The student mattress guide: halls, first flats, and what is actually worth spending
Every September around half a million people move into a room with a bed they did not choose. The mattress in it has been slept on by three or four people before them, it has a wipe-clean cover, and it was bought on a contract that prioritised not catching fire over being comfortable. This is a guide for the student, or the parent, deciding whether to do something about that.
What halls beds actually are
Most UK university halls beds are a standard 3ft single, 90 × 190 cm. Newer purpose-built student accommodation often has a 4ft small double (120 × 190 cm), which the brochure will call a "double". A few older halls still have 2ft 6 beds. Before buying anything, measure the frame or ask the accommodation office, because a mattress that is the wrong size is worse than the one you started with.
The mattress supplied is usually a contract-grade open-coil or basic foam mattress, around 15 to 18 cm deep, with a wipeable waterproof cover. It is firm, it is a bit noisy, and it is warm because of the cover. It is not going to hurt anyone. It is also not going to be the reason anybody sleeps well.
Topper or mattress?
Buy a topper if: the halls mattress is firm but not sagging, you are only there a year, and you want to spend under £100. A 5 cm memory foam or latex topper with a proper cover fixes the surface, though not the support underneath, and it goes home in a bag at the end of the year.
Buy a mattress if: the halls one dips in the middle (lie on it and see if your hips drop), you are going to be in student housing for three or four years, or you would rather buy once. A decent single mattress lasts a degree and a first flat after it, which makes it cheaper per year than a topper that gets replaced.
Either way, buy a mattress protector. Not for the reasons parents think. Because the halls cover will make you sweat, and a cotton or Tencel protector over it (or over your new mattress) is the single biggest comfort improvement per pound spent.
What to look for in a student mattress
- Pocket springs, not open coil, if it is going in a shared house with thin walls. Open-coil mattresses creak and transfer movement.
- Medium-firm. Most people under 25 sleep best on it, and a student mattress needs to cope with being sat on to eat toast and watch things.
- A foam-encapsulated edge, so the side does not collapse when it is used as a sofa.
- Around 20 to 25 cm deep. Deep enough for a proper spring unit, shallow enough to not tower over the frame and to fit fitted sheets.
- Densities you can see. 50 kg/m³ memory foam over 35 kg CMHR will still be level in year three. "Premium memory foam" with no number will not.
- No fibreglass. Cheap rolled mattresses sometimes use a fibreglass fire sock; if the cover ever comes off it is a nightmare. Ask, or look for a woven barrier.
What it costs
| What | Rough price | Lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Memory foam topper, 5 cm, single | £50 to £100 | One to two years |
| Budget rolled single mattress | £100 to £180 | Two to three years |
| Decent pocket-sprung single, specified foams | £250 to £350 | Eight to ten years |
| Cotton or Tencel protector | £20 to £40 | Buy one every year regardless |
The middle row is where most students end up, and it is the false economy: it is replaced after the degree. The bottom row moves to the first flat.
Getting it delivered to halls
Halls will accept a delivery if reception or the accommodation office is told in advance, and most prefer it to arrive the working day before move-in rather than on the day, when there are three hundred cars in the car park. A rolled mattress can be carried up by one person; a flat one needs two, which is a thing to ask the seller about rather than discover on the stairs. Take the old mattress out first, and ask the office where it should go; most halls will store or dispose of it.
After uni
A good single mattress carries on to the first flat, and often the second. When the time comes for a bigger bed, that is a different chapter, and a mattress bought at nineteen that is still level at twenty-four has earned its keep.
How we built ours
The Uni Student is a 22 cm medium-firm pocket-sprung single or small double with 1,000 springs (stated for a king), 50 kg/m³ memory foam over 35 kg CMHR, and a foam-encapsulated edge. It is the same mattress we sell as The Empty Nester for the spare room, so nothing about it is a student compromise. Delivered flat by two people, the working day before move-in if you tell us the date.
The short version
- Measure the frame: 3ft single or 4ft small double, occasionally 2ft 6.
- Protector first, always. Topper if the halls mattress is firm; mattress if it dips or you are there for three years.
- Pocket springs, medium-firm, a firm edge, densities you can see.
- Deliver the day before move-in.
First flat: the bed and mattress checklist, in the order to buy things
Moving into a first flat means buying a bed with no idea what matters. What to spend and what to skip, frame or divan, the mattress that lasts into the next flat, and the things to sort before the van arrives.
What size is a halls bed? UK student accommodation bed sizes explained
Most halls beds are 3ft singles, newer blocks are 4ft small doubles, and a few are 2ft 6. How to find out before you buy bedding or a topper, what each size needs, and the questions to ask the accommodation office.
Which mattress topper for a halls bed: the one purchase that fixes most of it
A halls mattress is firm, warm and wipe-clean. For most students a topper is the right fix, not a mattress. Which kind, what to spend, the protector everyone forgets, and when a topper is not enough.