Best Mattress for a Guest Room: Score Points with Your Overnight Guests

Best Mattress Types for Guest Rooms

There are several types of mattresses suitable for a guest room, and each has certain benefits and downsides.

Foam mattresses are competitively priced and provide above-average cushioning while producing little noise. However, they often sleep hot and lack edge support.

Hybrid mattresses usually have above-average bounce, edge support, and temperature neutrality. These mattresses are often more expensive, heavier, and less contouring than all-foam beds.

Because innerspring mattresses have thinner comfort layers, they are more affordable and feel sturdy, but they tend to lack pressure relief and can be quite noisy.

Latex mattresses are known for durability, bounce, temperature regulation, and moderate cushioning. The downsides are their heavy weight, higher cost, and increased motion transfer across the mattress surface.

Airbeds provide flexibility to house guests. Using an app or remote, sleepers can add or remove air from the internal chambers to adjust the firmness. That said, airbeds are pricey, especially for a bed that will only be used sporadically.

Space-Saving Beds

Certain bed designs keep an option available for guests without occupying significant floor space, providing more space when no one is staying in your guest room.

Sleeper Sofa

A sleeper sofa has a built-in mattress that can be folded out when guests need to stay the night. When not in use as a bed, a sleeper sofa functions like any other couch.

Futon

A futon looks like a sofa, but it has a frame that can slide into a flat position, allowing the futon cushion to be used as a mattress. With their versatility and compact size, futons are commonly used in smaller guest rooms.

Murphy Bed

A murphy bed resembles a cabinet or wardrobe, but inside, it holds a mattress that is kept in a vertical position. When guests arrive, you simply open the doors and pull the mattress down into a horizontal position. By storing the mattress vertically, a murphy bed helps maintain open floor space in your guest room.

Foldable Bed

A foldable bed is like a cot that is sometimes available in a hotel room. The frame folds up vertically and usually has wheels so that it can be easily moved. When guests come over, you can bring the bed to your guest room or living room and unfold it.

Watch: Comparing Mattress Types

While there are many mattress designs on the market today, each type targets the needs of different sleepers. Watch our video to learn more about some of the different types.

How Firm Should a Guest Room Mattress Be?

Mattresses with a medium (5) to medium firm (6) feel suit the widest range of people, are often used in hotels, and tend to work well for side sleeping, which is the most common sleeping position.

However, think about who you expect to stay in your guest room most often. If you know that the same people will be repeatedly sleeping in your guest room, you may choose a different firmness level that you know can suit their needs.

How to Shop for a Guest Room Mattress

When choosing a mattress for your guest room, the key factors to consider include sizing, the feel of the mattress, price, durability, temperature regulation, and policies related to returns and warranties.

Bedroom and Mattress Size

You should first measure the size of your guest room so you pick a mattress that won’t make the room feel cramped, taking additional furniture like night stands into account.

At the same time, think about who is most likely to stay at your home. To accommodate couples, you should have a mattress that is a full size or larger. For individuals, a twin or twin XL may be sufficient. For families, you may need to reserve extra space for a crib.

Feel

The feel of a mattress encompasses its firmness level, supportiveness, responsiveness, and overall comfort. We suggest avoiding extremes, like an extra firm or extra soft mattress, when shopping for a guest bed. As with hotel beds, a mattress with middle-of-the-road characteristics will accommodate the widest range of sleepers for short-term stays.

Price

Mattresses can range in price from around $300 to well over $3,000 depending on construction, material quality, special features, sizing, and delivery.

Unless you have frequent overnight visitors, you probably don’t need to splurge on a guest mattress. That said, buying a low-quality, cheaply made mattress could result in a poor sleeping experience or frequent replacing.

Durability

How long a mattress lasts depends on its materials and use. Higher-quality materials will hold up better over time and resist sagging and other signs of wear and tear. If you only expect guests every now and again, durability may be less of a concern because the mattress will not be subjected to regular use.

Temperature Regulation

Mattresses that resist heat buildup are important if you live in a warm climate or set your thermostat to a higher temperature. Certain materials tend to avoid heat retention. These include latex and coils, ventilated layers, gel infusions, breathable fabrics, and specialty materials.

Sleep Trial and Warranty

A sleep trial is a window of time when you can return the mattress if you or your guests aren’t satisfied with it. We suggest asking your guests for input during the trial to find out if the mattress provides adequate comfort and support.

A warranty provides long-term protection against defects. Most warranties last 10 years or more and require the manufacturer to repair or replace your mattress if the workmanship or materials are defective.

Tips for Elevating Your Guest Room

Beyond the mattress itself, there are other ways to spruce up your guest room and help make anyone who stays the night feel welcome.

Invest in Comfy Pillows

Level up your guest bed with high-quality pillows. Look for pillows with broad appeal, such as those with mid-range levels of firmness and loft. You may want to avoid down or feather pillows since some people have allergies to these materials.

Buy a Mattress Topper

If an existing mattress in your guest room feels too firm or soft, you can buy a mattress topper as a lower-cost way of making your guest bed more comfortable. Most foam or latex toppers provide a meaningful level of firmness adjustment.

Consider a Mattress Protector

With different people staying at your home, a mattress protector can keep your guest bed fresh and free of damage.

A protector or encasement can keep away spills and stains and prevent dirt, dust, or allergens from collecting on the mattress. A zippered encasement can also keep bed bugs from hiding in the seams of your guest room mattress.

Use Fresh Sheets

Sheets are one of the first things people notice when staying in an unfamiliar bed. Having soft, breathable, and non-irritating sheets can provide comfort and luxuriousness that make your guest bed feel more inviting.

Have Extra Blankets Available

Some people have a tendency to run hot or cold, so having different blanket options can help your guests get comfortable. Hot sleepers may want only a thin blanket, while cold sleepers may want to layer multiple blankets in order to get cozy.

Discover More Mattress Solutions

When it comes to mattresses, the options are endless. Check out our additional guides to help narrow your search and find the best bed for you.

More Mattress Options for Specific Needs

How We Test

Our recommendations are based on a detailed process of researching and personally testing dozens of mattresses. Our testing team includes people with varying body sizes, comfort preferences, and sleeping positions, and these team members have spent years learning what separates great mattresses from all the rest.

In our in-house testing lab, we analyze mattress performance across a range of key categories, and our team takes all this information into account to pick out the best options for your home.

Frequently Asked Questions