Classic Brands Cool Gel Memory Foam 8-Inch Mattress

To start off, I think this is like the second review I have ever left on Amazon. I don't usually leave reviews, but this mattress was so incredibly disappointing that I thought I should share to help people out. First off, I decided to by this mattress because a friend of mine bought from this brand three years ago, and it was the most comfortable and cooling mattress I have ever slept on, which is why I decided to purchase it for myself after moving. I let the mattress completely inflate on a flat surface for 72 hours to ensure it was fully inflated. Straight out of the plastic, I noticed that the two bottom corners were already inflating slower than the rest, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt since it was fresh out of the package. After 72 hours, the bottom corners were still sagging and it never fully inflated to the promised 10in, but I decided it was no big deal and not worth the hassle of trying to request a refund. Cooling: My body temperature naturally runs hot, so the most attractive feature about this mattress was the cooling gel. The first couple of days sleeping on it, the mattress itself was comfortable, but I kept waking up throughout the night drenched in sweat. At first, I thought it was the AC system in my new place and played around with it. I also use cooling sheets and even removed the mattress protector from underneath it to see if there were too many layers blocking the cooling gel effect. Eventually, I tried sleeping with the blanket half on as well as without the blanket completely and have concluded that it's just the mattress. It retains so much heat that I could probably sleep outside in the dead of winter and still sweat. Even after leaving the bed for an hour or so, it is still warm to the touch when I come back to it. Medium-Firm: I am a big fan of medium to firm mattresses, and my previous mattress-in-a-box was medium firm. This mattress was comfortable the first week, since it was firm enough to support my back but still soft enough to let my shoulder slightly sink in when I am sleeping on my side. After the first week, the mattress seemed to have gotten firmer with no sinking whatsoever, and I started waking up sore. I have had this mattress for almost 2 months now, and it feels like sleeping on a heated brick. Again, I have had this mattress for nearly 2 months now, and I have not had a single night of uninterrupted sleep because of this mattress. I wake up an average of 3-4 times a night, sore and sweating, which is very out of the norm for me as I am a healthy 23 year old, 5'3 and 125lbs. Maybe I'm not heavy enough to make the foam sink in or something, but I decided to go forward with returning this mattress. Return Process: This has been the most frustrating return process by far. I requested a pick-up return, which Amazon scheduled through UPS, and I was told to call UPS to verify a pick-up time. I requested a pick up time anytime after 5PM since I work on weekdays, and those are the only days UPS offers pick-up. UPS verified with me that they would pick-up anytime between 6pm-8pm and that they would come up the elevator to my apartment door to retrieve the mattress. However, when pick-up time came, UPS showed up at 4:30 while I was at work, left a label, and told me I had to drop it off at a UPS location. When I took it to the UPS location, they told me they would not take it, because the mattress was not vacuum sealed in the plastic anymore and that the driver would not accept it on their truck if UPS took the return. UPS told me to take it to the Amazon Hub 30minutes away, but when I drove out there, the doors were locked and there was no contact number online or on site. I contacted Amazon again this morning, and they told me they would reissue a UPS door pick-up, which I verified with them that they would come to my door and pick it up after 5PM. They told me to call UPS to verify the time, which I will do after work today. I hope the pick-up works out or else I'll be stuck with a random mattress and no refund. There is also no way to contact the seller, only Amazon customer service, and you would think the return process would be easier if they are requesting for the mattress to be sent back. tl;dr: 1. Every inch matters, except when it comes to this brand, because it doesn't fully inflate and the corners are droopy. 2. The cooling effect of this mattress feels like layering on every piece of winter clothing in your closet on a 105 degree day and rolling around in a sauna then jumping into a volcano. 3. The medium-firmness of this mattress equates to a brick, freshly baked out of the clay oven. 4. You might as well load the mattress into your car and drive it back to the manufacturer yourself with how difficult it is to get someone to pick up the mattress.