There's a lot to like about the idea behind the Dream Team Gold Rochester 3200 Pocket Memory Mattress: a firm bed for your back that doesn't feel like lying on the floor. Dreams gives it a soft, tufted cushion top over copper-infused foam and pocket springs, and sells it in the Gold range of its own Dream Team brand, graded Firm like the box-topped Gold Helmsdale 7600 and a step firmer than the flat Gold Helston 4700. I tried the Dreams Rochester on a shop floor at the end of October.
On my back it was solid. My hips stayed level and the support was firm and even, and front sleeping went well too. On my side it was too firm for me. My own guest bed is much the same: it holds my hips when I'm on my back and it's firm at the shoulder when I turn on my side.
The top is where it loses me. Dreams calls it a cushion top, and to me it's near enough a pillow top that I'd be wary of it dipping, though the one in the shop looked in good shape. The Helmsdale has a box top instead, with straight sides that keep their shape better, and on the same visit it gave my shoulder enough cushioning to be comfortable for a firm bed. Between the two, that settles it for me.
Is the Dreams Rochester mattress any good?
Yes, for the right sleeper, and I'd still talk you out of it. Average to heavier back sleepers who like a soft surface get firm, even support from it, and front sleepers do well on it too. Couples get on with it, because the high spring count limits roll-together. Side sleepers should walk away, lighter ones above all, and so should anyone who sleeps hot.
It's solid and well made underneath, with a high spring count and nothing loose or flimsy in the build. My rule on pillow tops covers Dreams' cushion tops as well, though, so for firm support on your back I'd buy the Helmsdale, the better-built bed, with the top I'd trust for longer.
A cushion top, and I treat it as a pillow top
The cushion top is a soft padded panel built into the top of the mattress and tufted right through it, which gives the Rochester its raised, plump look. It can't be taken off, and the mattress can't be flipped to give it a rest. To my mind a soft top like that softens further with use and brings more problems than it solves, which is why I steer people away from pillow tops and treat this one the same way.
Plenty of owners love the feel, and after the firmness, the top is what the unhappy ones point at: dips where they sleep, a ridge down the middle and the tufting buttons. One owner found "the button depressions are noticeable when you first get in", and another laid a thin topper over the bed to hide them. A topper is a fair fix for a bed that's too firm. On a dip it's a nice layer over a hole, so never buy one hoping it will cure sagging.
Firm on the label, and firmer at home than in the shop
Firm is the only grade the Rochester comes in, and it sits fifth on Dreams' seven-step scale, solid without being the hardest bed in the shop. What owners complain about most is that it's firmer than they expected, and several say the one delivered to them felt firmer than the one they lay on in store. One wrote that "in the store it seemed a lot softer". A few found theirs softer instead, but most of the surprises go the firm way, and that makes sense to me: a bed on a shop floor has been lain on all day, every day, and yours arrives fresh.
Sleep on it for a couple of weeks before you judge it, since owners who found the first nights hard often say it eased after that. If it still feels wrong after a month, Dreams' 100-Night Comfort Guarantee gets you a swap for another Dreams mattress and never your money back, so choose carefully the first time. Several unhappy owners say a salesperson or the shop's matching machine sent them to this grade. If you try one in store, lie in your usual position for ten minutes and go by what your shoulder tells you.
The 3200 is the king's spring count
The 3200 in the name comes from the king, which carries 3,268 springs. A double, the size most people buy, has 2,508 and a single 1,549, so line up a double against a double when you compare beds. If you knew it as the Dream Team Gold Rochester Combination, this is the same bed under its newer name.
That count covers two layers, a sheet of micro pocket springs above a full-height pocket layer, and Dreams gives a single figure for both. To my mind micro springs add more to the count than to the support, and I'd sooner see the money go into a deeper comfort layer or natural fillings. Ask Dreams how many of the springs in your size are full height before you order, because that's the number that keeps a heavier body level.
Where the springs do pay off is for couples. Most owners who mention it say they don't roll into each other, which fits my own read of it, though a few still feel a partner turning over.
Copper won't make it a cool bed
Copper goes into the foam under the top and into the knitted cover, and Dreams sells both as cooling. Like gel or graphite, copper does a little good, and I'd never choose a mattress for it, since foam holds on to body heat whatever you mix in. Most owners who mention temperature sleep comfortably on it, while one couple found it made them very hot. Keep hot sleepers off it. If you run warm and still want firm, the Dream Team Frome 4200 Pocket Wool Mattress at Dreams puts wool over its springs and turns over.
30cm deep and 42kg in a double
At 30cm (about 12 inches), the Rochester sits right on the depth where ordinary fitted sheets start to struggle, so buy deep-pocket ones with it. It comes flat, at 42kg for a double and 50kg for a king, so check the staircase and the turn at the top before ordering. Owners find handles along the sides and none at the ends, and at that weight every rotation takes two of you.
Use a slatted frame, and skip Dreams' adjustable bases, as it isn't made for them. One owner found it too thick for the lift on their ottoman, so check yours before you buy. Stay within Dreams' limit of 18 stone per sleeper. It's single-sided, which I count against it, since a mattress you can turn lasts longer.
What to buy instead
Buy the Dream Team Gold Helmsdale 7600 Pocket Memory Mattress, the best-built Dream Team I lay on. It's graded Firm like the Rochester, and it's deeper at 34cm, with 6,588 springs in a double. Its wide edge stayed firm when I sat on it, which counts for a lot on a double, and couples get little roll-together. It is heavier, at 55kg in a double, and Dreams' own staff call it too heavy for an ottoman, so keep it on a slatted frame.
Side sleepers, and anyone light enough to find the Rochester hard going, belong a grade down on the Dream Team Gold Helston 4700 Pocket Memory Mattress. It's Medium Firm with a flat top, 30cm deep and a little lighter to rotate, and it's best bought near its sale price.
If you still want the Rochester after all that, buy it in a sale, because its price moves a lot through the year.
