down).

At 30cm deep, it’s also the chunkiest Mammoth mattress you can buy. But those extra centimetres let the UK-based company deliver even more of its trademark Medical Grade Foam, plus two extra comfort zones, in pursuit of a better night’s sleep.

• Buy the Mammoth Shine Advanced Medium Pocket mattress from £1,349

According to Mammoth, its mattresses were originally designed to improve the performance of Olympians and other elite athletes. Today, they aim to "help anyone and everyone sleep better, feel better and make the most of every day". And the company reckons it's gone further than anyone else in developing innovative pressure-relief and healthcare technologies and materials to deliver the best comfort possible.

That's quite a claim. So does the Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress really improve your sleep? What’s Medical Grade Foam? And is it worth the money? We tested the luxury mattress to find out. 

What is the Shine range of mattresses? 

First, the basics. There are three luxury mattresses in Mammoth's Shine range: the Shine Essential (24cm deep), Shine Plus (27cm) and Shine Advanced (30cm). As the company’s top-tier collection, the Shine mattresses are packed with the company’s best sleep and comfort technologies: there’s more Medical Grade foam, more zoned areas of comfort, and more support than any of its other mattresses. 

Mammoth says that the Shine range is: “A collection for those who want to invest in the very best for their wellbeing.” It’s aimed at people who might be “waking with a few more aches and pains” than they’re used to, or those who just want to give their “energy and health a boost”.

Each Shine mattress is topped with a luxury quilted Tencel cover. (Tencel, if you don’t know, is a super-soft, ultra-breathable and sustainable fabric that keeps sleepers cool and dry; it’s 50 per cent more absorbent than cotton.) The Medical Grade foam sits underneath this, with an increasing number of ‘PostureCell zones’ – areas of tailored support – as you move up the range from the Essential mattress (three) to the Shine Advanced (seven).  

Once you’ve picked which Shine mattress you want, you can choose between three firmness levels:

• The Shine Advanced Firmer: 240-280mm of Medical Grade Foam
• The Shine Advanced Medium Pocket: 1600-3000 full-size pocket springs and 50-90mm of Medical Grade Foam
• The Shine Advanced Softer: 60-120mm soft-touch SkyFoam and 160mm Medical Grade Foam

We’re fans of pocket springs, so we’re reviewing the hybrid Shine Advanced Medium Pocket 3000 mattress here. 

Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: price

The Shine Advanced mattress is an elite mattress – with an elite price tag. The RRP comes in at £1,599 for a single, £1,739 for a double, £1,999 for a king and £2,399 for a super king size. However, there are discounts to be found if you shop around. 

Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: features

As the name suggests, the Shine Advanced Medium Pocket 3000 mattress is a medium-grade mattress. Its standout feature is an impressive layer of 3,000 full-size pocket springs, designed to offer greater body weight distribution across the mattress, relieving pressure, and helping ease aches and pains.

On top of this sits a layer of Mammoth's trademark Medical Grade Foam. It's different to memory foam – which Mammoth says was superseded by Medical Grade Foam in healthcare more than 10 years ago – because it doesn’t require body heat to soften the surface area. Instead, it responds instantly to your body shape, reliving pressure on sore muscles and improving circulation. And because it doesn’t rely on heat, you’re less likely to overheat, which can be a problem with memory foam mattresses. 

Within the Medical Grade foam are seven ‘Posture Cell’ zones that aim to create a tailored comfort and support system. These are designed to enhanced pressure relief – but they also absorb motion from restless partners. And they're divided by "cooling channels", which help keep you cool and dry by dispersing heat, moisture and allergens.

Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: Performance

We tested this mattress for several months and throughout this time our reviewers slept noticeably better. Neither too firm nor too soft – and spongey, but without causing us to sink – the material was very responsive. It moulded to us quickly as we moved, providing a superb balance of support and comfort, whether we slept on our side, back or front. 

We found the mattress to be good at regulating temperature – it didn’t feel particularly hot or cold to lie on – and we noticed very little transferred motion, which is great news for anyone with a restless partner. Thanks to all those springs, the Pocket 3000 also provides a little more bounce when getting on and off the mattress. That’s a nice touch for anyone who likes the feel of a traditional pocket sprung mattress.

It is fairly heavy. We tested a king size, which weighed in at 55kg – so you’ll ideally need two people to rotate it, although it’s possible with one person. (Mammoth recommends you rotate the mattress every week for the first six months, and then once per month from that point.) 

There was also an initial musty smell when we first set up the mattress. This is common with new foam mattresses though, and nothing to worry about. We made sure the room was well ventilated and within a few days the odour was gone. 

Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: Verdict

When it comes to luxurious comfort, the Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress is right up there. The medical grade foam feels amazing – neither too firm nor too soft – and does a great job of keeping you a comfortable temperature throughout the night. Reassuringly, Mammoth has won a number of health awards from the NHS and other industry bodies, helping back up the company’s claims that its mattresses are scientifically proven to improve comfort and sleep. 

It is expensive though. It’s equally possible to get a very good night’s sleep from any of the cheaper mid-range mattresses in our best mattress guide – the Simba Hybrid mattress, for example, if you’re looking for a hybrid; or the Emma Original if you're okay with a memory foam mattress. 

You might need to buy new bed sheets, too. Our standard sheets didn't quite cut the 30cm depth. But if you’re looking for pure luxury comfort in your own home – or you’re waking with more aches and pains than you were before – the Mammoth Shine Advanced Medium Pocket 3000 is a wonderful choice of mattress.

• Buy the Mammoth Shine Advanced Medium Pocket mattress from £1,349 

Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress review: Alternatives to consider

An alternative to the Mammoth Shine Advanced mattress is another super luxurious mattress: the Tempur Original. Both are similarly priced, and use medically graded or NASA approved technology, so you know you can trust both of them.

For a hybrid mix of memory foam and springs, you can also choose the Simba Hybrid Pro. It has the top spot on our best mattress guide and has a similar price tag to the Mammoth and has a brilliant balance of springs, foam, support and comfort.