Best Mattress for A Guest Room in 2024

Shopping for a quality guest room mattress can be tricky because you’ll need a bed capable of supporting many sleep styles, body types, and comfort levels.

The best mattress for a guest room needs to be versatile, with a medium to medium-firm feel to provide enough comfort and support for every guest to have a good night’s sleep. In our article, we share our favorite guest bed choices and discuss what to look for in the best mattress for guest rooms.

The construction of the Amerisleep AS3 creates an ideal blend of comfort and support. The high-quality construction and design supports every sleep style. Because of this versatility, the Amerisleep AS3 is one of the best mattresses for a guest bedroom.

Amerisleep offers a 100-night sleep trial with the purchase of the AS3 mattress, allowing customers to try out the bed within the comfort of their own home. If you’re unsatisfied with the AS3 after a month, you can contact Amerisleep and they will work with you to donate the mattress before issuing a full refund.

The AS3 mattress comes with a 20-year warranty— the first 10 years cover replacement of your mattress without charge. During the second 10 years of the warranty, customers can receive a replacement at a prorated charge. The warranty covers manufacturing defects and sagging greater than an inch.

What the testers say: “I tested the AS3 in my preferred back and side sleeping positions. My spine stayed properly aligned with no sinking around the hips. There was great edge support and sturdy stability across the entire mattress.” – Dr. Colleen Ehrnstrom, Ph.D., AS3 Reviewer

Next on our list is the Zoma Start Mattress, a memory foam mattress for athletes who snore. We like the Zoma to silence snoring because it’s built with Triangulex™ technology to promote healthy sleeping positions.

The Zoma Mattress stands 11 inches tall and has three carefully-crafted layers. While the Zoma is built to feel medium, some reviews mention it feels medium-soft; so it’s on the softer side of the firmness scale.

Every Zoma mattress comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

What the testers say: “When I lay down, I felt a clear sense of contouring and cushioned comfort, all while maintaining good support. The foams seemed to adjust to my body shape, offering relief from pressure while keeping my spine aligned. While the bed could feel firm, I woke up with no aches and pains nor did I ever experience major stiffness and soreness from lying down.” – Dr. Nilong Vyas MD, MPH, Zoma Start Reviewer

You don’t need to break your bank account to provide guests with pure comfort. The Vaya Mattress has a simple design that balances plush cushioning with springy support.

There are two layers that make up a Vaya Mattress, keeping production costs low and the final price affordable for most customers. A plush cover encases the mattress.

Your Vaya Mattress will come with a 100-night home trial with free returns, as part of the bed’s pure comfort promise. You also have a 10-year warranty that covers manufacturing defects, such as sagging beyond an inch.

Eco-conscious hosts who want a guest room mattress that won’t contribute to the destruction of the planet should consider the Nolah Natural 11. This mattress boasts biodegradable and recyclable ingredients. And it has a lower carbon footprint than synthetic mattresses to boot!

Nolah’s mattresses come with a lifetime warranty and a 120-night sleep trial

The GhostBed Luxe is a fantastic mattress for a guest room mattress because its medium feel and contouring memory foam layers mean it can accommodate just about any sleep position and body type. This is also one of the coolest beds on the market. So if you have hot sleepers staying over, they might just want to take it home.

If you want to go a more traditional route for your guest room mattress, the Saatva Classic puts a new spin on a traditional innerspring mattress. The updates and improvements to the original innerspring design mean your guests will be sleeping on a much more contouring and comfortable mattress.

Like the original Zoma Mattress, a Zoma Hybrid is a bed that suits a wide range of sleepers. The design promotes more recovery when you sleep and maintains a cool sleeping surface that limits nightly disturbances.

Every Zoma Hybrid mattress includes a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty.

The Tuft & Needle Original mattress offers a medium feel, perfect for any type of sleeper, making this all-foam mattress an excellent choice for a guest bed.

Tuft & Needle offers a 10-year warranty with the purchase of their mattress. This covers any manufacturing and material defects of the mattress, including any splitting or cracking of foam and sagging. There’s also a 100-night sleep trial with a free return at any time.

Bear set out to create mattresses to improve your sleep quality and physical health. Their flagship model, the Bear Original, is a memory foam mattress that achieves just that, all at an affordable rate.

The Bear Original comes with a 100-night sleep trial and a 10-year warranty. Its budget-friendly prices make the Bear Original one of the best mattresses under $1000, providing great value and comfort.

Bear’s other mattresses, the Bear Hybrid mattresses and Bear Pro, both help with your sleep quality and muscle recovery, but are on the pricier end of the things and are different firmnesses than the Bear Original.

Best Mattresses for Guest Room Highlights and Comparison

Mattress	Highlights	Comparison
Amerisleep AS3	Bio-Pur® and Affinity with HIVE® technology keeps sleepers cool while relieving pressure points.	$1099
Zoma Start	Versatile firmness level offers accommodation to lots of types of sleepers	$449
Vaya Mattress	Budget-friendly mattress that blends bounce with pressure relief.	$699
Nolah Natural 11	Natural latex foam with organic cotton and wool padding form the mattress’s top.	$1799
GhostBed Luxe	Cool-to-the-core design engineered for consistent comfort.	$2395
Saatva Classic	Euro top with antimicrobial protection and dual-coil support.	$1595
Zoma Hybrid	Pocketed coils provide bounce while limiting motion transfer, with a restorative foam top.	$999
Tuft & Needle Original	T&N Adaptive® foam infused with graphite and gel regulates body temperature.	$995
Bear Original	Mattress cover features Celliant® technology to keep sleepers cool and enhance muscle recovery	$556

What to Look For in a Guest Room Mattress

Whether you’re looking for a mattress in a box or an in-store bed, there are features you should be aware of to find the best mattress for your needs, including mattress type, preferred sleeping position, and available sleep trials, warranties, and return policies.

Mattress Type

Mattresses come in a variety of quality materials. The type of mattress you choose is mostly based on personal preference. Mattress types include memory foam, innerspring, latex, and hybrid mattresses.

Memory Foam

A memory foam mattress is one of the most popular mattress types on the market today. Memory foam is known for its excellent pressure-relieving properties and contouring ability. A basic memory foam mattress contains a comfort layer of memory foam and a support layer of high-density foam.

One drawback to memory foam is its heat retention. To remedy this, manufacturers incorporate cooling features like gel, copper, and graphite infusions and plant-based and open-cell construction.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses are the type of beds most of us grew up with. Also known as the traditional bed, an innerspring mattress consists of a thin comfort layer or pillow top made from foam or fiber and a support layer of coils. Innerspring mattresses have excellent cooling properties because of the open structure of the coils, but these same coils are more likely to create pressure points.

SEE ALSO: Best 10 Inch Mattress

Latex

Latex is similar in feel to a memory foam mattress, except latex sleeps cooler and has a responsive bounce. There are two types of latex— synthetic and natural. Synthetic latex is made through a chemical process, while natural latex is sap extracted from rubber trees and then whipped into a foam.

A basic latex mattress contains a comfort layer of latex and a support layer of either high-density foam or latex.

Hybrid

By combining memory foam and pocketed coils, manufacturers came up with the perfect bed— the hybrid mattress. Hybrid mattresses are one of the most expensive mattress types on the market due to the amount of materials they contain. A basic hybrid mattress consists of a comfort layer of memory foam and a support layer of pocketed coils— a true hybrid mattress must contain a 2-inch comfort layer and a coil support core.

Hybrids were specifically created to offset the drawbacks of a memory foam mattress and innerspring mattresses, and while they’ve done a good job, the risks are still present. Hybrids are also heavier than other types of beds and more expensive.

SEE ALSO: Best King Size Mattress

Sleeping Position

Your preferred sleep position can have a large impact on the type of mattress you buy. Each sleep position needs a specific level of cushioning and support to allow for healthy spinal alignment, so what the most comfortable mattress is will depend on your preferred position.

Side Sleeping

Side sleeping is one of the most common and healthiest sleep positions. Side sleeping allows for better breathing and reduces pressure on vital organs. Side sleepers need a softer mattress with more cushioning to better align the spine. The best mattresses for side sleepers are soft to medium-firm.

Back Sleeping

Back sleeping is another healthy sleep position— because of the back’s direct contact with the sleep surface, the spine is naturally aligned. While back sleeping does make it easier to breathe, it also comes with a higher risk of snoring and sleep apnea. Back sleepers should look for a medium to firm mattress to allow a slight sinking of the hips to provide more support to the lower back.

Stomach Sleeping

Stomach sleeping is the least common and least healthy sleep position. Stomach sleepers are at a greater risk of neck strain by twisting the head at an unnatural angle to breathe, and lower back pain because of the combined force of gravity and weight forcing the natural curve of the spine to straighten.

It’s better if stomach sleepers switch to side sleeping, but if they prefer sleeping on their stomachs, they should look for a medium-firm to firm mattress. This type of bed will keep the body resting on top of the mattress, without heavy sinking.

Sleep Trials, Warranties, and Return Policies

When mattress shopping, look to see if a prospective mattress comes with a sleep trial and what type of warranty and return policy is included. Always read the fine print of each before committing to a purchase.

Sleep Trial

A sleep trial allows customers to try a new mattress within the comfort of their own home without pressure to buy. Sleep trials range between 90 to 120 nights. Should a customer not love their new mattress, most companies will issue a full refund.

Warranty

A warranty protects the mattress from manufacturing defects and sagging. The sagging depth covered by the warranty varies by brand. Most quality mattresses include a standard 10-year warranty.

Return Policy

Should a sleep trial not come with a new mattress, the next best thing to look at is the return policy. Return policies last about 30 days— the same amount of time it takes for the body to adjust to a new mattress. If the customer isn’t happy with the mattress, they can return it for a full refund.

Saving on Guest Room Mattresses

Many don’t want to overspend on an occasional-use mattress, so we recommend taking advantage of the regular mattress sales during the year.

Other Things to Consider

Is a full sized mattress good for a guest room?

A full size mattress is a good size for a guest room bed, but you may be able to choose a bigger size, based on available living space and budget. For those with more room, a queen size bed might be the best option, especially if you have couples or families staying at your home. For those with less space to work with, a twin or full-size mattress is a great option. As an alternative for studio and one-bedroom apartments, a futon mattress is also another option— their dual purpose as both a sofa and a bed is a perfect option, especially if on a tight budget.

How can I make my guest room bed more comfortable?

Adding a mattress topper is a great way to alter the feel of the sleep surface. Mattress toppers can add support or softness to an existing guest room mattress, making the bed more comfortable and improving sleep. If your current guest room bed is not sagging and still in excellent condition, adding a mattress topper is less expensive than purchasing a new mattress.

What is a good mattress for a guest room?

Mattresses designed to accommodate a variety of sleep needs and body types is best, especially if you plan on hosting several different guests. Medium mattresses are usually a go-to because they offer a good blend of comfort and support to suit different sleepers. In regards to mattress type, all-foam or hybrid models are usually best. Innersprings aren’t very comfortable for side sleepers, and considering the majority of people sleep on their side, it’s safe to say innersprings won’t work for most guests.

Can two beds fit in a 10 feet by 10 feet guest room?

If you’d rather have two smaller guest beds instead of one larger guest bed, we suggest going for two twin or twin XL size mattresses. Two twin XL mattresses can also be pushed side-by-side to make one king size mattress, in case your guests prefer to sleep in one big bed.

You can also place bunk beds and loft beds in a guest room to save room while providing extra sleeping space. Bunk beds can work with twin and twin XLs, and some frames even work with full size bunk bed mattresses.

What’s the most comfortable portable bed?

It’s hard to say because air mattresses and portable beds are hardly anybody’s first choice. A few brands offer rollaway beds but they’re very thin, so they’re quite firm and they break down rather quickly. On the other hand, air mattresses blow up to be quite thick and can usually last for a while given their durable nature. However, neither option is very comfortable. If you rarely have guests, we suggest finding an air mattress to blow up for the occasional visitor. However, if you have more frequent guests, we recommend buying a regular mattress and bed frame to comfortably accommodate them.

Conclusion

The best way to find the right mattress is to pick an affordable mattress with versatile features. Remember, unless guests frequent your home regularly year-round, you don’t need a luxury mattress— a basic mattress under $1500 will work perfectly.

Don’t go too firm, and don’t go too soft— medium to medium-firm is the best way to go since these firmness levels accommodate all sleep positions.

Dr. Burns tests each mattress at eachnight’s facility to make sure the recommendations are based on real, expert reviews.