Allswell Luxe mattress review: A comfortable, durable $400 mattress from Walmart

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As Insider's home editor, I've learned that when it comes to the best mattress, quality often means a higher price. While I think it's worth investing in a great mattress that you'll use every night for a decade or longer, it's still possible to find a great mattress for under $500 — in fact, we found at least seven of them while testing for our guide to the best cheap mattress.   

In that guide, our sleep reporter named Allswell's base mattress our best overall pick; it's a really comfortable mattress that clocks in at about $300 for a queen (read our full Allswell mattress review). Our main complaint is that it's not soft enough for side sleepers, but Allswell makes an upgraded version, the Allswell Luxe, that's purportedly much softer. The Luxe's base price is $380 for a queen; still a really great value.

When I was tasked with outfitting our guest bedroom with a mattress cheaply and quickly, the Luxe is what our sleep reporter recommended. I ordered it online and picked it up at Walmart the same day (and, yes, while we often get mattresses for free to review, I paid for the mattress out of my own pocket). Read on for my two yearslong experience with the Allswell Luxe, as well as our sleep reporter's impressions when he first tested it in 2020. 

Design

The Allswell Luxe is a hybrid mattress, meaning it combines springs and memory foam for solid support and excellent comfort. The spring layer in the Luxe consists of wrapped coils (to help avoid the dreaded spring mattress squeak) with reinforced springs at the edges to help with edge retention. The memory foam layer is made from copper and gel-infused memory foam. Both layers are encased in a quilted cover and add up to make the mattress about 12 inches thick.

Delivery and setup

While Allswell offered "White Glove" delivery once upon a time, it suspended the service during the pandemic and never resumed it. Your options are either delivery or pickup at a Walmart store. I opted for the latter since we needed a mattress the same day, and my local Walmart had it in stock. With a few clicks and a trip down the road, the mattress was in my possession.

No matter which option you choose, your mattress will come compressed in a large box. This made it easy to transport home in our car, but you'll definitely need a partner to help you lift and move the box, which weighs 90 pounds for a queen bed. 

After that, setup is just like any other bed in a box: you dump the mattress out from the box, cut the plastic, and watch your bed automatically expand to full size. For the Luxe, this took just a few minutes. 

Our review of the Allswell Luxe Mattress

While we purchased this mattress for the guest bedroom, I've spent many nights on it. In fact, there was a period of time when my primary bedroom mattress hurt my back so badly that I ended up sleeping on the Luxe until we were able to get a replacement. The Luxe is an extremely comfortable mattress, especially given the price. 

I'm a back and side sleeper who suffers from the aforementioned back problems. If a mattress is too firm, I'll get hip and arm pain from the pressure of sleeping on my side. If a mattress is too soft, I'll get back pain from the lack of support while sleeping on my back. The Luxe is really comfortable for side sleeping, but I would say it's a bit on the soft side for back sleeping. 

Unfortunately, its softness also translates to poor motion isolation. Whenever I've slept in the bed with my partner, we've both dipped toward the middle. I'd say the queen is a great size for a guest bedroom or if you mostly sleep alone, but if you're looking for a mattress to share regularly with a partner, opt for the king. 

We have some standard motion isolation and edge retention tests that our sleep reporter puts all mattresses through. He reports that in these objective tests, the Allswell Luxe performed well in edge retention thanks to the reinforced coils around the border. Subjectively, I'd say the edge retention is OK — it's firm enough to sit on while putting on shoes, but I feel a bit unsupported when sleeping at the edge of the bed.

Features	Rating	Results
Firmness	4/10	This bed is slightly softer than average, which is ideal for side sleepers
Cooling	3/10	The mattress slept very warm and is not ideal for hot sleepers
Edge Support	4/10	It offers some edge support, but you'll experience some sinking
Motion Isolation	3/10	You're likely to feel your partner moving while sleeping in this bed

Cons to consider

As mentioned above, the Luxe has comfort down to a tee — if you usually sleep alone. If you sleep with a partner, definitely upgrade to a king if you buy this bed. Otherwise, you're going to feel quite cramped. Our sleep reporter echoed my feelings on this based on his tests. 

The mattress also sleeps quite hot. I sweat in it when I sleep alone, and when my partner is in the bed, it becomes almost unbearably hot. Again, another reason this mattress is best for solo sleepers. 

A final small complaint: the cover tends to bunch up on the mattress, creating little pressure points that are tough to sleep on. They can be smoothed out, but it's a pain to do before you hop in bed each night. My partner isn't as bothered by this as I am, but it's something to consider if you're a light sleeper like me.

What are your alternatives?

If you're unsure about the Luxe, you can try it out for 100 nights and return it for a full refund if you're not happy. You may also want to consider Allswell's base mattress, which is the best cheap mattress we've found. 

For more recommendations, check out our guide to the best mattress. If you have specific needs in mind, we also have dedicated guides to the best cooling mattress, the best mattress for side sleepers, the best foam mattress, the best hybrid mattress, and the best mattress for back pain. 

The bottom line

Overall, the Allswell Luxe mattress is an excellent buy if you're outfitting a guest bedroom or are looking for a cheap bed for just one sleeper. It's an incredibly comfortable mattress, given its under $500 price. However, due to poor heat dissipation and motion transfer, it's not a great pick for couples sleeping together unless you opt for a king.