Sinking into luxury

on fancy mattresses that will make the ones you have at home feel like a bed of nails.

There are mattresses...and then there are mattresses. Not too long ago, mattresses were lumpy contraptions made of cotton and coconut fibre, wrapped in rough cotton. Then came the foam and rubberised coir ones encased in cheerful prints, which you still see in most Indian homes.

These may be a vast improvement on the cruder versions but they are still quite basic. However, that is set to change soon "" especially for the lucky, well-heeled few who can afford them "" now that two international players have entered the Indian market with products that are light years ahead in comfort and technology.

The first is Tempur Pedic, which has been in India for about two years now through its distributor tie-up with Delhi-based Springwel Mattresses.

The USP of Tempur mattresses is the use of "memory foam", a visco-elastic material that was originally developed for a NASA space programme to relieve and offer comfort cushioning for astronauts against the intense gravitational force experienced during lift-off.

It has therapeutic uses, for example in spinal injuries, but it does wonderfully for general use as well. When you lie down on, rather sink into, a Tempur mattress, it yields slowly under pressure, making no counter-pressure until the full weight of your body is distributed evenly on its entire surface area.

When you get up, the mattress returns to its original shape. Sheer comfort, in other words. But then, good things don't come cheap. The prices of Tempur mattresses in India start from Rs 50,000 or so and go up to Rs 134,000 for a king-size one, measuring 180x200x20 cm.

But if you think that's exorbitant, try Royal Pedic, the prices of which start at Rs 1,44,000 for a single (twin) one and go up to Rs 3,30,000 for a king-size. These are now available in India at Mon Chateau, a high-end furniture store which opened its doors in Bangalore this April.

Advertised as the "most comfortable and healthy sleeping environment in the world", Royal Pedic has been made famous by its celebrity users, Hollywood stars and even American presidents like John F Kennedy.

J Sashidhar, the man behind Mon Chateay, explains the unique wonders of a Royal Pedic mattress. "Most mattresses are made of foam which is a petroleum byproduct and emits harmful hydrocarbons "" imagine spending one-third of your life on these.

Royal Pedic mattresses, on the other hand, do not use any artificial material. It uses a two-layered spring technology, and several layers of carded cotton (thin layers of cotton compressed so they don't bunch), natural latex and even untreated lamb's wool, which is a natural way of preventing dust mites. All of this is encased in luxury Belgian cotton to give it a feel of uncommon luxury." Whew!

Until now it was largely the hospitality sector "" five-stars, mostly "" which had such fancy beds. For example, the luxury beds in the Taj hotels, informs Dipak Hakser, vice-president ITC Hotels and general manager, The Maurya, are the result of extensive research by Starwoods, the group's international partner and can cost as much as $20,000-$30,000.

"They are layered, with a foundation, off-the-box springs to maximise comfort and absorb shock, with several layers of mattress-pads and foam on an independent pocket-coil mattresses, with a top-sheet custom-made to distribute body weight properly and synchronise the movements of the body." After all, the need to ensure that guests have a good night's sleep, so vital to mental, physical and emotional well-being, is of paramount importance in the hospitality industry.

But spring mattresses are largely an international concept; in India, given the climate and lifestyle, you'll find them in very few in individual homes. For example, Sashidhar says his primary client base for Royal Pedic mattresses are expatriates, industrialists and other real-estate developers.

Besides, as he very validly points out, "You can't just sell these mattresses, they are part of a lifestyle, so you'd need duvets, spreads, pillows and so on to go with them." Even so, in the less-than-two months since he's launched Mon Chateau, he's sold four of them. No doubt there'll be more takers for these ultra-luxury mattresses in Delhi and Mumbai, where he'll open shop next.

The prices of these fancy mattresses put them beyond the pockets of the Indian masses. Even so, Springwel has come up with a premium range of pillow-tops that is more moderately priced "" the most expensive of these costs Rs 26,000.

Don't you feel like stretching and sprawling on these mattresses already?