Simba Wilmslow Divan Bed Base Review

With this being a blog dedicated to consumer technology, it is a bit odd that I am reviewing a bed frame. However, I am passionate about health and fitness and write a lot of content in relation to these, it is not always strictly technology but things like sleep and diet are an essential part of fitness and will do more for my performance than the latest Garmin watch.

I have previously reviewed the Simba Hybrid memory foam mattress and the Hybrid Pro, which I still use and love.

The Simba Wilmslow divan bed frame isn’t likely to have a huge impact on sleep quality, but if you are buying a Simba mattress, there is a good chance you may be considering one of their beds due to the tempting 25% discount.

This review will hopefully help you decide if buying a bed and mattress together is worth it.

Features / Options

• Premium, contemporary design: With cabin-style, padded headboard.
• Pick your base: Choose from four designs (three storage options).
• Wide choice of colours: Available in six beautiful colours & textures.

• Free delivery & assembly: Our specialist delivery team build your bed for you.
• Made in the UK: By experienced craftsmen & women.
• 10-year guarantee: Plus 200-night trial with free returns.

Base options include:

• No Storage
• 2-Draw
• 4-Draw (except for single)
• Ottoman Lift Up Storage (with up to up to 768 litres storage)

Colours include:

• Peacock
• Cloud Grey
• Vanilla
• Pebble
• Midnight Blue
• Graphite

Then, for the divan beds, you have four options at the same price, which change the design of the headboard.

There are a couple of options which cost more, and the main difference appears to be a high quality elegant, winged headboard.

My bed’s dimensions are 137H x 152W x 204.5L (CM). It is constructed of a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood frame covered in fabric. The headboard is also FSC wood, upholstered in woven polyester fabrics.

Bed & Mattress Discount

Simba and most other bed and furniture brands have discounts throughout the year. Awin has emailed me three times in a month stating discounts on selected Simba products.

However, Simba has a permanent 25% discount that’s available if you buy a bed and mattress together, and I don’t think you will be able to use this with other discounts.

It is an offer that makes sense. If you need a mattress, you can get a new good quality bedframe at a reasonable price.

This is especially true for the more expensive models. The Simba Hybrid Ultra is £3049 for the king size. The ottoman version of this bedframe is £1099, so the price without discount is £4148, but when bought together, it is £3,223.50. You are basically getting the bed for just £174.5.

200-Night Trial / 10-Year Guarantee

Just like their mattresses, Simba has a 200-night trial with a 10-year guarantee. I am not sure a bed frame really needs a 200-day trial as it won’t take as much getting used to as the mattress itself, but it is useful to have if you have bought the mattress and bed together.

More importantly, you can use the bed and return it if it doesn’t suit you. You can’t do this with traditional bed brands, you normally can only return it in a unused condition.

Just as important, Simba offers to pick the items up free of charge. Again, most traditional bed companies will force you to cover the return expense, which I expect will be a lot of money for a large bed frame.

The 10-year guarantee is handy, but this is against manufacturing faults, so I’d expect things like the drawers breaking wouldn’t be covered with this.

Delivery / Assembly

One thing I found that differentiates this Simba bed from other more affordable options was the delivery and assembly process.

Delivery took about a week, but when it was ready, I was sent an email and WhatsApp message to choose the day I wanted it delivered.

The day before, I got a preliminary 5-hour window when it would arrive, and then on that day, I got another message confirming the window.

I was able to track the package and around 30 minutes prior to delivery I got a message saying they will be there soon.

When they turned up, they took everything to the bedroom, assembled the bed and removed all the packaging. You can even get them to remove your old bed.

The bed itself is mostly pre-assembled, so it wouldn’t have been hard to do myself, but I’d sooner not, and they did a better job than I would.

For most large deliveries, you will be notified when the driver arrives, but when I bought more affordable beds, it was up to me to unpack them and set them up.

Design / Build Quality / Comfort

I should note that my divan bed, which this Simba is replacing, was old and low-quality. The drawer bottoms had buckled, and the drawer rails had broken on some. The bed was quite squeaky, too. The other beds in our house are all quite affordable as well. They are decent enough quality but don’t come close to the Simba. Therefore, my opinion may be a bit biased as I don’t have other quality bed frames to compare against.

In terms of the design, the base is just a divan bed covered in grey material with drawers on the bottom half of the bed.

I chose a simple headboard with three horizontal padded sections. I am indifferent to the appearance of headboards, and my previous bed lacked one, but losing my pillows down the back of the bed was very annoying, so I am glad to have a headboard to avoid this.

The two parts of the base don’t appear to have anything clamping them into place, whereas my old bed frame had a metal clamp. But the base doesn’t separate easily, the feet of the base and overall weight of the bed and mattress keep everything firmly in place.

The drawers are decent quality but nothing amazing. They have a relatively thin base, which you will need to be careful not to overload. However, the drawers are much better quality than those on my previous bed.

In terms of comfort, this is a solid divan bed frame rather than a box spring bed, so I would have thought a bed frame wouldn’t make a difference for most people. In my case, there was an improvement because my old cheap bed would move around and squeak, whereas this is planted firmly in place and has no annoying noises when moving about.

Price / Alternative Options

All the Simba beds have a range of options. For the divan-style beds, you have four models to choose from, which appear to be essentially the same with the same pricing but with a different headboard.

For most models, the price of the bed doesn’t change that much, depending on the bed size. For the Wilmslow, the no storage models, the RRP is:

• Single: £669
• Double: £699
• King: £799
• Super King: £949

For the two-drawer model I received, the RRP is:

• Single: £769
• Double: £799
• King: £899
• Super King: £1049

For the ottoman list up storage style, the price jumps up a lot:

• Single: £969
• Double: £999
• King: £1049
• Super King: £1249

You can also get a four-drawer model for the double/king/super, which is another £50 compared to the two-drawer model.

Then, if you buy the mattress and bed together,, you get a 25% discount with no other promotion applied. So, the Simba Hybrid Pro king size is £996.75, compared to £1,329 if you buy it separately, and the bed is £674.25, bringing the final price to £1,671.

Simba also has bed bundles. Under the design your own bed bundle, this combination plus a king-sized duvet, 2 x hybrid pillows, and a free mattress protector would be £2,021.25.

This divan bed is not available for the Simba-designed bed bundle, but the ottoman is. That combination with the Hybrid Pro will set you back £2,283.75 vs. £1,933.50 if you just get the bed and mattress.

The cheapest alternative I can find is the Dunelm Universal Linen Divan Base, which is £369 and has two drawers and a headboard. I have the single version of this, and the build quality is nowhere near as good, nor is the general appearance, and I had to assemble it myself. It is good value for money, but you can see where the additional expense goes for the Simba. You also don’t get a 200-night trial, you can return it, but the item must be unused, and you are on the hook for the return fees.

Sonno sells a king divan base with a headboard and two drawers for £375 and offers a 60-night risk-free trial. However, if you want them to assemble it and remove your old bed, the price jumps to £430.

Looking at other reputable brands, Slumberland and Silentnight have good quality divan bases in a king for between £400-£500, then around £200-300 for a headboard. But delivery times are around 3 weeks, delivery costs £40, there is no free trial, and if you want your old divan taken away, that’s £90.

Overall

The Simba Wilmslow is an excellent divan bed frame and a significant upgrade from my previous creaky bed.

The bedframe by itself at full RRP is perhaps a bit pricey, and I am sure you could get a similar quality divan bed frame and headboard for quite a bit less than Simba is charging. However, competing options lack excellent delivery and set-up, charge for delivery, have slow delivery times and will charge to remove your old bed.

That being said, £900 is a lot of money for a divan bed, and I’d probably only buy a bed from Simba if I was getting a mattress with it, as this works out to be a much better deal.

Overall, if you are planning on getting a Simba mattress, I can strongly recommend picking up one of the divan beds to complement it.

James Smythe( Editor-in-chief )

I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.

As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.

In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.