Alternatives to air mattress for temporary/storable bed?

[YouAreTheFocus]

I am so done with air mattresses. They have just never lasted for us. However, now we have BIL coming for a week and I need to come up with an alternative. Our "extra" bedroom is not really extra--it is my office (I wah) and DH's studio. A permanent bed or futon in there is not an option--there's no wall space. But when guests come, we could plop a bed in the middle and make due.

So, any suggestions for air mattress alternatives? A lightweight foam mattress? A lightweight frame/platform that folds or breaks down easily? We need to be able to store it in the basement between guests. Oh, and it has to be raised somewhat off the floor, so older people can get in & out. And full size.

???

[Twoboos]

I know you said not an air mattress, but we have one of these and it's great. Queen size, up off the floor, folds up into its own rolling case. I would definitely recommend using a mattress pad, otherwise it can be chilly. But overall pretty comfy!

http://www.frontgate.com/webapp/wcs/...070?redirect=y

[todzwife]

We've had an aero bed for 5 years and haven't had any problems with it. It was worth every penny...

[kristenk]

What kind of air mattresses have you had before? It really seems as if a platform aerobed would be your best option given that you need something that doesn't take up much room and is off the floor.

[YouAreTheFocus]

We've had this one...2 or 3 times!

http://www.amazon.com/Intex-Raised-A..._bxgy_sg_img_z

Perhaps I should have mentioned that we have 2 cats. In cat vs air mattress, cat always wins.

[YouAreTheFocus]

I know you said not an air mattress, but we have one of these and it's great. Queen size, up off the floor, folds up into its own rolling case. I would definitely recommend using a mattress pad, otherwise it can be chilly. But overall pretty comfy!

http://www.frontgate.com/webapp/wcs/...070?redirect=y

That does look great, I like how it has it's own bedframe/legs! I just worry about that cats jumping up on it. We've even tried standing ours on it's side in the AM to reduce cat time. But every time they end up springing a leak.

[urquie]

I know you said not an air mattress, but we have one of these and it's great. Queen size, up off the floor, folds up into its own rolling case. I would definitely recommend using a mattress pad, otherwise it can be chilly. But overall pretty comfy!

http://www.frontgate.com/webapp/wcs/...070?redirect=y

Wow, cool bed!

That does look great, I like how it has it's own bedframe/legs! I just worry about that cats jumping up on it. We've even tried standing ours on it's side in the AM to reduce cat time. But every time they end up springing a leak.

Maybe you could you try putting a foam pad on top, to prevent punctures.

[HannaAddict]

A hotel room? you are far nicer than we are, when we had a smaller house with no real guest room we had to tell BIL there was no room at the "inn" several times. If you want him to stay, I'd say foam of some sort if you can store it.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Oh, that Intex one is horrible. My mom said she had an aerobed and it was SO not the same as an aerobed brand one that we have. It was loud, it leaked. Horrible. Next time we're bringing our own real aerobed.

What about giving your DC an alternate place to sleep and giving their beds? My DD's full size bed works well for guests, and depending who the guests are, she'll sleep on the trundle or on an aerobed in our room. We've also dragged her twin trundle mattress to her brothers' room for a few nights. Our older adults appreciate a real bed. When the older adults are big, we give them our king and we sleep on the Ikea Manstad sofa bed.

[YouAreTheFocus]

Oh, that Intex one is horrible. My mom said she had an aerobed and it was SO not the same as an aerobed brand one that we have. It was loud, it leaked. Horrible. Next time we're bringing our own real aerobed.

What about giving your DC an alternate place to sleep and giving their beds? My DD's full size bed works well for guests, and depending who the guests are, she'll sleep on the trundle or on an aerobed in our room. We've also dragged her twin trundle mattress to her brothers' room for a few nights. Our older adults appreciate a real bed. When the older adults are big, we give them our king and we sleep on the Ikea Manstad sofa bed.

Hmm, that's interesting about the Intex vs. Aero. Yes, our Intexes have always leaked after just a few uses--honestly we never know what the cause is. Is it the cats or the product itself? Or both? But with the cat issue I am nervous to shell out for a higher end option like the Aero!!

Eventually I see us doing the bed shifting thing to accomodate guests. But right now we don't have that option--just one DC and he's still in a crib. When he moves on, I'm thinking of getting one of the Ikea trundle beds--he'll sleep in the twin (small room) and then we can convert to the larger size for guests and put him elsewhere.