Why our sleep experts loved it
I tested the Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress in store, and the truth is that I was expecting a very cheap-feeling mattress. I’m not going to lie, that is mostly what it is: a budget mattress at a very budget price. But what I would not call the Dreams Core 3 Zone is uncomfortable. In fact the feel of the mattress immediately transported me back to those first bed-in-a-box mattresses a few years ago, like Casper and Leesa. All-foam designs, often a single, fairly soft layer, and sold with the idea that they were premium rather than basic.
This is a rolled, all-foam, UK-made mattress that comes vacuum packed for easy delivery, with a three-zone memory foam core and a soft, hypoallergenic knitted cover. Officially it is rated as a firm mattress with a memory foam filling, and is available in single, small double and double sizes. Prices start from around £199 for a single and go up to around £279 for larger sizes at full price, though of course these often appear as discounted in Dreams’ rolled mattress promotions.
The idea behind it is simple, and as a result it behaves exactly as you would expect: dense foam doing most of the work, a straightforward, slightly firmer feel, and a decent amount of contouring that should make it comfortable for both back and side sleeping if you like a supportive surface. The trade-off, as with most cheap all-foam mattresses, is going to be longevity. It is the dense foam that gives it the relative support, and that same foam will also be doing a lot of the heavy lifting over the mattress’s lifespan. As a result, I would not see this as a ten-year investment, more realistically a three-to-five-year mattress.
Construction & materials The Dreams Core 3 Zone is an all-foam rolled mattress with a single piece of zoned memory foam doing the bulk of the work. The foam inside is cut or engineered into three responsive zones that give you different levels of support under your head and shoulders, hips and lower back and your legs and feet. In most mattresses, this will mean a firmer band through the centre to stop your midsection from dipping, with slightly softer zones at each end for comfort.
Dreams describes the filling simply as memory foam and, from lying on it, I would say the foam is fairly dense for a budget model. It has not got that fluffy, marshmallow feel you get with super-soft foams, but more a steady, gradual contour as your body heat softens the surface. That density is what makes the mattress feel more supportive than the price might suggest, and is also why the foam is going to be doing so much of the heavy lifting over its lifespan. There is no separate pocket spring unit here, so you are entirely reliant on the foam layers for both comfort and support.
The cover is a soft, knitted fabric that is described as hypoallergenic, which will be of use if you are prone to sniffles or simply want something suitable for a guest room that will be used by different people. It is pleasant to the touch, with a smooth softness and the slightly stretchy knit that you see on many bed-in-a-box mattresses. There is no visible quilting or pillow-top, which helps to keep the profile low and the feel direct and responsive.
As with other Dreams Workshop products, it sits in the brand’s UK-made collection, so you are getting a domestically manufactured foam mattress rather than something imported and rebadged. For a budget buy, that is reassuring and actually quite rare. Most rolled memory foam does not originate in the UK but according to the spec sheet, that's what you are getting.
Firmness & feel Officially, the Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress is a firm mattress. In reality, when I lay on it in store, it felt more like a comfortable medium-firm, particularly in the top couple of centimetres. It has a definite sense of support, without the initial contact being unforgiving or board-like.
On my back, my hips stayed up nicely without that tell-tale pulling sensation in the lower back you can get when a mattress is too soft. The central zone does a decent job of keeping you in a neutral position, and because it is all foam and no springs, the support feels even and continuous rather than a series of discrete points.
On my side, I was pleasantly surprised. For a mattress that is marked as firm, and that comes at this price, I was expecting my shoulder to feel jammed up, but there was enough give in the surface for it to nestle in without my spine bending awkwardly. I would still class it on the firmer side of comfortable for side sleeping, and if you are very lightweight or used to very plush beds you may find it a little unyielding, but for an average build it is perfectly workable for side sleeping.
Front sleeping also feels supportive, again largely thanks to that firmer mid-zone. Your hips do not collapse into the mattress, which is exactly what you want if you sleep on your stomach and are trying to avoid lower back pain.
When it comes to personality, it really did remind me of those original Casper and Leesa foam mattresses, back when everyone had a simple, single-layer all-foam model and before bed-in-a-box companies started adding different types of foam, micro-springs, elaborate cooling layers and so on. You get a very straightforward, slightly firm, slightly contouring memory foam feel with very little bounce and excellent movement absorption. If you like a springy, traditional mattress, you will not find that here, but if you like feeling gently held in place, it works.
Performance & support Support-wise, the mattress performs a little better than its price would suggest for light to average-weight sleepers. The three-zone construction gives you enough structure under hips and lower back to keep you feeling aligned, and the denser foam resists that hammock effect you can sometimes get with cheaper all-foam beds.
Motion transfer is excellent. The lack of springs means movement is absorbed rather than propagated across the surface, so you are unlikely to be overly disturbed by a partner rolling over or changing position in the night. This is a definite plus if you are currently sleeping on a creaky old sprung mattress and are looking for something calmer but do not want to spend a fortune.
Edge support is more modest. As with most all-foam mattresses at this thickness, sitting directly on the edge compresses the foam quite noticeably, and even lying right up close to the side you can feel it softening more than the centre of the bed. It is usable, but if you rely heavily on the edges, for example getting in and out of bed with mobility issues, you would probably prefer a deeper mattress with reinforced sides.
Durability is the area where the compromises become obvious. Dense foam or not, this is still a single-layer, budget memory foam mattress. Over time, particularly if you are on the heavier side or use it every night, you can expect the comfort layer to soften and the support to start tailing off more quickly than you would with a more complex, thicker or hybrid design. I would be looking at this as a three-to-five-year workhorse rather than something you want for long-term, daily use over a decade.
That said, when you factor in the price, plus Dreams’ 100-night comfort guarantee, that does soften the blow. If you get it home and decide the feel is not for you, you can exchange it within that period, and there is also the option of using their recycling service to take your old mattress away at the same time.
Temperature regulation Temperature is the one area where this mattress behaves exactly as you would expect an all-foam, budget memory foam mattress to behave. Memory foam is naturally more heat-retentive than many other types of filling, and the Core 3 Zone does not appear to include any specific cooling gel or open-coil layer to counteract that.
As I lay on it for a while in store, I noticed that familiar slow-building warmth that you get with memory foam as it starts to respond to body heat. It is not overwhelmingly hot and the relatively simple construction may help a little because there is less super-deep foam to sink into, but if you are a very hot sleeper or prone to night sweats you will want to think about breathable cotton bedding and a lighter duvet to offset it.
On the plus side, the foam does a good job of evening out localised cold spots, so if your bedroom is on the cooler side, you may well find that gentle warmth cosseting rather than oppressive.
Practical features From a practical point of view, the Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress is very easy to live with. It comes rolled and vacuum packed, which makes it far simpler to manoeuvre up staircases, into loft rooms or around tight corners than a full-size, flat mattress. Once it is in the room, you simply remove the packaging, unroll it onto the bed frame and leave it to expand.
Dreams’ general guidance with rolled mattresses is that they are usually ready to sleep on within around an hour of opening, though it can take 8 to 48 hours to fully expand, depending on the thickness and filling. With this model being a relatively simple all-foam build, it should reach most of its height and comfort fairly quickly, but the feel may still refine slightly over the first couple of nights as the foam relaxes.
As with most memory foam products, you can also expect a bit of that “new mattress” smell on first opening. This is a perfectly normal off-gassing from the foams and adhesives that usually dissipates within a day or two if you keep the room well ventilated.
The hypoallergenic knitted cover is a practical touch for allergy sufferers, although there is no obvious sign that it can be removed and machine washed, so I would strongly recommend you use a decent mattress protector from day one to keep everything clean and extend its life.
Standard Dreams perks apply: free delivery to your door on all orders, plus the option to pay for room-of-choice delivery and mattress recycling if you want a completely hassle-free swap.
Who it suits In my opinion, the Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress is a good fit if you are on a tighter budget but still want something that feels genuinely supportive and reasonably comfortable.
It is well suited to light to average-weight sleepers who prefer a slightly firmer, memory foam feel and want straightforward pressure relief without lots of bells and whistles. If you sleep on your back, you will likely appreciate the firmer central support zone, and if you are a side sleeper of average build there is enough give to stop shoulders and hips from feeling squashed, provided you are not wedded to an ultra-soft bed.
It is also well suited to guest rooms, spare rooms and occasional use, where you want visitors to be comfortable but do not want to invest in a premium mattress. The rolled format makes it particularly attractive for students, renters and anyone moving house or furnishing an attic or box room, because you can get it into spaces that a traditional mattress would struggle with.
I would also consider it for teenagers or young adults who prefer a firmer bed and are not fussed that it is likely to need replacing in a few years as they grow up and change. At the low end of the price scale, particularly when Dreams is running its frequent promotions on rolled mattresses, the value proposition for those scenarios is strong.
Who it does not suit However, there are some sleepers for whom I would not recommend this mattress as a main, long-term bed.
Heavier sleepers, particularly those significantly over average weight, may find the single-layer foam construction compresses too much over time, leading to dipping and a loss of support. If you are in that category, I would steer you towards a deeper hybrid or pocket-sprung mattress with foam on top rather than all foam.
Very hot sleepers should also be cautious. While you can manage some of the warmth with breathable bedding, this mattress does not have the advanced cooling technologies that help you stay cooler at night, and if you already struggle with overheating on memory foam you are likely to find that those same tendencies will appear here.
If you are looking for a long-term investment mattress that you want to last eight to ten years, this is probably not the right choice either. The price reflects its more modest expected lifespan, and you would be better off spending more on a higher-specification model with more complex support layers.
Finally, if you love the lively bounce of traditional springs or want a deeply cushioned, hotel-style softness, this is not going to scratch that itch. The feel is more pragmatic and straightforward, with a firmer underlying character.
Final verdict The Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress is a classic example of a simple idea done reasonably well. It is an all-foam, rolled mattress, with a firm comfort grade, a zoned memory foam core and a soft, hypoallergenic cover, sold at a genuinely accessible price point and backed by Dreams’ 100-night comfort guarantee.
In store it surprised me, in a good way. The dense foam gives it a more substantial, supportive feel than a lot of cheap memory foam mattresses, and the three-zone design offers enough contouring for both back and side sleeping without everything turning to mush. It is reminiscent of those early-generation bed-in-a-box mattresses before things got more complicated, and if you just want something straightforward and supportive that is not a bad thing.
The compromises are plain to see: average-at-best edge support, that typical memory foam warmth, and a likely lifespan of only a few years under regular use, particularly for heavier sleepers. But when you weigh that against the price, the ease of delivery and setup, and the comfort level, it adds up to a very reasonable proposition.
If you are outfitting a guest room, buying for a teen, setting up a first flat or simply want a no-fuss, firmer-feeling memory foam mattress without spending a fortune, the Dreams Core 3 Zone Memory Foam Rolled Mattress is definitely worth considering. If you want a decade of use, luxurious cooling and iron-clad edge support, you will need to shop higher up the range, but for what it is, this little rolled mattress does an admirable job.
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