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Relyon vs Flaxby Mattresses

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Relyon

Relyon is the other Royal Warrant holder in the British mattress market, alongside Sleepeezee, and has been making beds in Wellington, Somerset since 1858. That gives it the longest continuous trading history of any mattress brand in the UK, and the company still operates from the same Somerset site today.

Relyon specialises in traditional pocket sprung mattresses with natural fillings, and the range is built around wool, cashmere, silk and horsehair used in different combinations depending on the model. The brand is sold through bed specialists and department stores rather than online direct, which puts it in a different category to the bed in a box brands but also means the quality control is tied to a factory that has been doing this for over a century and a half.

Read our full Relyon review

Flaxby

Flaxby mattresses are sold exclusively by the popular retailer, Dreams. The collection is a more up-market premium brand within the lineup and uses an impressive array of comfortable and soft materials in the upper layers of their mattresses to ensure a natural and comfortable sleeping surface. Flaxby are focussed toward ensuring a greener and fresher sleep that is more environmentally friendly. That’s why they utilise 100% recyclable spring systems and natural fibres to help safeguard the environment for future generations.

A feature unique to Flaxby includes their new all-seasons lineup which sees a two sided mattress which has different comfort layers on each side, giving a “warmer” side and a “cooler” side.

Read our full Flaxby review

Mattress Score

Overall Score:
Relyon: 4.48/5.00
Flaxby: 4.64/5.00

Price:
Relyon: £139.00 - £1299.00
Flaxby: £999.00 - £2299.00


Based on aggregated reviews and performance scoring, we would recommend Flaxby in this face off!


Becky
Compares

Relyon Owner Satisfaction

Relyon scores strongly in owner reviews, averaging around 4.5 to 4.7 out of 5 depending on the model, with the Heritage and Aurora ranges leading the pack. The buyers who rate Relyon highest are the ones who know what they want from a traditional mattress: firm support, natural breathable fillings and the kind of long term value that only comes from a properly built bed.

The most common positive comment is about how the mattress feels the same in year three as it did in month one, which is the best possible advertisement for a mattress brand. On the flip side, Relyon is not the brand to pick if you want that slow sinking memory foam feel, because the range is almost entirely pocket sprung.

Relyon Supportiveness

Relyon's support comes from its pocket spring units, and spring counts in the main ranges start around 1,000 and go up to 2,200 in the higher end models. Above the springs, the natural fillings are layered by hand, tufted into place and finished with a damask cover that lets air move through the mattress rather than trapping body heat.

For back and stomach sleepers, the firmer models give the solid support that helps the lower back stay in line with the shoulders. Side sleepers will want to look at the softer and medium options, which use more generous layers of wool and cashmere on top to cushion the hip and shoulder. Because the mattresses are hand finished, the support is noticeably consistent across the whole surface, with no weak edges or sagging middle.

Relyon Durability

A Relyon mattress is built to last, and the brand has the Royal Warrant and a hundred and sixty year trading history to back that claim up. Hand tufting keeps the natural fillings in place instead of letting them shift over time, which is the single biggest factor in how long a traditional mattress stays comfortable.

Owners regularly report getting a decade or more out of a Relyon before they start thinking about replacement, and the underlying spring units are built to outlast the fillings above them. If you are looking for a mattress that works out cheaper per year than a budget model that needs replacing every four or five, Relyon is one of the few brands in the market that can genuinely deliver on that promise.

Relyon Best Offers

We've managed to find the following top deals from across the web on Relyon mattresses.

Flaxby Owner Satisfaction

Flaxby mattresses are some of the better reviewed in the industry achieving impressive scores on a continual basis that generally outperform the competition. Owners are particularly overjoyed because Flaxby is offering the great comfort and support that we all love but introduce multiple new features that help provide an enhanced sleep experience. Customers particularly enjoyed the all-season range which gave people a deep sleep all year round that kept them cool in summer and warm in winter, the perfect combination.

Customers also enjoyed the natural cotton, wool & hemp fillings that come as standard on many in the lineup with particular attention being drawn to the fantastic 5 year guarantee on most models.

Flaxby Supportiveness

Flaxby mattresses have a great deal of supportiveness thanks to the Cortec™ and DNAir pocket spring systems on offer within the lineup. The Flaxby range is what we consider to be a traditional lineup with typical high quality manufacturing processes that result in luxurious and supportive mattresses. Pocket springs have generally remained unrivaled over the years and are my own personal favourite support layer when it comes to offering good tension for back and neck support. Many of the products on offer are available with multiple tension options which means you have a choice around how firm you would like the product to be. Depending on how you sleep (front, back, side) to how much you weigh are all determinations when choosing the right supportiveness.

Flaxby Durability

Flaxby mattresses will typically perform better in terms of true longevity than many other mattress suppliers due to their large investment in good quality pocket spring support layers combined with tried and tested comfort layers of wool and silk. The combination of these materials gives customers confidence but also the retailer, Dreams. This is evident in their backing of this product lineup with the impressive 5 year guarantee that ensures long standing support in the event of any manufacturing defects. The price point for Flaxby may often price certain people out of the market who are looking for something a little cheaper, however, when you consider the lifespan and the cost per night of sleep as a result, the Flaxby offers a fantastic opportunity for sleepers thanks to its durability and comfort.

Flaxby Best Offers

We've managed to find the following top deals from across the web on Flaxby mattresses.

Relyon Most Useful Customer Reviews

5 Snoozyface

A bit extreme perhaps but I've waited a full year before posting this review. When we were looking for a mattress, I read lots of reviews from people who were reviewing something they'd only slept on for a couple of days or perhaps weeks and I didn't find these especially helpful. This mattress wasn't our first choice, we'd originally bought a different one that unfortunately turned out to be faulty. As a side note, Dreams were absolutely brilliant over this - after I reported the issues, we had an engineer visit within a couple of days and it was quickly confirmed that our original purchase had been duff. After our initial bad experience, we didn't want to have a straight replacement, so we re-visited our local store (Chester) to have another look at the potential replacements they had on offer. The sales team there were fantastic, we saw the same advisor who'd helped us on our initial visit - we explained the situation so she knew she wasn't going to earn any commission from helping us but she was wonderful, she spent ages with us and really gave us fantastic service - huge thanks to her! So, at last to the point. I wouldn't have considered a soft mattress, if we hadn't been directed to it by the sleep match machine but our initial impression was excellent, the mattress felt sturdy and well made as well as being very comfortable, although not particularly 'soft'. A year on and we are so, so happy with our choice! My husband's back pain has gone, as has my neck and hip pain - I've packed away the knee pillow that I was having to use to reduce the aches I was feeling with our old mattress. After a few weeks, the pillow top did soften up - I'd been a bit nervous about this happening as I didn't really like the idea of a soft mattress but I needn't have worried, every night is like sleeping on a huge, incredibly supportive marshmallow, it's just lovely. I've never slept better and I wholeheartedly recommend the Highbridge.

5 Poppa C

Let me start by saying that I've owned this mattress since 28/11/21 So I'm in a pretty good place to review after just about 4 years of owning one. We bought this mattress after popping into a brick and mortar Dreams store and after much testing around the showroom we found that this one was the best by a wide margin. We prefer medium firm between us and some of the feature we were looking for were: - Being able to move around in the night without disturbing the other - Quiet, so no creaking of springs or scrunching of fabrics - Soft, quilted feeling top fabrics - Firm supports that didn't make you feel like you were being swallowed - Body heat distribution so that you didn't get really warm and uncomfortable when trying to sleep - Durable. I'd bought a lot of relatively cheap mattresses before springing for the Bridgwater and was hoping to get more than a handful of years before it started to sag and develop dips etc. Well. 4 years in and the thing is still pretty much perfect. We love this mattress! There's hardly any wear on it at all in spite of almost nightly use since the day it arrived. When I sit down on it, it's still as medium firm as the day we bought it. I'm a tall, heavy bloke and my wife is around half my weight so it'd be easy to tell if the durability was poor because our old mattresses started to look a bit like a skate park ramp after 4 years but the Relyon hasn't so much as developed a dip where I sleep. How's that for durability? This is a high-quality, very comfortable, super durable mattress that's still going strong 4 years in. If you're looking for something comfortable, quiet, firm and doesn't feel like a bouncy castle when your partner gets up for a glass of water in the night, this is the one for you. Cheers Dreams and Relyon!

5 Spongecake

After trying the same mattress owned by a family member, I was keen to get one of my own. I've always preferred sprung mattresses but I'm not getting any younger, so hard to consider something a bit softer. However, I find memory foam extremely hot and it doesn't support the body. A natural latex-sprung matters seemed like a good compromise. I have not been disappointed. The mattress is firm enough to give good support, while being soft enough to avoid aches. Also I like that the mattress is quite thick, as it adds height to the overall bed, which keeps me away from the ground level cold air, and makes it easier to get in and out of bed. A big plus point about this a mattress is that it works well with my adjustable bed frame. The mattress, despite its thickness, adjusts with relative ease. Obviously a thinner mattress would be more suited to an adjustable bed frame, but I'm very happy with this combination and it works very well. So far, this has been the best matress I have ever purchased, and I plan to buy more for family members in the near future.

5 Verified Buyer

Used this pillow for just over a week now, previously my neck was very painful and I would wake up through the night with what felt like cramp in neck and lower head, but since I've been using this pillow it's all easing off now, I'm sleeping much better, feel a lot more comfortable and have less pain in my neck which I think will diminish over time. Highly recommend this pillow for anyone who suffers neck and head pain, I know it's expensive but it's better than constantly buying other pillows that don't help, I have quite a collection of different pillows now and this is the one I'll be sticking with for sure!

5 Nigel Shirley

From our first visit to Dreams in Aylesbury the entire process could not have been handled any better by Dreams staff, Sean was excellent, listened to our requirements and steered us in right direction and we are delighted with ourRelyon Mattress, very comfortable, we should have made the purchase earlier for did not realise how our old mattress needed replacing, will not make the same error again. Delivered exactly when promised by caring, careful delivery staff and taken direct to our bedroom and placed in position with old mattress removed, first class service throughout the process. Thank you Dreams

Flaxby Most Useful Customer Reviews

5 Martin & Anna

We purchased the Flaxby 14450 pillow top mattress from Dreams after trying out the range of Flaxby mattresses in store. We opted for the Superking size with the split medium/soft support and the zipped option (essentially two singles joined together). I prefer the medium support whereas my partner likes the softer feel. Bear in mind, these are heavy mattresses and having the split mattress option makes it far easier to turn them, which you will need to do weekly for the first 3 months (then monthly thereafter). It has taken a long time for the mattress to fully bed in and feel comfortable to sleep on. If you're considering this mattress, be prepared for a full 6-8 weeks break in period to allow the materials to loosen up and conform to your body. When new, it felt very stiff with the sensation you're lying on top of the mattress, with not much give and with minimal support. My partner quickly got used to sleeping on her softer mattress, whereas with my medium feel mattress, I experienced lower back pain on and off for the first 4-5 weeks. The Dreams staff advised that the Flaxby mattresses do take a while to break in and conform to your body. Here's some tips that have worked well for us and are worth considering: Mattress support - this mattress really does deserve a quality bed base, preferably a pocket spring divan base. We initially used our old Superking bed frame with sprung slats. However, although the 14450 mattress is a deep mattress and should in theory work well on any bed base, we found that it not gel that well with the sprung slats, as the mattress tended to sag slightly. We have now switched to a sprung divan base and it's made a big difference to the feel, comfort and support of the mattress. Pillows - we initially used our Tempur cloud pillows with the Flaxby but we have since switched to Levitex sleep posture pillows (we opted for the small size). This has made a world of difference - no more neck and back pain! Duvets - we've always liked having our own single duvets rather than sharing a larger duvet so we can better control our body temperatures. My partner uses a weighted duvet whereas I switched to a wool filled duvet. The Flaxby mattresses do offer better temperature control compared to our old Tempur mattress. It is still worth investing in a quality duvet to really get the best sleeping experience.

5 Examplename

WAOW. I’ve been using the dreamcloud mattress for the past 3 and a half years which was fine for the most part but I wasn’t liking the memory foam feel of the sink in the mattress so decided to try this pocket spring mattress. After ONE night I’m already loving it. The comfort is absolutely phenomenal. Firm but still pure luxurious comfort and you can tell the materials are high quality. This is the sort of comfort you get in 5 star hotels. Personally I’d never go back to memory foam or combo memory foam type mattresses like dreamcloud, Simba and tempur because in most cases the mattress will develop a dip or sink where you lie after a few months or couple of years and that doesn’t properly support your body whether you sleep on your back or side, and with this Flaxby mattress I feel I can just lie in pure comfort and not have to move around all the time trying to get comfy with the memory foam type feel of my previous mattress. This Flaxby mattress is extremely comfortable on your back and side and all the other 5 star reviews back that up. The simple truth of the matter is if you want a high quality hotel like feeling mattress you’re going to need to invest the money. You’re investing in your sleep, health, mood and comfort for every day life and when you consider how long mattresses last it’s absolutely worth it. The delivery team were also fast and fantastic two helpful gentlemen who took away my old mattress with no problem. I’d recommend this mattress or any other pocket spring mattress over this price range will he just as good I’m sure. I got this at 15% off in a sale so if you want a discount then wait until the next sale. I also picked the “firm” option not “extra firm” but I’m sure extra firm is supremely comfortable as well. Happy sleeping!

5 Ayup

I was extremely dubious about purchasing this mattress and had been looking at the reviews for a good couple of months before taking the plunge. I went in Dreams several times to lay on it and make sure I wasn't making any bad decisions. It felt like the mattress was just hugging you right back when you laid on it! Good support in the lower back area too as I have a permanent slipped disc and spinal arthritis so I had to be 110% certain I was getting the right mattress. I have now had this mattress for over two months. My patter goes like this: sleep on one side for 7 days, then sleep on the other side. Then rotate the mattress and repeat the first steps. It is quite heavy to rotate but I'm just relieved I have finally found the perfect mattress again after 13 years of agony and going through about 5 different mattresses! There is no dipping as I rotate the mattress regularly - I am only 9st just over so not really big enough to be making the bed dip. I have a mattress protector on the bed, and use medium pillows. I am sleeping like a dream. I now manage to have nights where I sleep right through without waking for the loo or with pain! I no longer wake up with back pain anymore. I really am one happy lady! Would definitely recommend this mattress to others BUT if you are on the larger side, go for a firm it will soften over time, as seen other reviews saying this mattress dips so I guess if your on the heavy side you may or may not have an issue. Have attached pictures of when I first got the mattress compared with 3 months later and as you can see, no dips and looks just as good. I also bought the bed frame from dreams too.

5 SideSleeper12

I am obsessed with my new mattress! I picked a Flaxby—it’s hand-sewn and made in-house by the brand. What I really liked is how open they are about where and how it’s made. They even let the Dreams store staff visit the farm and factory! When I first asked about it at Christmas, one of the team members, Mike, was super excited to tell me everything. He even had pictures and clearly loved sharing how it all works. That made a big difference to me—I knew I had to come back when I was ready to buy. The mattress feels awesome. It feels like i'm on top of luxury! Since I am only 5'4 on a 36cm mattress, I truly feel like queen of the castle ??. I know it’ll soften up a bit with time, which I’m actually looking forward to, I've had it for a month now (and even though I forgot to rotate it) it's feeling like its shaping well to me. I went with this over a Tempur because it just felt more natural, and the traditional support is better for me. Tempur made me feel a bit off when I got up, probably because of my health. This one just feels right—and honestly, it feels like luxury every night. Then there's the bed frame! That was just a sweet deal, but I have noticed it's no longer on the website! I got the Soren in mustard and walnut, it looks stunning, and it fits just under my windowsill really nicely. I love the headboard, it goes well with my dark green sheets, and I'm planning on shaping my room around it when I decorate next. With that and amazing staff to help me make a decision, it was a super satisfying shopping experience with Dreams!!

5 Sally Lane

Like most people I don’t purchase a mattress very often. So when I walked into my local Dreams Store in Knaresborough I was very intrigued. As my visit progressed, I then became more impressed. Clearly the days of bouncing up and down on a mattress to decide whether it is suitable have long gone. I explained what I was looking for and my budget and then was given the opportunity to lay down fully on a mattress for three minutes which was computerised. So while I was relaxing , technology was finding out what type of mattress would be suitable for my body to enjoy the best possible nights sleep . I was given six options and I was shown the mattresses which would be suitable for me . Because I had the correct information I could quickly make an informed decision based on my needs and the outcome of the computerised assessment. This was really helpful. Especially as the whole experience was gently and professionally guided by the excellent sales advisor. After I has purchased my mattress , I then received all the information I required as to delivery dates , times of delivery and who to contact if there were any problems. On the day of delivery, I was contacted first thing in the morning. The delivery men arrived two hours later , right on time . They were really helpful , efficient and professional. I can honestly say, from start to finish . The entire shopping experience at Dreams has been excellent. As is my lovely new British manufactured mattress. Firm, comfortable and providing me with a good nights sleep.

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