Saatva Solaire mattress review: An adjustable luxury bed with 50 settings to achieve the perfect firmness

The highly customizable Saatva Solaire mattress is great for couples who can't agree on a bed, heavy people, and hot sleepers. Here's our review.

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

The best mattress for you may not be the best mattress for your sleeping partner. For instance, a side sleeper might want a softer mattress to get comfortable support around your pressure points. Meanwhile, back sleepers benefit from firmer support. Sleeping in separate beds isn't an option for most, but with an adjustable bed like the Saatva Solaire, you can customize each side to your preference.  

The Solaire is an "airbed," which is somewhat of a misnomer since it conjures up images of the flimsy air mattresses you might bring along camping. Yet, airbeds are a luxury item. They are mostly made up of the same foam layers you would expect from other bed-in-a-box styles, but the main difference is airbeds incorporate an air pump that adjusts the pressure within the mattress to make it more or less firm. This technology was popularized in the last decade by Sleep Number.

Saatva provided me with the Solaire for free to test. I tested the King Upper Flex mattress with the Saatva Adjustable Base Plus. Here are my experiences with this bed.

Design

Saatva is perhaps best known for the Saatva Classic Mattress, an innerspring hybrid that's available in three firmness options. As Saatva's first airbed, the Solaire gives you 50 firmness levels to select from. For the Twin XL and Full mattresses, there is just one firmness zone, but with the larger mattresses, each side has a corded controller for adjusting the firmness, so you and your partner don't have to compromise on comfort.

The Saatva Solaire has a weight capacity of 800 pounds per sleeper or 1,600 pounds per couple. This makes it an excellent option for heavier individuals and couples.

In addition to the traditional Twin XL, Full, Queen, King, and Cal King sizes, you can choose Split King and Split Cal King. The Queen, King, and Cal King mattresses are also available with "Upper Flex" so they can be used with adjustable bed frames. This means the head of the bed is separate from the bottom, so when one part is inclined, the other side is unaffected. This will require specialty sheets, however. 

Trial and warranty

Saatva offers a 365-night home trial, which is much better than the industry standard of 100 days. However, there's a $99 transportation and labor fee associated with returning the mattress. Still, $99 seems like a reasonable risk for such a big-ticket item.

The mattress has a lifetime limited warranty with stipulations. You get full coverage for two years, after which there may be associated fees. Comparatively, Sleep Number backs its beds with a 15-year limited warranty, and many bed-in-a-box brands, such as Casper, Leesa, and Allswell, only offer 10-year warranties. This means that Saatva goes above and beyond in this department. 

Delivery

In-home setup is included with your purchase of the Solaire, so a delivery team will deliver the mattress to the room of your choice and remove your old one too. 

The one problem I experienced was that Saatva organized the delivery with a particularly inept local delivery company in my area. The representatives called to schedule a delivery window, but they didn't have the right tools when they showed up, so the delivery had to be rescheduled. When the next crew arrived — different workers, same company — they claimed the in-home setup stopped at delivery and didn't include setup.

Because a PR contact set up my mattress delivery as a member of the press, I reached out to them instead of the usual customer service channel to minimize confusion. Saatva was quick to rectify the situation by hiring a new delivery company that did a great job of assembling the bed and showing me how it works. The whole process took a little more than one hour.

Per the Saatva Solaire product page, the purchase price includes delivery to the room of your choice, in-person setup and tutorial, and removal of your old mattress, a service I didn't use because I'm constantly testing and comparing mattresses.

Based on the reviews I've read of the brand, my experience seems to be an exception, but if you find yourself in a similar situation, you should contact customer service. According to the Better Business Bureau, many reviewers praise the brand's great customer service. 

Review of the Saatva Solaire

Though Saatva recommends using the Solaire with one of the company's foundations, such as the Adjustable Base Plus, you can still use it with your existing foundation, frame, or box spring, provided they're sturdy and in good condition. Since the air pump is contained within the mattress, you don't need to make space for it under the mattress. You just need an outlet nearby to provide power to the bed.

My wife generally sleeps on her back, and I sleep on my side and stomach. Yet, with 50 firmness settings on each side, we were able to find our perfect fits. I preferred to keep the firmness pretty close to the middle at 27, while my wife was on the firmer side at 37. 

The remotes were a little frustrating at first. You can't just press the button and experience instant changes. This is because the remote gives real-time pressure readouts. The best way to find the right pressure for my comfort level was to press the "Bedfill" button, which fills the bed to maximum pressure and firmness. I then slowly reduced the pressure from 50 until I was comfortable. Finding the right number will take some experimenting, but it's worth the effort.

I've found the firmness micro-adjustments are useful for addressing specific pains I may have. For example, depending on what physical activities I've been doing, my lower back, hips, or legs might be in pain. Generally, I prefer to sleep on my side on a medium-firm mattress, but sleeping on my stomach on a firmer mattress is preferable when I'm sore. With the Solaire, I can adjust based on how my body feels that night.

I appreciate that the bed has great edge support. This means that you won't feel like you're going to fall off the bed when you're close to the edge. As a heavier person, I can sit on the side to put on my socks without the mattress sagging much. 

I was impressed by how well the mattress dissipated heat. I tend to sleep hot, and if a mattress traps heat, I spend the night tossing and turning. This was not the case with the Solaire. I noticed that when I got up from the bed to use the bathroom at night, my side of the bed was noticeably cooler when I came back. This is always helpful for falling back asleep more easily.

Cons to consider

The motion isolation of the Solaire Mattress was lacking. When lying on the bed, I could feel movement on the other side of the mattress. It also failed a motion isolation test I perform on all mattresses. First, I place a 12-ounce can of soda on the mattress and then drop a 15-pound bowling ball from four feet above the bed so it lands 12 inches from the can. If the can stays up, it shows me that the mattress has good motion isolation. In repeated tests, the can fell over every time. This suggests the mattress might be best for people sleeping alone. Or, you might want to consider a split king for couples.

The mattress is quite heavy, so don't plan on moving your bed often. The mattress isn't designed to be flipped or rotated, which is nice because it's one less chore, but it does leave the mattress susceptible to long-term wear and sagging since you'll be sleeping in the same spot.

If you choose the Upper Flex mattress, you may have trouble finding fitted sheets for it. Saatva anticipated this and included a set of organic sateen sheets with the purchase price of an Upper Flex mattress, so you're covered from the start. However, this does mean your bedding options are limited, so keep that in mind.

What are your alternatives?

I've only tested three adjustable airbeds. The best for most people is the Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed, which costs about $1,250 less than the Solaire. It only has 20 firmness options, but I had some of the best sleep of my life on the i8. Specifically, I liked the automatic air adjustment feature. As you shift positions at night, the air automatically adjusts to relieve pressure points and ensure you stay comfortable. The bed also tracks your sleep quality and makes detailed recommendations for improved sleep. Read my full Sleep Number i8 Smart Bed Review.

Should you buy it?

I would not recommend this mattress to the average shopper. This is a big-ticket item for people willing to pay extra for luxurious and fully customizable comfort. Since it's easy to make precise tweaks to the firmness, you can find a balance of comfort and support that's right for you. 

But if you and your sleeping partner have drastically different tastes in mattresses, this bed may be worth the investment, especially since it will likely last you for decades. Since you can adjust the Solaire to match your sleeping preferences, it's also much more likely that the Solaire will be right for you compared to less expensive or less customizable mattresses. Remember that as your body changes over the years, your mattress preferences will likely also change. The Solaire can be adjusted to your preferences years down the road. 

Heavier couples and individuals should consider the Solaire since it has a 1600-pound weight capacity. I haven't heard of any mattresses with a higher capacity.

What model should you get?

If you sleep with another adult, you'll want a queen bed or larger. A king or Cal king is preferable unless you're a smaller couple or sleep holding each other. My wife and I are larger and shared the bed with our dog, so anything less than a King is uncomfortable. Check out our mattress size chart for more detailed guidance.

You can save $650 by choosing a standard king mattress instead of the king upper-flex. This option makes more sense if you don't plan on using the mattress with an adjustable bed frame.

The bottom line

If you have the budget and want a luxury mattress with a custom feel, this is the bed to get. The Saatva Solaire is especially an excellent option for heavier couples. Plus, its heat dissipation makes it the ideal choice for hot sleepers. With its 365-night sleep trial, there's little risk in trying it.