We have decided to dismantle our guest room to turn it into a family room, but we still want to have a spare bed in case we decide to host our guests at home (we own another apartment nearby that is available when we need it). I have a choice between a sofa-bed or an inflatable bed. Inflatable beds are cheaper, but are they reasonable confortable? Any experience with that? Any brand I should prefer?
Thanks in advance for the help.
I have an Aerobed raised pillowtop. I always sleep well on it. My last experience with a sofabed was not as good, despite it being an expensive one with a fairly thick mattress. I usually ended up just sleeping on the sofa without unfolding the bed in the days before the air mattress.
I think inflatable beds are much more comfortable than sofabeds or futons. I’d get one of the ones that’s double height, because some people would have a harder time getting up from the floor. See this.
StG
I sleep on an inflatable bed every night, and it is extremely comfortable. Since I don’t own a real bed, I paid the extra bucks and got a top-of-the-line one, an AeroBed Classic Plus (full-size). It has an electric pump that automatically inflates when you plug it into the wall, which is a very nice feature. Nobody wants to go to the trouble of manually pumping up an air mattress when they’re exhausted and just want to crash into it. Anyway, it comes with a mattress pad, a patch/repair kit, and a travel bag that I’ve never used. Target has this particular kind around $150, and the twin-size is cheaper (maybe around $100). Naturally, you can get a lot cheaper air mattresses, but most of them aren’t self-inflating.
This is AeroBed’s website, so you can browse around at their products: http://www.thinkaero.com/
My only concern is that you have to be gentle with them, so when I said “crash” above, I do not recommend literally falling with your full weight into the bed. I somehow punctured one once, and I’m already on my second. Luckily, they have a decent warranty, but they won’t stand up to bouncing, jumping, or even kneeling with your knees on the mattress. Take your keys out of your pockets, and watch out for zippers, spikes, and anything else pointy and sharp. As a result, they aren’t conducive for kinky sex, or so I’ve always imagined.
We have this one and love it. Very comfortable. We take it car-camping with us every Thanksgiving. You need to make sure you give it a “top-up” every evening before bedtime, as they, like all air mattresses, will sag a bit as the air permeates out during the day. But they are so much better than a sofa-bed, and you can stash them in the closet between guests.
I slept on an inflatable mattress whenever I visited my mom. I don’t remember the brand. It was quite comfortable. The only drawback was that it was on the floor, and unless you’re young and spry, getting up off the floor might be difficult.
We have a sofa bed in our family room. The mattress is only 4-5 inches thick. I’ve slept on it, and it’s not comfortable. I’m a little person. A large person would hate it. It wasn’t a cheap sofa bed either – I don’t think any of them have nice thick mattresses.
I’d do both. Get a sofa bed (extra seating in your family room) and put the inflatable mattress on it when you have guests. Mom’s was about $100, and it lasted for about 10 years.
Air beds are great so long as they’re at least six inches thick" I used them for camping about 15 years, and you stay high and dry if the tent floods.
Someone with mobility problems might not like it though.
I have a Coleman one, and it does sit low. If you can get up off the floor, you can get up from the bed. I’ve stayed with Shayna and Spiny Norman on an inflatable bed at their place. I don’t know the brand, but it sits as high as a regular bed. The first time I slept on it I woke up thinking I was at home on my traditional bed. Very comfortable.
A third option to look at would be futons.* Not sure why they come in so cheap, but a full couch/bed piece comes in at around $200 and seems to be fully soft and comfy.
http://www.thefutonshop.com/Product.asp?uid=1252006lYSEZMSBuHlPZJAJSEov&ProductID=50
http://www.thefutonshop.com/Product.asp?uid=1252006lYSEZMSBuHlPZJAJSEov&ProductID=64
Aerobeds are nice, but withe the built in pump they’re rather expensive and even when deflated and folded, they take up quite a bit of room in the closet.
I just bought 4 inflatable matresses, and a separate pump for 30 dollars that you can just plug in. The pump’s battery can also be charged and taken with me for camping or outdoor trips. Handy: it inflates a rubber boat in under a minute.
When I moved to my new apartment, I had to buy a new sofa anyway. For two additional sleeping-places, I bought a sofa-bed with a built in double bed, like these ones from IKEA. I bought the Fogelbo for 500 bucks. It’s also really comfortable if we want to watch TV from our own “bed-island” Blanket, tray of tea, enough room for two *plus *three cats.
We’ve used Coleman brand airbeds recently when visiting our daughter and while I (and AdoptaTeens) found it very comfy, my 6’7" 280lb hubby was scoping out hotel rooms for our next trip.
We had a fairly cheap air mattress, and my biggest complaint was that it didn’t breathe - so whatever part of me was against the mattress got all sweaty, even with a mattress pad and sheet. I don’t know if this is an issue with the better ones, but it made for a couple of uncomfortable nights while we were waiting for our furniture to be delivered to our last house.
FairyChatMom, did your bed have a kind of velvety covering, or just plain rubber?
I had an inflatable bed and thought it was the greatest thing until several days later I woke up with a deflated mattress on the cold, hard ground. You see, we tend to let our cats sleep with us…
Could be worse. Ever see Edward Scissorhands?
It had the velvety surface on one side. But it didn’t seem to make any difference. We’ve since given it to our daughter and her ex-roomie managed to ruin it, so it’s a non-issue. With the kid gone, we’ve got 2 spare beds now.
I know it’s not relevant to a guest room situation, but I’d like to point out that a full-sized inflatable bed fits perfectly between the wheel wells in the back of a standard pickup.
I’ve spent many nights out on mine when the party I was at had way more people than beds or if I was just camping for the night and not bothering with a tent or my trailer. I’ve used it as guest bedding at the house too, and never had a complaint, but then, it’s typically drunk people sleeping it off on it, so they might not notice even if it did deflate. 
Cheeh, Lou, I don’t know about you, but it is very rare that I go to bed with pointy, sharp objects, especially spikes. I leave the latter out on the railroad tracks. 
Otherwise, we have two AeroBed high beds we use when the kids come to visit or when we go to see them, and they are great. Built-in pump takes only seconds to inflate, very comfortable. They are heavy, though.
Thanks a million guys, I can count on you for answers about anything. I have a sofa bed in our other apt. and trust me, it ain’t that confortable, I have an extra mattress to put on top of it, which defeats the whole purpose of it. I don’t want a sofa bed here unless absolutely necessary. I think I’ll buy an Aerobed. Those Ikea futons and sofa bed look great, but alas, no Ikea in my neck of the woods.