When we decided we were moving one of the first things on our shopping list was a new bed. No disrespect to our bed it was 8 years old and has lasted quite well considering but both of us were starting to feel that our back were suffering and we weren't getting the sleep that we needed.

So the day after we moved in we walked up the road to our local Dreams store to see what they could do for us. Dreams now have over 160 stores all over the UK as well as offering an online store after starting out 23 years ago and claim to be Britain's Leading Bed Specialist (for more information on Dreams visit www.dreams.co.uk). The main reason we decided to go there was because we had been recommended to look at Rest Assured mattresses by my parents and this was the closest stockist to us at just a 10 minute walk. In fact we only really went there to buy the mattress because we were going to look at the divan/bed frame in John Lewis. We didn't expect to buy the whole bed there and then.

Upon arriving at the store we saw that they had a sale on and as is often the case we saw that this sale was in it's "last few days" stage (how long this sign had been up I don't know!). The store was empty apart from 2 very bored looking assistants. I half expected this to be one of those shopping experiences where we walked out of the store having not spoken to a soul but to my surprise one of the assistants suddenly sprang into action and came over and asked us what we were looking for.

So we explained about the Rest Assured mattresses and that we wanted a firm mattress and that we wanted one with a latex top and we were immediately taken to a bed at that back of the store to be shown a firm, latex topped Rest Assured mattress. After trying it out (and being offered a free cup of coffee whilst we tried it out) and after asking questions of the assistant which were answered very thoroughly we were told that on top of the £300 that was already taken off the recommended retail price of this mattress there was also another 20% off that price today. Having done a bit of internet research previously this proved to be quite a good deal.

So we were just about to say we would take it when the assistant asked us what we were doing about the divan/bed frame. We explained that we had seen one John Lewis and he asked us to describe it to him. Then he goes marching off and beckons us to follow him to this bed frame which was pretty close to the design we had seen and to our great delight it was half price on the Dreams price and £1000 less than the John Lewis one now. And on top of that we were told that if we bought the mattress and the bed frame we could get another 10% off the combined price. And then to make it even more tempting we were offered a duvet, a set of pillows and a mattress pad. Unfortunately I had only recently bought a new duvet and pillows and I never use a mattress pad so I said that it was very kind but we didn't need it. So instead of that we were offered another £100 off the price. Frankly we were astounded and I've never seen my husband whip his credit card out so quick.

And then we were told "oh we have a buy now, pay in a year" offer. So we took them up on that. The only thing extra we had to pay for was £32 delivery which we were told could be up to a month because although they had the bed frame out back the mattress needed to be ordered. This was fine though as we still had our trusty old bed and one more month wouldn't matter. So all the paper work complete the assistant took us out to the store room to show us the bed frame in its boxes so we knew what to expect when it arrived. We were told that we could pay for the bed to be assembled but we felt confident enough (having been a frequent visitor to IKEA) that we could put it together ourselves. The charge for this would have been £35. Then to cap it all, just as we were about to leave the assistant nipped over to the counter and produced a bag for me (just me I might add) with all lavender products and a sleeping mask and a CD of relaxing sounds for a peaceful sleep. On getting home we saw that this had a retail price of £25. All in all we spent just over £1000 which was nearly £1500 less than we had intended to pay - £1500 which is now in my new sofa fund!

I think it is safe to say that one thing Dreams can do is offer good quality products at competitive prices and have a sales team who are allowed to take the initiative and come up with an attractive package deal to suit you. We're not the sort of people who accept prices in places like this on face value and we do research before we buy and we do try and get cheeky discounts. All of this was tackled quite cheerfully by the assistant and we knew that when he said "look I really can't go any further" that he really did mean it but even then he was prepared to throw in a free gift just to sweeten the pill but after the deal was done so you really did feel on a bit of a high when you left the store. Overall the service we received in the shop was fantastic as was the price we were quoted. And to top that instead of waiting 4 weeks we only had to wait 13 days for our new bed to arrive.

Of course with most retail experiences these days there is always something which will rain on your parade and for us the delivery of the bed somewhat let the rest of the experience down. Now the arranging of the delivery couldn't have been smoother. We received a phone call a week before they were going to deliver to tell us the day delivery would take place and we were told we would receive a phone call on the day before 10am (which happened) to give us a two hour delivery slot. OK so I still needed to be in all day but at least I knew when I could go out.

The delivery men arrived towards the end of the delivery slot and upon opening the door the delivery men just barged in (they had already taken the boxes off the van and had them leaning against the porch), grunted and when I told them it had to go up two flights of stairs we got a lot more grunting. They said nothing to us and walked out the door straight into their van and left without us having to sign anything. They didn't even close the front door behind them (we had left it slightly ajar in case they needed to go out and get anything else) and we didn't notice until 30 minutes later as we were unpacking the bed. It did blight our experience slightly and we have raised this with their customer services but at the end of the day we got our lovely new bed at a great price so how it was delivered is a minor niggle really.

Would we go back to Dreams again? Well yes we would but we would be looking at other stores as well. Not because we didn't get a good deal or service (apart from delivery) but because in this day and age it always pays to look around. We got a great deal this time but how much of it was "right place right time" I don't know and if we had been looking for something else we may not have got such a good deal. They do always seem to have sales on or one day or weekend only deals so you have to choose your time carefully. We've made a point now of not watching their television adverts or looking at their deals in the shop window just in case we find our bed frame or mattress is even cheaper. But at the end of the day if you need a new bed you can't really hang around for too long waiting for your perfect deal especially if you are losing or having an uncomfortable sleep. Our shop experience was positive but we only dealt with one very capable and personable assistant. This may not be the same experience in other stores. We were disappointed with their delivery team and yet if ever there is a next time the delivery team might be fantastic. However on balance I would say that if you are looking for a new bed then you should at least give Dreams a go and see what deals they can do for you.