Three in the morning, duvet on the floor, pillow flipped to its cool side: that's the night most people shopping the cooling beds at Dreams are trying to fix, and it's where TheraPur comes in. It's Dreams' own range, sold nowhere else, and the Polar 2000 is the first step on its ActiGel ladder, five Combination mattresses numbered from 2000 up to 6000. Combination is Dreams' word for a hybrid: a graphite-knit cover that's cool under your hand, a layer of zoned gel foam, then pocket springs. This one covers ground the dearer beds don't: no other rung of the five is graded medium firm, and only one other has a flat top instead of a pillow top. I went back to it on the Dreams shop floor on 31 October 2026. Lie down on it and the cool cover is the first thing you notice, then an even, steady push from underneath that keeps you on top of the bed rather than sunk into it.
I lay on it on my back, my side and my front. On my back it was excellent, and my front was comfortable too. My side is where the grade showed: I'm a side sleeper at 61kg, about nine and a half stone, and when I turned over, the medium firm pressed at my shoulder rather than letting it in. The surface felt just as cool under me as the TheraPurs further up the range, though the top had less spring in it than the Glacier 4000's.
I'd first tried it at Dreams in March 2026, when my hips stayed level on my back, the edge held me when I sat on it, and pressing down on one side didn't send movement across the bed. Back then I judged it comfortable enough on my side for someone of average build; this time the shoulder pressure is what stayed with me, and the newer visit is the one to plan around.
Average-weight back sleepers who run hot should buy this one
This is the value pick of the TheraPur range. You get most of what the ActiGel name stands for, the cool cover and the gel, for noticeably less money than the rungs above it. Buy it if you're about average weight, sleep mostly on your back and wake up too warm. It also suits a combination sleeper whose nights are mainly spent on their back with the odd roll onto one side. At average weight you sink a little further than I did, which takes the edge off the shoulder. A medium firm is the grade I put in front of most people first, and plenty of people with sore backs who get steered towards something harder would do better on this.
Side sleepers around my weight or lighter should skip it. Medium firm at that weight keeps your shoulder up at the surface, and I felt exactly that. A heavier side sleeper fares better, but a side sleeper who likes to sink in wants something softer.
The plainest ActiGel build, and still a well-made bed
Set it beside the rungs above and three things are missing: the pillow top, the second layer of ActiGel foam and the foam border built round the springs. What's left is the same graphite ActiCool+ cover, one layer of zoned ActiGel foam, a sheet of Platinum 3D foam, and two layers of springs, with a shallow layer of micro pocket springs sitting on full-height pocket springs. The zoning is in the gel foam, not the springs. I rate the build well, and I count the missing pillow top as a plus. A padded top sewn on is worth weighing for long-term wear, and a plain quilted face spares you that question.
The Glacier 4000 two rungs up has the livelier top, and I felt the difference. It also wears a pillow top, and a fair share of the extra money goes on that top and a second gel layer. If you were torn between the two, keep the money and take the flat top.
The Arctic 3000 is the other flat-topped rung, one step up. It adds the second gel layer, the foam edge and a far longer guarantee at the same 26cm, but Dreams grades it two steps firmer, Firm to Very Firm, and on my side my shoulder and hip stayed right on top of it. That's a bed for heavier back and front sleepers, never a straight swap for someone who came looking for medium firm.
The gel keeps it cool, and owners back it up
In the shop I gave the surface close to top marks for staying cool, level with the dearer rungs. TheraPur splits the job in two. The cover is knitted with graphite to draw warmth away from your skin, and under it the ActiGel layer is a gel foam that doesn't trap heat the way memory foam does. Of the two, I put my faith in the gel. A cooling cover feels lovely for the first few minutes and I'm less convinced by what it does after that, whereas gel foam over springs, with air moving through them, stays fresher for longer. There's no memory foam anywhere in this bed, which is half the battle for a hot sleeper.
Owners who bought it to get through a heatwave say it did the job, one calling it "a lifesaver through the recent heatwave". One owner couldn't feel the gel making any difference, and no mattress beats a stuffy bedroom by itself. Keep the bedroom cool, around 18C if you can, and let the duvet tog do the rest.
Mind the protector, though. You can't unzip the cover to wash it, so you'll want one, and Dreams asks for one from night one if you might use the exchange. One owner found it took the cold feel off the surface. I've never loved protectors, and on a cooling bed I like them less. Pick the thinnest breathable one you can find and leave the plastic-backed waterproof kind in the shop.
The shortest guarantee in the ActiGel range, by a long way
Go in knowing this. The Polar 2000 carries the shortest guarantee in the ActiGel range, and every rung above it carries a far longer one. TheraPur's brand page talks up a long guarantee on selected mattresses, and this isn't one of the selected, so read the guarantee on the product itself before you pay. Weigh it against what you save over the Arctic 3000: the saving is real, and so is the gap in cover.
At the till you'll be offered a paid service plan to stretch that cover out. I'd keep my money. Your statutory rights carry on long after the guarantee ends, whatever the guarantee says, and I've never thought a till add-on is the best use of the cash on any mattress.
One owner reports a dip where they sleep, and gel bunched up in the middle of the bed where nobody lies. A dip is the complaint I never wave away, and on a guarantee this short you want the odds on your side. Give it a solid base whose slats sit no more than about 7cm apart and keep up the rotation. At the counter, find out what depth of dip Dreams treats as a fault, and get free collection put in writing.
Owners find the one at home firmer than the shop model
The label says medium firm, and the owners who disagree with it mostly say firmer, the unhappiest of them blaming the gap between the shop and home. "It's nothing like the one on the shop floor it's so firm no medium about it," wrote one. That sits with what I found on my side, and it's why I'd treat this as a firm-leaning medium firm. Shop beds get lain on all day and soften for it; yours arrives fresh from the wrapping and a touch firmer.
Owners who found theirs firm at first say it eased within a few weeks, and Dreams allows a month for the fillings to settle. Should yours stay firm, the 100-Night Comfort Guarantee from Dreams covers one swap for a different mattress, after the first month and for a charge, with any difference refunded as vouchers if you trade down. Before you buy, give it a full ten minutes in your own sleeping position on the shop floor.
2,192 springs in a double, and no foam border round the edge
The 2000 is a tier name, not a count. Measure it size by size and the double has 2,192 springs, with 1,435 in the single, 2,550 in the king and 3,049 in the super king: one spring unit, cut to fit. I wouldn't buy on the number either way. What your body meets is the zoned gel and the full-height springs underneath it, and those are what I'd judge it on. I'd leave the micro springs out of the sum.
The Arctic, the Glacier and the two rungs above them all get a firm foam edge round the springs. The Polar 2000 doesn't. Sitting on the edge in March, I didn't tip forward, so perching on the side to get dressed is fine. Sleeping right out at the edge of a double is another thing. If two adults share it, buy the king, which is the size I'd steer most couples to anyway. Couples in the reviews say a partner rolling over goes unnoticed, and that's the payoff from springs that are each wrapped in their own pocket.
One-sided, 26cm deep, and not for an adjustable base
You can't flip it. Turn it end to end every week while it's new, dropping to once a month after three months, and get help with it: a double weighs 32kg and a super king 42kg. Given the choice, I always prefer a mattress with two sleeping faces, which share the wear between them, and that's the one change I'd make to this build. At 26cm (about ten inches) it takes ordinary fitted sheets. Keep it off an adjustable base: Dreams marks it as unsuitable for its Sleepmotion bases, and unlike the rungs above it there's no version made for one.
What to buy instead
For a side sleeper who wants to sink in, the better bed in the same shop is the Dream Team Ashbourne 2000 Pocket Wool Mattress. Dreams grades it Soft, and the wool layered on each face of its pocket springs means either side can be the one you sleep on. Wool is one of the coolest fillings going, so a hot sleeper gives up very little by switching. Owners say it arrives firmer than the shop model as well, so give it the first month.
A heavier sleeper who lies on their back or front and runs warm should step up to the Arctic 3000 for the firmer grade, the same cool cover and gel, and the longer guarantee. If the gel isn't what draws you, the Dream Team Amersham 1200 Pocket Ortho Mattress is the very firm bed to look at instead, with wool on both sides and a build you can turn.
