This week I was expecting to receive the first of the Millbrook Planets mattresses for testing, but for some odd reason I ended up being supplied the Reims, a mattress from the French Collection.

Another surprise was that I wasn’t supplied a base for this mattress. Instead I was given a bedframe, as we didn’t receive the divan base from our warehouse in time. Not phased by this, I set to work getting my mattress and newly acquired bedframe into what I’ve now dubbed ‘the sleep laboratory’ (my bedroom).

The Millbrook Reims mattress

Millbrook call the Reims a ‘luxury divan’, with an emphasis on quality fabrics and affordability. It’s not often that a bed manufacturer can reach a compromise between quality and low price, but in this case, it seems to have been made possible. At Bedstar you can pick up a Millbrook Reims 4FT6 Double divan set for less than £600, which is very reasonable for a bed from this manufacturer.

The mattress is a pocketsprung unit with 1260 pocket springs in the Kingsize model. I could try and work out how many springs I got in my Double mattress, but it doesn’t seem important. All you need to know about the pocket springs in this mattress is that they feel fantastic. I always make a habit of lying on a new mattress before placing it on its base (or frame in this case) and the feel of the Reims was awesome.

The Reims mattress is a medium tension mattress and the fillings are a mixture of soft white fibres and cotton that give a very soft feel. As with most Millbrook mattresses, the Reims has double side stitching to the mattress borders, chrome air vents and flag stitched handles. The interliner is hypoallergenic (which is a major advantage at this time of the year) and hand tufts have been used to keep everything held together.

The Divan Base

I didn’t get to experience the Reims mattress and divan base together, but I did manage to sneak a look at the bases when they arrived into stock last Friday. The base is fairly standard for a Millbrook bed. It has a fully aprung edge and the usual choice between no drawers, 2 drawers or 4 drawers (with the 2 and 4 drawer units having Conti options available as well). Brass linking bars are used on the split bases to hold the bases together and ther are headboard fixing holes in either end of the bases. Chrome double wheel castors have also been included to help make the bed easier to move around.

Overall impression

If your budget can stretch a little further you may want to consider the next model up in the range (The Monaco, which we’ll be reviewing soon), but for people on a budget of less than £600 will find the Reims to be a very high quality bed for a reasonable price, which is exactly what Millbrook set out to achieve.

Millbrook have a grand reputation for making beds and mattresses in the UK and across Europe. Over the years, they have been able to develop a list of 10 things you can do to best protect your investment and make sure it lasts you for years to come. Follow this list of tips to get the most from your new bed or mattress.

1. Give your bed a couple of days to settle. The first time you sleep on your new Millbrook mattress, you may feel that it is slightly uncomfortable or too rigid for your body. Remember that your old bed was well worn in and it will take a couple of days for your new mattress to feel just right.
2. Turn your new mattress regularly. To make sure there is a consistent amount of settling across the entire surface of your new mattress it is important to turn it regularly. In the case of double-sided mattresses, they should be flipped over every few months for the life of the mattress and rotated monthly for at least the first 6 months. Thereafter you can rotate your mattress about once every 3 months. For non-turn mattresses, it is very important that you do not flip your mattress, as the underside will not have a spring system designed to hold your body weight. These mattresses should simply be rotated every month to even out any settling.
3. Turning a mattress is not a job for one person. Trying to flip or rotate your mattress yourself will not only put you at risk of injuring yourself, there is also a very high probability that you will cause damage to the mattress’ spring unit due to bending.
4. Reduce the probability of fillings settling. Because of the high quality of Millbrook’s mattress fillings, the mattress is more sumptuous than most commercial mattresses, and if left to its own devices, settling of the fillings will occur. Preventing this can be done by turning the mattress regularly as discussed above, and by not jumping or flopping onto the bed.
5. Avoid mattress bending or rolling. The pocket spring units used in the Millbrook mattress range is susceptible to damage if the mattress is bent or rolled. Special care should be taken when transporting your new mattress or moving it e.g. up or down staircases.
6. Mattresses need to breathe. Each night, your mattress will be required to soak up sweat from your body. It is therefore important to let the mattress breathe each morning to (a) allow it to dry out and (b) to remove any stale odours from the mattress and linen. Twenty minutes of breathing should be enough for your mattress each day.
7. Be careful when fitting castors. The castors supplied with new Millbrook beds are of an industry leading quality. That said, they need to be fitted carefully to avoid damage not only to the castor wheels but also to the Millbrook divan base frame.
8. Use a mattress protector. Mattress protectors should always be used on any make of bed. These linen covers are cheap and help protect your mattress against excess fluids and dirt, ensuring your mattress’ lifespan is as long as possible.
9. If you have storage drawers, don’t overfill them. Excess weight or force applied to divan drawers will cause the drawer frames to become damaged as well as causing damage to the divan frame and drawer runners.
10. Do not use detergents or vacuum cleaners on your Millbrook mattress as these will cause damage to it. If you have to clean your mattress with a liquid, use a damp cloth and allow plenty of time for the mattress to dry.

The Silhouette Supreme mattress collection from Millbrook does just that. This dual-purpose mattress range has sumptuous warm fillings on the winter side. Flip the mattress over in summer and the upholstery layers are designed to keep you cool all night long.

There are 3 mattresses in the Silhouette Supreme range to suit your tastes.

The Millbrook Nebula pocket sprung divan and mattress

With 3000 pocket springs in the 5FT Kingsize divan set, the Nebula is one of the most spectacular beds on the market, and the highest spec summer/winter mattress available.

The Mattress

• 2000 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT
• Natural layers of resilient cotton on the summer side
• Luxurious warm wool and pashmina on the winter side
• 3 rows of traditional hand side stitching

The Divan

• 1000 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT
• Choice of 4 luxurious divan covers
• Choice of drawer options

The Millbrook Stratus pocket sprung divan and mattress

The Millbrook Stratus is a 2400 pocket sprung bed (in the 5FT Kingsize) with the following features:

The Mattress

• 1400 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT
• Natural layers of resilient cotton on the summer side
• Luxurious warm lambswool on the winter side
• 2 rows of  traditional hand side stitching

The Divan

• 1000 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT
• Choice of 4 luxurious divan covers
• Choice of drawer options.

The Millbrook Nimbus pocket sprung divan and mattress

The Nimbus contains 2700 pocket springs in the 5FT bed. Features include:

The Mattress

• 1700 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT Kingsize
• Natural layers of resilient cotton on the summer side
• Luxurious warm silk and lambswool blend on the winter side
• 2 rows of  traditional hand side stitching.

The Divan

• 1000 individually hand nest pocket springs in the standard 5FT
• Choice of 4 luxurious divan covers
• Choice of drawer options.

Sizes

The Nebula, Stratus and Nimbus are available in the following standard sizes:

• 3FT Single
• 4FT6 Double
• 5FT Kingsize
• 6FT Superking
• 6FT Zip & Link